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Old 01-14-2017, 06:14 PM   #1
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Default Full blown panic attack during flight- should I medicate?

Hey all,
I have a little Chorkie mix that has been on 2 flights with me so far. The first time around, he was PERFECT during his flight. I carried him through the airport and onto the plane in his carrier, and once in the air, took him out (he's an ESA so I'm allowed to have him out if I need). He instantly just cuddled in my lap and slept for the rest of the flight, not making one bit of sound or anything. Everyone around my seat was even complimenting on how polite he was lol.

Okay, so I just flew again on Thursday and did the exact same thing, except this time I didn't keep him in his carrier. I just walked him through the airport and had his carrier on hand just in case. He was definitely more nervous than before but I figured it was just from all the people he was seeing. Got onto the plane, and he started calming down. He was still shaking, but started to curl up and go to sleep. Once we took off and were halfway in the air though, he started having a full blown panic attack. His eyes were dilated, his breathing was extremely heavy and rough, he shook furiously and he was panting/keeping his mouth open or yawning a lot. I thought he was having low blood sugar since I hadn't fed him that morning (he gets motion sickness sometimes and throws up in the car) so I got some sugar and rubbed it on his gums. That did nothing though and he continued having a panic attack the rest of the flight. I didn't want to put him in his carrier since I feared that would make him worse, so I just tried comforting him as best as I could. Once we got out of the airport, he settled down in his carrier and fell asleep in the car ride home, a completely different dog from what I just witnessed.

I have no idea what set him off or triggered his panic attack, but I think it was the woman next to us. She would keep looking over and stare right at him, and he kept wanting to turn around and look at her. He also just was fixated on the aisle and everybody who walked by. Again, this was totally different behavior from the first flight, where he sat in my lap and didn't care about anything.

I fly back again at the end of April with him, so I'm so worried if he'll act that way again. I will not be keeping him in my lap again, only his carrier. But if he panics again, I don't want the carrier making it worse since it'll make him feel trapped. My mom and I agreed that we should try giving him benadryl before the flight in hopes of him just sleeping through it. I hate the idea of medicating him like that, but his panic attack was awful to watch... I honestly thought he was dying or would have a heart attack. I'm at the point where I'd rather try something to reduce his anxiety than make both of us go through that again.

With that in mind, would benadryl be the safest option for him, or is there a medicine that would be better? I'd only need this for flying; he's never shown this behavior before with anything else.

Last edited by Veemo; 01-14-2017 at 06:16 PM.
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Old 01-15-2017, 05:08 AM   #2
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I fly with my Yorkies all the time and got something from the vet just to calm their nerves. I wouldn't suggest using Benadryl to calm nerves. I'm sure others will suggest what they use.
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Old 01-16-2017, 12:12 AM   #3
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I fly with my Yorkies all the time and got something from the vet just to calm their nerves. I wouldn't suggest using Benadryl to calm nerves. I'm sure others will suggest what they use.
Can I ask what the med is called? I'm guessing he'd need an actual prescription then right? I was hoping to find something online I could get him to avoid having to take him into a vet here. My main vet is back at home but hasn't seen him ever yet, since I just got him in May. He's due back in April for his shots, where I'll get them done there as well as an annual check-up. I can ask him then if something more heavy duty is needed.

And tonight, I actually gave him a little bit of benedryl while I had to drive across town for 45 minutes. He almost always throws up in his carrier I think from nerves, since he's never thrown up when he's sitting in a lap. I'm almost positive he's not car sick because he did perfectly fine on a 23 hour long car trip from Texas to Cali without any throwing up, and he sat in my lap the entire drive. I think his carrier makes him nervous still and he literally makes himself sick. However, tonight on the way back, the Benedryl made him super relaxed and actually lay down and chill. Completely opposite from the car trip there.

Still not sure though if this is best for nerves. I don't mind him sleeping through all the car and flight trips since I think it'd work... and it's a cheaper alternative to expensive dog medication. But i definitely want the safest thing for him too.
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Old 01-16-2017, 08:10 AM   #4
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Ask your vet about acepromazine or xanax. I prefer Zantac liquid for the little dogs, it your vet can help. Have to shop around a little bit to get the liquid xanax. It it is available. I used it for about a year as needed after my Cali was attacked by a hawk. It works well and you can control the dose of the liquid nicely.

Good luck.
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Old 01-21-2017, 04:13 AM   #5
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Teddy was put on Xanax for a road trip in the car (2 hours) and it was the nightmare of our lives. It actually had the opposite effect on him i.e. hyperactive, hyper alert but mobility was affected and that seemed to panic him. This was despite us trying him on small dosages the week prior to leaving just to see if he would suffer from diarrhea or vomiting etc. Basically, it affected his body but not his mind where the panic is and the lack of control over his body seemed to confuse and panic him more.

So, I'd suggest speaking with the vet about your dogs overall personality e.g. hyper normally, docile, worked up around unfamiliar sights/sounds etc and getting some professional advice about what meds may work the best for travel anxiety. Sometimes, these things are trial and error.

We found that letting Teddy freak out a little without the use of meds meant he calmed down later in the journey so sometimes imperfect solutions are the best ones.

Good luck
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Old 02-09-2017, 07:30 AM   #6
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So Jackson is okay in the car typically. He will relax after like 15 mins. But when we took an RV trip to FL -- OMG!! It was terrible. He panicked. Every bump (which was a lot) he would re-panic all over again. He never would lay down for more than 2 mins at a time. And FL was an 18 hour drive. Yeah. It was miserable. I felt terrible for him but it was also stressful for my dad who was driving.

I called our vet at the time who called in an RX for alprozalam (xanax) for the ride home a week later. I gave it to him the night before just to make sure he wouldn't have any adverse reactions. All seemed well. Gave him his dose about an hour and a half before we left. It did practically nothing.

So anyway just this past week I took him to our new vet, whom I love, for his rabies shot and spoke with her about his anxiety. He also gets it bad in loud thunder storms. She said xanax can be hit or miss, she has more success with Trazadone. So we got 5 pills and are going to try that for the next stressful event. She said you can use in conjunction with other calming things- like Rescue Remedy and hopefully I'll get good results. Give the pill 2 hours before a stressful activity.

What she likes about trazadone is that is doesn't sedate them -- it reduces anxiety. So rather than giving them a drug just to "knock them out" but still feeling scared or anxious -- this one actually addresses the problem.
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Old 02-09-2017, 07:41 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yorkiemini View Post
Ask your vet about acepromazine or xanax. I prefer Zantac liquid for the little dogs, it your vet can help. Have to shop around a little bit to get the liquid xanax. It it is available. I used it for about a year as needed after my Cali was attacked by a hawk. It works well and you can control the dose of the liquid nicely.

Good luck.
Acepromazine for example is essentially a tranquilizer with no anti-anxiety effects. It doesn't really make them FEEL better, they just can't do as much about it. It just kind of makes them sedate. I've heard of some who give the ace with an anti-anxiety.

Something like Xanax or Trazadone or Clonidine you could look into.
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Old 02-09-2017, 12:18 PM   #8
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I used xanax liquid for almost a year for Cali's anxiety after the hawk attack. That was 3 years ago and not problems now.
The xanax worked great!!
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Old 02-09-2017, 03:07 PM   #9
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My little guy was alone with his dead former owner for days. When we adopted him two weeks later, he was understandably upset. He is so much better two months later, but leaving him causes unbelievable pacing, crying, and barking for hours. Our vet explained there are four meds that he uses but he always starts with Trazadone. It has been great, not perfect, but it takes the edge off and lasts eight hours.

Good luck.

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Old 02-11-2017, 05:12 PM   #10
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Quote:
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My little guy was alone with his dead former owner for days. When we adopted him two weeks later, he was understandably upset. He is so much better two months later, but leaving him causes unbelievable pacing, crying, and barking for hours. Our vet explained there are four meds that he uses but he always starts with Trazadone. It has been great, not perfect, but it takes the edge off and lasts eight hours.

Good luck.

Gew
Good to know!! My vet said the same thing about Trazadone. I'm hoping we have better results with it. And that's terrible -- poor pup.
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Old 02-11-2017, 05:13 PM   #11
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Quote:
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I used xanax liquid for almost a year for Cali's anxiety after the hawk attack. That was 3 years ago and not problems now.
The xanax worked great!!
I am so glad it worked for sweet Cali! My vet said xanax tends to be 50/50. It either works GREAT for a dog or not at all. lol. I'm glad it worked well for Cali.
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Old 02-12-2017, 01:44 AM   #12
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Hey all, just now saw these comments. I wasn't notified for some reason when they were posted! I will ask my vet about the medications that were posted and he what his suggestions are. We will be seeing him in May for his annual check-up so hopefully I'll find a solution then. I'll just have to use benadryl for the flight home one last time, then hopefully we can find something that suits him better. I definitely think he just needs a little something for traveling from here on out. He's has a few similar cases of anxiety before in the past, the recent being about a week ago. He was whining, shaking, and pacing nonstop. He just wouldn't calm down despite trying everything. I was forced to give him just a little benadryl since he literally was just freaking out for no reason. That's the first time he's ever done that though while not traveling. No idea what set him off or if it's going to just be a random thing for him. He's a strange little dog, that's for sure lol.
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Old 02-18-2017, 06:57 PM   #13
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I usually put mine in a dog stroller. Sometimes the dog can be overstimulated by sights, smells, noises, traffic. Good luck.
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Old 02-28-2017, 08:10 AM   #14
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Hope that all went well and that it is doing fine now. Please keep us posted.
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