Jasper (12 yr old Mini Schnauzer) is now at peace

Glad to hear such a good report on Jasper. Hoping those electrolytes stay in range and you can stop with the injections. Wouldn't that be nice to be able to eliminate Something. :)

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Tina,
You have been through so much and you're such a great mom!:) I am thrilled to hear that Jasper is continuing to do well. I sure hope you're able to stop the injections.
Big hugs to you and a belly rub for Jasper.:D
Kathy

HI Tina
Hope you and Jasper and Shelby have had a good week! How has the drinking been this week? Hope its not too hot, but if you have any spare send it down south... way south!! :D Lovely sunny day here but top of only 13C... brrrrr. I have been out to dinner the last four nights in a row with a colleague visiting me from Australia. It has been great, but soooo nice to sit at home tonight and have a bit of a catch up here!! Might see you later if you and Jasper are up for a pitstop! xxx

Hi Everyone,

Just checking in here, with a couple questions. Jasper is scared of fireworks, and usually I give him a 0.5 mg dose of alprazolam a couple of hours before I think the big boomers will start. The last couple of nights have been pretty bad, but I have managed to get by without medicating him. I anticipate tonight will be the worst, so I plan to give him a dose later today to hopefully take the edge off a bit.

I talked to my vet about whether it was still safe to give him the alprazolam (xanax) since he now has kidney issues, which are new since the last 4th. She said it was ok because Xanax is metabolized in the liver rather than the kidneys, and it would be ok even though he has some elevated liver enzymes. Of course, I did some googling and saw on a couple of different veterinary websites where Xanax should be "given with caution or not at all" to dogs with kidney or liver disease. I wish I would have seen that BEFORE I talked to her. Do you think it would be ok to give him just one or two doses? I am wondering if they are referring to giving it on a more regular basis?

Also, I decided to give him an extra dose of dexamethasone this morning to help counteract the stress from today. He gets it every other day and today was an off day, but I went ahead and gave it. I always give an extra dose before he gets groomed also, to help with the increased stress. We didn't have this issue last July 4th either, as he had just been diagnosed with Cushings then, so had high cortisol at that time.

So I guess I am just looking for opinions about giving the Xanax today. I am so torn because I want him to be less anxious, which in turn will decrease his stress so hopefully we won't get in trouble with his Addison's and low cortisol. Sheesh, it seems like it is always so hard!

Thanks everyone, looking forward to your advice.

Happy July 4th!!! I can remember when I used to enjoy fireworks! :o

Love and hugs,

Tina and Jasper

Tina,
I used to take Buddy's little bed and blankets and camp out with him on the bathroom floor through most of the Fourth of July. The loud fan in the bathroom muted the fireworks, taking the punch out of them. As long as I stayed with him in the bathroom he was fine. I used to see that as a hassle. Now I wish I could do it tonight. Maybe that could help Jasper.xxxxxx

Hi Guys,
Just bumping this up in case anyone has any thoughts or advice. I will need to be deciding in the next couple of hours whether to medicate him or not so would appreciate any feedback. Thanks in advance.

Tina and Jasper

Melatonin! I used it on my schnauzers every 4th and thunderstorm. Slept like babies. cuts down on the stress. Wish you were closer as I have a bottle. You can get at any drugstore, Walmart etc. Kim

Sophie is terrified of fireworks. She is wearing a thundershirt and has taken melatonin. She is going to also get some herbs that will help calm her - Passionflower and Skullcap. And it helps calm Sophie to be in her crate which is completely covered in blankets, like a bird in a cage. :D I use the same regimen with Squirt and thunder sans the crating. ;)

Hey Tina, if your vet gave you the OK, I would think that an isolated dose shouldn't do Jasper any harm. I am just musing, of course, but I would agree with your line of thinking that the cautions are related more to ongoing use of the drug wherein the metabolites accumulate over time if they are not processed/excreted efficiently due to kidney or liver dysfunction.

Marianne

I agree with Marianne, I wouldn't think that a single day would do damage or cause problems if your vet didn't think it would be an issue. On going over a period of time, would probably not be a good idea, but thankfully the 4th is only one day. :)

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin