Use of trazodone as an adjunctive agent in the treatment of canine anxiety disorders: 56 cases (1995–2007)

Abstract

Although further controlled studies of dose range, efficacy, and safety are needed, trazodone may provide an additional therapeutic option for use in dogs that are unresponsive to conventional treatment.

An open-label prospective study of the use of l-theanine (Anxitane) in storm-sensitive client-owned dogs

“…Owner satisfaction and treatment success data. (Crowell-Davis et al, 2003;Cracknell and Mills, 2008;Gruen and Sherman, 2008;Herron et al, 2008;Ibanez and Anzola, 2009;Ogata and Dodman, 2011). One study has shown no statistically significant difference between dogs whose owners interacted with them during a storm and those that did not (Cottam et al, 2013).…”

“…Psychotropic medications including SSRIs Ibanez and Anzola, 2009), serotonin 2A antagonist/reuptake inhibitors (Gruen and Sherman, 2008), TCAs (Crowell-Davis et al, 2003), alpha-2 agonists (Ogata and Dodman, 2011), and benzodiazepines (Crowell-Davis et al, 2003;Herron et al, 2008;Ibanez and Anzola, 2009) have been studied as treatments for noise phobias and other situational anxieties in dogs. However, daily psychotropic medications including SSRIs and TCAs may have possible obstacles to success including a delayed onset of therapeutic effect of up to 4 weeks (Crowell-Davis and Murray, 2006) and the potential need for an additional situational medication (Crowell-Davis et al, 2003;Gruen and Sherman, 2008;Ibanez and Anzola, 2009).…”

“…However, daily psychotropic medications including SSRIs and TCAs may have possible obstacles to success including a delayed onset of therapeutic effect of up to 4 weeks (Crowell-Davis and Murray, 2006) and the potential need for an additional situational medication (Crowell-Davis et al, 2003;Gruen and Sherman, 2008;Ibanez and Anzola, 2009). Despite evidence of efficacy in the cited trials, some veterinarians and their clients may be reluctant to use psychotropic medications, limiting potential treatment options and compromising the welfare of those patients suffering from storm sensitivities.…”

“…As a tranquilizing agent, phenothiazines are very dependent on dose to achieve anxiolytic properties, often resulting in a large degree of sedation, which clients may find unacceptable and lead them to discontinue using the prescription. Over time, research data on anxiolytic medications have broadened, giving the veterinary practitioner other more efficacious options, such as tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) (Crowell-Davis et al, 2003), benzodiazepines (Crowell-Davis et al, 2003;Herron et al, 2008;Ibanez and Anzola, 2009), alpha-2 agonists (Ogata and Dodman, 2011), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (Ibanez and Anzola, 2009), and serotonin 2A antagonist/reuptake inhibitors (Gruen and Sherman, 2008).…”

Mirtazapine in Veterinary Medicine a Pharmacological Rationale for its Application in Chronic Pain

“…MRZ orally administered in the dose range (1.88-3.75 mg/cat day) caused significant polyphagia in cats, this pharmacokinetic behaviour is different to that of human beings. In canine species, MRZ orally administered (at about 1 mg kg −1 ) showed a favourable pharmacokinetic profile (which is different to that in both cats and humans) compared to other CNS active drugs such as clomipramine (King et al, 2000), fluoxetine (Simpson et al, 2007) and trazodone (Gruen and Sherman, 2008). For these reasons, it was speculated (Giorgi, 2012) to be potentially useful for veterinary patients for treatment of anorexia and a wide range of anxiety-related conditions (Overall, 2000), for its antiemetic properties (due to antagonism of 5-HT 3 receptor) and as an analgesic in chronic and cancerassociated pain, due to its effects on both the noradrenergic and serotonic system (Bannister et al, 2009).…”