Chemistry applications in veterinary medicine

Chemistry Through Veterinary Medicine

The Use of Acepromazine to Control Fear and Aggression in Dogs

My friend, Kathy, has a dog named Mollie, who is a 4-year-old "rescue dog" that weighs 60 lbs. And has the verified DNA of a Malamute/German Shepherd/Wolf mix. Mollie is literally a moody bitch: a female dog that is sometimes friendly and sometimes hostile. She can definitely frighten people because she looks like a wolf, complete with piercing eyes and long, sharp, gleaming fangs. On October 1st, Mollie was taken to her veterinarian's office for her scheduled Rabies vaccination. Unfortunately, Mollie acted so fearfully and aggressively that the veterinarian and her 3 assistants could not control Mollie long enough to muzzle her and administer the vaccination. The veterinarian gave Kathy Acepromazine in 25 mg. pills and told Kathy that: Acepromazine is better than a sedative; it controls the dog's fear and aggression for 4 -- 6 hours; the recommended dosage is 1 1/2-2 pills to be administered 1 hour before Mollie's next veterinary visit; Kathy should try it out on Mollie sometime within the next week and see how Mollie reacts to the drug; if Mollie seems too groggy with 1 1/2 pills, use only 1 pill for the next veterinary visit; if Molly still acts fearful and aggressive with 1 1/2 pills, use 2 pills for the next veterinary visit; the vaccination would be rescheduled for October 7th.

On October 2nd, Kathy gave 1 1/2 pills of Acepromazine to Mollie, as the veterinarian directed. Within 5 minutes of eating the Acepromazine, Mollie began to stumble, then her legs collapsed beneath her and for nearly 5 hours, Mollie was wild-eyed but unable to move. Kathy immediately called the veterinarian, who calmly said to just give Mollie a lower dose of 1 pill before her next appointment. Kathy is still wary of Acepromazine because she saw its effect on Mollie, so she asked me to research this drug and find out why it had such an extreme effect.

Acepromazine is also called Promace® (Kelley), has a formula of C23H26N2O5S and is grouped in the drug categories of antipsychotic agents, dopamine antagonists, sedatives and hypnotics (WolframAlpha, LLC). It is not an anti-anxiety drug and does not relieve pain; rather, it acts as a "chemical restraint" without affecting the dog's emotions (Kelley). In sum, Molly-on-Acepromazine feels just as fearful and aggressive as ever but cannot do anything about it, which would help a veterinarian who must handle Mollie but would also give Mollie a heapin' helpin' of torture. According to Vetinfo.com, veterinarians do not completely understand how the drug works but they do know it "involves blockage of dopamine nerve receptors in the brain" (Richards). What is worse, at least one authority believes that the chemical/physical restraint makes the dog associate the pills negatively with the whole fear/aggression situation, which can make Mollie even more fearful and aggressive on her next veterinary visit (Kelley). Acepromazine is not only a chemical restraint; it is also a "dissociative agent" that harms Mollie's ability to logically understand her environment, so it greatly increases her fear. A "Pain Management Guidelines Task Force for the AAHA/AAFP goes even further, stating that Acepromazine can actually "disinhibit aggression," making the dog more dangerous; therefore, the Task Force says that Acepromazine should not be used to control fear or anxiety (AAHA/AAFP Pain Management Guidelines Task Force 243).