When deciding to take your pet travelling with you in your vehicle, an important choice will be whether or not to use pet friendly sedatives or not. Using sedatives on your pet when flying is highly discouraged as they haven’t been properly tested yet. With travel by vehicle, however, using a sedative can make a world of difference. Often times, dogs or cats can find travel extremely stressful. In order to keep stress levels down – for your pets as well as yourself – you might want to consider using tranquilizers on a longer trip.
The first thing to consider is how familiar with travel your pet is. Not all animals find travelling stressful. If your animal is accustomed to travelling in a vehicle and hasn’t shown any previous signs of stress, then sedating your animal would be a bit extreme. If your animal has shown the following stress symptoms, however, talking to your veterinarian about sedatives might be the next step:
- Abnormally heavy breathing/panting
- Significant drooling
- Vomiting
- Excessive meowing/howling/whining
- Erratic or uncontrollable behaviour
- Hiding and/or fearfulness
- Tensing, not able to relax
If your animal shows any or all of these signs, using a sedative for travel will be a necessity.
Once you decide your pet’s level of stress, the next step is to talk to your family veterinarian about which sedative is best. There are various types of sedatives out there, and your vet will know which would be the best choice for your pet. Your pet may also only need a small amount of medication to achieve desired results. Make sure to test the prescribed tranquilizers before you begin travel to know how your pet will respond.
If you decide to go ahead with the use of a sedative during vehicular travel, you will need to pay close attention to your pet. Although your pet may seem at ease and quiet, there can be complications that may go unnoticed. Sedated animals can sometimes suffer from an upset stomach due to lack of bearing and some vomiting may occur. Dulled senses may also cause pets to gag or choke on their own tongue and/or vomit. Be sure to keep a watchful eye on your pets to avoid these or other complications.
When using sedatives on pets for travel, be sure to talk with your vet about likely side affects. One major side affect is excessive drinking. When travelling, you will need to highly restrict your sedated pet’s water-intake, regardless of how badly they may seem to desire it.
Some pets may also not respond well to sedatives. A sedated animal can become heedless to correction while still retaining erratic and uncontrollable behaviour. If this does occur, postponing travel time is best in order to allow the sedative to wear off. It is also important to note that giving a pet that does not show signs of stress a tranquilizer can have adverse affects. Make sure each of your pets is treated uniquely when considering pet friendly sedatives.
All in all, deciding to use a pet friendly sedative can make all the difference when travelling with pets. Be sure to educate yourself and take all precaution in order to make the wisest decision for your pet’s health and safety while travelling.
