OBJECTIVES

Sedation and anesthesia in some aggressive dogs is extremely difficult and need close cooperation of the owner. Finding a way by which the owner can induce sedation and/or anesthesia under the supervision of the veterinarian can be very helpful. In this study the possibility of rectal anesthesia in dog is evaluated and compared with intramuscular method.

MATERIALS

The study was carried out in two stages on 5 adult mix-bred dogs (15-20 Kg). In the first phase Acepromazine (0.1 mg/kg), Ketamine (15 mg/kg), and Diazepam (0.2 mg/kg) where administered as cocktail, intramuscularly. The second stage was performed 15 days later, and the same drugs with the same doses were administered intra-rectally. Changes in posture, muscle relaxation, analgesia, and reflex activation (corneal, palpebral and pedal reflexes) were assessed and compared in two stages. Also, heart rate, blood pressure (indirect) and respiratory rate were measured. One-way analysis of variance and Duncken test were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Loss of pedal pinch response and jaw tone throughout the rectal anesthesia indicated a surgical plane of anesthesia with adequate muscle relaxation. In rectal group the anesthesia was started after 17.5±2.5 min. and terminated after 46±6.7 min. The duration of anesthesia in this group was 30±6.55 min. In intramuscular group, these values were 5±2.5, 75±6.43, and 70±9.43, respectively.

CONCLUSION

It can be concluded that intrarectal administration of the combination of acepromazine, ketamine and diazepam can induce good anesthesia in dogs and can be considered as an easy method, which can be applied on aggressive dogs.