Questions about Ace

[Elise H]

I have a difficult Pomeranian that needs to be muzzled for feet and fanny...and is lately not even tolerating the clippers well. Her owners daughter got some Ace the last time she was at the vet and wants to try it. I have never groomed a sedated dog...does anyone have any advise or words of wisdom? I have already tried to talk her out of it, but her vet has told her it's fine and it will calm the dog down. She is set on giving this a shot. At this point, I don't want to refuse the groom, so I just need some pointers. Is there anything in particular that I need to know?

[thedoc617]

I've worked at a vet's office and done dogs that have taken ACE (the shot, which is stronger than the pills). Some of them aren't too bad, and some of them are worse on it.

Some dogs (I believe sight hounds and certain types of herding breeds (like collies and corgis), but don't quote me on that) it can be very dangerous for them to take it.

The shot takes about 30 minutes to work, but the pills may be a little longer. If I were to do this dog, I'd have the customer give the pills to the dog on a non-grooming day, to see how they do with it. That way, it doesn't fall into your hands if something goes wrong.

As far as grooming them, the dogs are mostly out of it, but still semi-conscious and their reflexes are way off. So if they try to turn and bite you, you don't have a warning because they don't have control over it. All of the dogs I've done sedated were also muzzled.

Personally though, I wouldn't do it without the supervision of a vet. It would make me nervous.

[Petekids]

Personally, I would refuse to groom the dog if it's truly a behavior problem. If the dog has the shot and has medical problems from it, what would you do? Best to have that dog groomed at the vet where it can be monitored.

[Particentral]

Ace has never worked for an agressive dog for me. A nervous dog, yes. One that is travvelling, yes. A biter or stressed out dog that may bite? NEVER. It tends to make them worse. It takes a different amount of time per dog and some dogs it does not work on at all. I refuse to groom dogs on it. I will not do it. I have been bitten badly before by dogs who have been sedated on that drug.

[windfall4]

Ug, Vets are so quick to put pets on Ace. I hate grooming dogs on Ace. I've found that most dogs are worse on Ace. From my understanding, Ace only effects them physically. Mentally they are all there, but the ace makes it so they don't have total control over their body. I could be wrong, I use to work at a vet and that's the way the vet explained it to me. I've had some dogs just panic the whole time they are on ace. I wouldn't recommend doing a dog on Ace unless you have experience with it, or you work at a vet.

[AMelena]

I agree with what everyone's said here. I work at a vet office and groom a few animals that are put on it before grooming. Most of them have to be muzzled throughout the duration of the groom (three of them are Welsh terriers). All the dogs I've done on it can stand up just fine, but they have to be watched because they can stumble or topple. The only dog I honestly think it's good for is my little poodle that does back flips and yodles whenever I put anything near her front legs (both front legs were broken by her first groomer). The Ace calms her down. So she still yodles but doesn't try to do back flips and lets me hold her legs without pulling them away.

[puppy love]

I have groomed many dogs who have been given Ace. Some it works great for and some you may as well have given them a tic-tac because it does no good at all. I would NEVER administer the drug to the dog myself. Any and all medications must be administered by the owner before giving the dog to me. The owners who give Ace to their pets before the grooming give the dose 45 min - 1 hour before I get there and put the dog in a quiet calm place to let the drug take effect. It does no good to give the dog the Ace after they are already worked up. If this is their first time trying Ace, they need to do a trial run with the Ace a few days before the pre-grooming dose is given to see how long it takes for the drug to take effect on their pet and to be sure there are no ill side effects for the dog. And as previously stated, even tho they are medicated, dont let your guard down. They may still try to bite and just be a little slower, or they may still be able to nail you with lightning speed..

BTW, Benedryl works just as well on some dogs if all you need it to do is take the edge off. Again, you can tell them about Benedryl, but tell them to contact their vet to see if it would be an appropriate choice for their pet and to get dosing instructions. Benedryl is a 1-1 dosage, 1 lb of body weight for 1 mg of Benedryl and the little pink Benedryl pills are usually 25 mg each, but I would not share that info with the owner...they need to run that question by their vet just in case there is something about their pet that Benedryl would be dangerous to give. You wouldnt want to appear to be offering medical advice...

[lexapurple]

Ace has never worked for an agressive dog for me. A nervous dog, yes. One that is travvelling, yes. A biter or stressed out dog that may bite? NEVER. It tends to make them worse. It takes a different amount of time per dog and some dogs it does not work on at all. I refuse to groom dogs on it. I will not do it. I have been bitten badly before by dogs who have been sedated on that drug.

I found that dogs can fight light doses of ACE. It just makes them very unpredictable.

[SwissNChow]

I think dogs that need sedatives need to be under a vet's watch. Ace can cause many problems. I'm just not a fan of trying to use drugs to get to the bottom of a behavior problem.

[borzoimom]

I used to groom dogs while "aced", afterall I am an RVT and had been around many dogs while they were sedated. However after having been bit twice by dogs that were sedated and seeing one dog go from slightly shy to a fighting, frightened dog (owner chose to sedate this dog for traveling reasons) I decided those sedated dogs needed to be a vet's responsibility. I no longer allow sedated dogs (for any reason) in my shop. I recommend the vet's, if they find the other groomer in the area that will do sedated dogs, that is their choice.

[4Sibes]

In my world...if it needs Ace, (or any form of sedation or fantasy sedation) it needs to be groomed at the vets. I don't monkey around w/ any of that anymore...not giving it, mind you,....but doing the dogs the owners gave it to "on the vet's recommendation/Rx".

And Benadryl? pfft. The only one that works on in my experience is me. zzzzzzzzzz...........

[PAWS]

I don't mind it one bit, but I was a vet tech for many years and am familiar with handling animals that are sedated with Ace, Valium, Torb, etc. and even anesthetized animals. The difference for me is that part of my job was to monitor anesthetized pets or those that were heavily sedated, as well as being the hand that administered the drugs, so I know how to watch them. The downside is that if something were to go wrong, there is no vet there to care for an emergency. **Please note, I do NOT give meds to my clients' pets, they give it as directed prior to the appointment**

I have found it to work very nicely on some dogs and cats, and not do anything on others. If you are not familiar with it and you feel uncomfortable then you have every right to refuse the dog. If you choose to do it, as advised above, have them administer a dose (there is usually a range recommended on the RX label) at home just to see how it affects the dog. Usually it should be given 30 - 60 mins prior to the groom. In my experience, if it is given to an already agitated animal, it may not work very well...I don't know if there is any science to that, I just notice it as a pattern for me personally.

[stewiedog]

"Acing" a dog that is aggresive, in my experiance makes it worse. Now the poor thing has ABSOLUTLEY no idea what is going on. If a dog is overly stressed, or has problems with traveling ( I used it on a Whippet I showed,and travled ALOT with who just didn't accept being away from home even though I was her owner/handler, so her home was my home she just did not tolerate being anywhere but home in my bed) Any "groom" dog I have done that has been "on" it has seemed more scared, and so "not there" that just that in itself made it seem harder for them.

I WILL NO LONGER DO AN "ACED" DOG. It will do a dog on Benadryl from what I have seen it just makes them too sleepy to care. Anything more than that I feel needs to be done by a groomer EMPLOYED at a vet office, not just a goomer using a clinic to groom a dog ( I worked at a shop in the same center as a vet once, what I groomed across the parking lot at times was ridiculous).

I would rather take a dog another groomer said neede "Ace", and work with it, and the owner. As long as you HAVE the owner on board to work with the pet at home in between gooming visits the way you suggest they do (and come in often enough on your suggestion) you will find MOST dogs much more tolerant, and willing to be groomed.

[petgroomaustralia]

I hate Ace as a sedative for grooming and will refuse to groom any dog that has had it. It tends to make the dogs very unpredictable. They are still standing and concious and will often still bite. You should try my no bite e collar spaceman helmet invention, it calms them and they cant bite you. I had an owner who stays and helps me with his nasty ancient shih tzu and the other day I used the helmet on this dog for the first time and the owner couldnt believe that, apart from a couple of little bounces, mostly stood and behaved with it on. So different from his usual psycho land shark behaviour and constant trying to get the muzzle off.

[k9cosmetologist]

Drugs make crazy dogs, crazy drugged dogs,
like many have said very unpredictable.
Why do vets think this is a good idea???