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Objective: To determine the effect of intravenous acepromazine on the electroencephalogram (EEG) of normal Beagle dogs. Sample Population: Twelve healthy beagle dogs Procedures: Dogs were sedated and the EEG recorded for 20 minutes. Acepromazine was then injected intravenously in either low or high dose with the order chosen randomly and EEG recording continued for 30 minutes. Each dog received low and high dose in the study and at least a week was allowed to elapse between doses. Five dogs for the placebo group were chosen at random from the pool of dogs and received saline instead of acepromazine, with the same EEG recordings made. Results: Multiple ANOVA and independent t-tests were used to analyze data in commercially available statistical software. EEG activity was not altered significantly by either low or high dose acepromazine administered intravenously. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: EEG activity is not altered significantly in normal dogs by the low or high dose of acepromazine used in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment of pain in rabbits is challenging, and studies of effective surgical analgesia are lacking for this species. Seeking potential indicators of postoperative pain, we performed ovariohysterectomy and telemeter placement as a form of moderate surgical injury in 20 female rabbits. Rabbits were assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups (5 per group): buprenorphine (0.02 mg/kg SC every 12 h for 3 d); fentanyl (25-μg patch placed 24 h preoperatively); ketoprofen (1 mg/kg SC every 24 h for 3 d), and control (no treatment given). Various physiologic and behavioral variables were recorded by blinded observers, including food and water consumption, fecal output, and remotely recorded behaviors during daily exercise in 1.2 × 1.8 m floor pens. Compared with preoperative values, significant declines occurred in: food consumption (days 1 to 7), water consumption (days 1 to 4), fecal output (days 1 to 2), mean travel distance, and rearing (days 1 to 3 and day 7). No single treatment proved significantly better than another. Our results demonstrate substantial inappetance and reduction of normal activity levels in rabbits after surgery. Although results from rabbits treated with empirical doses (those typically recommended) of analgesics did not appear substantially better than those from the untreated control group, comparison of other doses and multimodal analgesic techniques by using these behavioral monitoring strategies may prove useful in future studies aimed at optimizing postoperative analgesia in rabbits.