The following list includes only the commonly used anesthetic agents in dogs. A list of other anesthetics suitable for specific procedures and additional information about the effects, mode of action, metabolism, and side effects of these agents are available in the CMU office, extension 6555.

For both injectable and inhalant procedures, dogs should be medicated with an anticholinergic such as atropine (0.02-0.04 mg/kg intramuscularly or subcutaneously) or glycopyrrolate (0.02 mg/kg intramuscularly or subcutaneously) to reduce salivation and maintain heart rate.

INJECTABLE AGENTS:

Pentobarbital - 20-30 mg/kg by intravenous injection, initially give 1/2 the calculated dose as a bolus and an additional amount as needed.  COMMENTS: Best suited for non-survival procedures because of respiratory depression, poor analgesia, and prolonged often violent recovery.

Thiopental - 8-12 mg/kg by intravenous injection.  COMMENTS: Suitable for only very brief procedures such as intubation prior to inhalation anesthesia; like pentobarbital it has poor analgesia and shows respiratory depression.

Local anesthesia - see Analgesics.

INHALANT AGENTS:

Note:  1.)  Inhalation anesthetics are administered to dogs via an endotracheal tube.  Consequently animals must be pre-anesthetized and intubated prior to administration of the gas.  Intubation is usually accomplished with the administration of a short acting barbiturate (see Thiopental above).  2.)  Inhalation anesthesia is augmented by the use of nitrous oxide delivered at a proportion of 30-70% of the inspired gases.  It will reduce the amount of inhalant agent required.

Halothane - 3-5% of inspired gas used for induction, 1.0-2.0% of inspired gas for maintenance, delivered through an endotracheal tube with a vaporizer.  COMMENTS: Requires a vaporizer, waste gases should be scavenged for personal safety reasons, rapid induction and recovery.

Isoflurane - 3-5% of inspired gas used for induction, 1-4% of inspired gas for maintenance, delivered through an endotracheal tube with a vaporizer.  COMMENTS: Requires a vaporizer, waste gases should be scavenged for personal safety reasons, rapid induction and recovery, preferred for survival procedures.