Treatment of dogs with dexmedetomidine alleviates fear of noisy fireworks.

A new study has shown that treatment of dogs with dexmedetomidine alleviates fear of noisy fireworks. A large percentage dogs suffer anxiety and fear from the loud bangs and explosions of firework displays. This new study shows how a medicinal treatment can help alleviate common fear behaviors, such as trembling and whining. A research team, led by Dr Mira Korpivaara at Orion Pharma, developed an oral gel form of dexmedetomidine that could be administered by dog owners at home.182 dogs with a history of acute anxiety and fear associated with fireworks noise were given either dexmedetomidine gel (89 dogs) or identical placebo (93 dogs) as needed up to five times, as part of a randomised, double-blinded study. A higher proportion of dogs were reported to have good or excellent treatment effect in the dexmedetomidine group (64 of 89, 72%) than in the placebo group (34 of 93, 37%) -- meaning that the dog did not show any signs of fear and anxiety due to fireworks exposure or the signs were mild and temporary. Dogs in the dexmedetomidine group displayed fewer signs of fear and anxiety than dogs in the placebo group, despite the noise of fireworks, including panting, trembling, vocalising (whining, barking, growling, howling), pacing and inappropriate urination.