Effects of 3 morphine doses, in combination with acepromazine, on sedation and some physiological parameters in dogs.

This study evaluated the effects of 3 morphine doses combined with acepromazine, on sedation and physiological parameters in 5 clinically healthy dogs. Four treatments were administered intramuscularly in a randomized, blinded, crossover design: acepromazine, 0.05 mg/kg, alone (ACP) and acepromazine plus morphine at doses of 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/kg body weight (BW) (AM, AM, and AM, respectively). Sedation scores and cardiorespiratory variables were evaluated for 120 min after drug administration. The sedation scores were significantly higher with the AM and AM treatments than with the ACP treatment. At 30 min the scores were 36% to 66% higher with AM than with AM and AM, respectively, but these differences were not significant. The physiological variables remained acceptable for dogs. The results of this study do not support the use of AM over AM to improve sedation in dogs, but they do indicate that sedation may be greater with AM than with AM and AM. Studies with a greater number of samples are warranted to confirm this statement.