Sedation before euthanasia

Jenko109

Jenko109

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I had my little whippet pts a couple of days ago.They used a premed to sedate her. It didn't really work and she was still very much awake when they came back 5 minutes later so I insisted they just get on with it. She was calm anyway. The vet then said that the premed contains lots of pain killer.

What confuses me is what is the point of providing painkiller? If it indeed does contain painkiller? From my understanding, the end of life injection is not painful?

What I also find odd is that sometimes euthanasia will involve premed to sedate and other times it doesn't. When I had my collie pts three years ago, we didn't use a premed. She had just been for a walk and was being nutty so I don't suppose a premed would have worked anyway, however is there a reason they opt not to do so or is it dependent on the animal they have in front of them?
 
I have wondered this too. I have inevitably had several dogs (and cats) put down over the years and only the last one was sedated first. I was glad of it in her case as she was really stressed and a simple injection into the back of her neck which pretty quickly sent her to sleep meant that she didn't worry about the needle into her vein.
 
I had my little terrier PTS in the summer. We used Cloud 9 Vets to do the job at home as our current vets were not offering the PTS at home service at that time (they do now apparently).

I was concerned that with Little Man he'd freak out if someone started handling his paws as he'd always been hugely sensitive about his feet and especially with a stranger, I was very concerned that he would start snapping and have to have a muzzle on for his final moments, which would have been awful. What the vet did was to inject a sedative/pre-med into his rump - which did offend his dignity somewhat - but he wasn't aggressive with it, just annoyed basically!

We then let him run around in the hay-barn (his domain and where he felt comfortable) and he got visibly drowsy, so then I sat down on a haybale and plonked him down on my lap, and vet gave the final injection then.

It was a good and peaceful end for him.

Very happy with Cloud 9 vets - they offer a nationwide PTS-at-home service and I was very grateful to them.
 
Probably a bit silly but when noodle was PTS in June the vet asked if I wanted her sedating first, I said yes as in my head it's more like dying peacefully in her sleep, OH asked the vet how they normally do it, she said she doesn't normally sedate first as they will often empty their bowels which owners can find distressing. Noodles shoulder and forearm was too painful to inject and her blood pressure was poor so vet wanted to inject close to the heart so she got sedated in her bottom first. Don't really know the pros and cons of each. Wasn't offered the option with Ashkii 2 years earlier, he was sedated and then the vet checked that I definitely wanted to go ahead and if I was ready etc.
 
When Bandit was pts in March the vet who came used a sedative first, it worked well for him as he didnt really notice the first injection and was asleep for the iv. I would consider this again. The vet who came offered a pts service and I was glad to be able to be at home with Bandit.
 
i opted for a sedative for my lurcher as she had such thin legs any attempt to put a catheter in would have upset her. as she was so scared of going to the vet i got my vet to come to the house, he injected the sedation into her rump which made her yelp once but it was very quick, i then let her lay down on her bed and she drifted off so was out of it when he shaved her leg and did the final injection..her last moments were very peaceful. when my collie was PTS this year i didnt ask for sedation , she wasnt bothered about the injection and she went peacefully as well..
 
Ours have two lots of sedation before pts. It was fairly torturous hanging round. She said it was because he was a bit funny with people but didn’t mind her putting in the cannula for the sedation and I would have preferred a quick pts, not waiting 20 minutes til he was nearly asleep.

I’m sorry for your loss, it’s such a difficult time,
 
Their isn’t really a one size fits all solution. As a vet, you want the best outcome for pet and client.
if we have dogs that we know won’t mind a catheter being placed, probably 90%, then we just do that, then the owner can hold them as we give the injection, unsedated. They will just quietly go to sleep. If a catheter is in place , there’s no real option for it to go wrong and not work smoothly and quickly.
if the dog has painful legs or is anxious, we would presedate, then do the same.
downside of sedation is that owner has to wait around longer, knowing what is going to happen and death can take longer, with a lot more reflexes and breathing after death, which can be not nice to watch.
I know some vets are very pro presedation but having done 100s of procedures, I’m happy in my own mind that it’s fine without and would be happy to deal with my pets in this way.
 
It has just occurred to me that none of the vets I have used have put a canula in. Always just loaded syringe, needle into vein, draw back to check it is in vein then in goes the anaesthetic. They are usually gone before the needle is removed.
 
Not a vet but I think that sedating and/or putting a cannula in means less complications eg if a vein goes/vein is hard to find/requires more of the drug.
thus preventing the sort of scenarios posted on social media about injections going wrong. They are not trying to make peoples experience worse believe it or not.
eta so sorry about your dog OP, my last comment is not directed at yourself or anyone in particular, it’s just often on this entire board vets take a lot of criticism.
 
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Sorry about your whippet Jenko, it's a horrid time. Take care of yourself.

With regard to sedation, none of my dogs have ever been sedated before PTS but in hindsight there was one that would have benefitted from it I think. He detested the vet and despite being very poorly, his adrenaline was right up there and struggled with me, which made it a fairly traumatic experience.

All the others have been a relaxed affair. Not a nice experience but calm and relaxed. My vet also doesn't use with a canula. He just clips a bit of fur with scissors, to get good venous access, draws up the blue syringe of doom and then injects and they pop off quietly. They have all gone to sleep slightly differently but all quickly and without drama - apart from the one mentioned above. That wasn't a good experience.
 
I pride myself on movement/struggle free euthanasia which is why I sedate first. Sedation to the level I use also allows me to move quickly and calmly to a different vein or intra hepatic (IH) injection if the dog is so compromised that peripheral blood flow is suboptimal. It also allows me to use a vein in the hind leg or IH under a blanket while the owner can remain at the dog's head undisturbed and they don't need to see the syringe if they are uncomfortable. I do a lot of in home euthanasia and try to make everything as calm and comforting for the animal as possible.
 
A lot of it is personal preference and practice policy. It varies massively clinic by clinic and even vet to vet.
Sedation types before euthanasia vary but the ones I've most often used a mix of opioid type pain medications that make the animal feel sedate and comfortable and antianxiety drugs. Often the same as we give prior to surgery incidentally. It means the pet is in a calm state of mind allowing for easier cather placement or getting a vein first time. It's not really about pain, it's more about fear.
The last thing anyone wants in the last few moments of an animals life being an experience of fear and distress.
Many dogs are not troubled by having iv injections but some do find the experience of having a vein raised and then injected a bit uncomfortable. Sedation before the iv cather placement or needle placement can make the experience smoother for everyone involved.
When I first graduated we did straight iv for all patients as standard. Now I place a Cather for almost everything and sedate about 50 percent before placement. I always try and sedate the ones I'm expecting will be difficult to get a cather into to make it easier for the pet. We also place numbing gel on the skin before placing the cathers as well. All the little things to make it as smooth and stressful as possible.
I like cathers more then off the needle personally. Popping a cather in first reduces the risk of any complications and... more importantly imo... it let's the animal be held by the owner or sit comfortably having treats etc...rather then being restrained by the nurses in its last moments... the injection administration itself isn't distressing for the pet they don't understand whats happening.. Getting a injection or cather placed can be. That's the bit we can make better with sedation sometimes. Every little helps.

The other issue is if the euthanasia drug goes out of the vein it can sting and that's incredibly distressing for everyone involved. It happens very very rarely, and I feel it's important to add that medications does not hurt at all when given straight in the vein or into the abdomen just when it's comes out from a vein...but sometimes animals do move once the injection starts or the vein blows due to poor circulation etc. Once you have experienced a bad reaction it you will do anything you can to avoid that ever happening again. No one wants the euthanasia experience to be distressing for the animal.
I've had it happen all of once. Almost 6 years ago now and I remember every last detail. Years later and it still makes me feel awful for that pet and their owners.
It converted me immediately to cather placement( where possible) and presedation for any anxious patient or animal that dislikes their feet being handled.

Euthanasia is an daily routine occurrence in a vet practice, but it's the last life experience for that pet. It's an a important experience to try and get as smooth as possible for everyone involved. Sedation can help with that.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss OP. RIP to your little whippet.
 
Our dog was pts with sedation prior to the lethal injection back in 2016.

My horse was sedated although she went very easily as it was her bed time, she'd been in the field all night with a huge belly full of grass the hour before in the hot sun shine and was VERY calm almost to the point she was asleep when the catheter went in, we couldn't have planned it better and it will be a consideration for future horses if pts is elective. The vet told me at the time they sedate just in case someone should drop a bucket and startle them something or a horse should whinny at the last moment and the animal in question gets excited.

I presume its the same with all animals, that having an excited animal is not good for euthanasia - in part I expect this is due to the way the drug is introduced into the leg and could be dangerous to the handler if the animal is jigging about and also because of the way the drug courses through the veins and into the heart.

Oh and I am very sorry for your loss x
 
I think it’s more comfortable for them especially if they are nervous or in pain. When I took my mums old boxer to be pts the vet didn’t initially sedate and when he shaved her leg and tried to put the catheter in she screamed in pain due to her arthritis.

Both my cats were sedated and went very peacefully and I sat with both whilst they drifted off.
 
My little dog was PTS at home last week by a specialist euthanasia vet who I trust to know her job, and he was sedated first, then when soundly asleep, the injection was given into his tummy (presumably IH). I understand this is a good option for smaller dogs, and I couldn’t imagine it could be done without sedation. It went as well as these things can, and he didn’t have any unpleasant reflexes as he passed.

My last dog actually passed away under the sedative, and no final injection had to be given. Clearly she was ready. It was an emergency in the middle of the night, so a crisis euthanasia which I wanted to avoid in the future with subsequent dogs. We owe them a dignified passing where possible.
 
Sister's much loved dog was PTS last year. Had to be done quickly as she took a sudden turn for the worse.
Vet was so kind. The dog was sedated and vet sat on the floor on the other side of room holding end of long iv tube, while sister and partner were able to sit quietly, with dog lying in her bed, and not know exactly when the drug was administered.
The worst thing to have to do for your animal, especially after having to rush home from some distance away. I know sister and family were extremely grateful for the care taken.
 
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