Many dogs exhibit significant stress during veterinary appointments. A new study aims to evaluate whether clonidine can alleviate this stress. Researchers plan to enroll approximately 22 dogs in a double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial.
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In this study, each dog will receive clonidine during one appointment and a placebo during another, with neither the owner nor the veterinarian knowing which treatment is given at each visit.
Eligibility criteria include being evaluated by the Behavior service at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals (CUHA). Dogs must be between 1 and 10 years old, weigh between 5 and 40 kg, and have no history of heart disease or seizures. Additionally, they must not have a record of biting veterinary staff, severe car anxiety, or motion sickness, and they should be able to tolerate wearing a harness.
All costs associated with the study, including the screening visit, will be covered by the research team. Owners will be responsible for attending three weekend visits to the Small Animal Clinical Services, spaced one week apart, and must clip the dog’s chest hair for HRV monitoring.
At-home administration of clonidine or placebo will be required 90 minutes before each visit, alongside the use of an HRV monitoring harness and app during travel to the hospital. Owners will need their own mobile device with an internet data plan.
The principal investigators for this study are Sun Kim, DVM, DACVB, PhD, Kate Anderson, DVM, DACVB, and Yeonhee Lee, DVM. For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact the behavior service or clinical trials coordinator at 607.253.3060 or email [email protected]. Referring veterinarians can also reach out to the hospital for referrals.