Episode 146 – Clonidine
Welcome to the first in a little duo of episodes on oral alpha 2 agonists. This week, I'll be talking about clonidine, and next week, I'm going to talk about guanfacine – another oral alpha 2 agonist – and compare and contrast the 2 for you in terms of use and indications.
Clonidine is a really useful psychopharmacological agent that is quite commonly used as both an event medication as well as a daily adjunct to baseline medications.
So, I thought we'd do a bit of a deep dive into clonidine and the things you, as professionals, need to know about this medication.
Here's what you'll learn:
· Indications for and uses of clonidine as both an event- and a daily adjunctive medication in Veterinary Behaviour Medicine.
· Why clonidine might be a good choice for hyper-aroused, hyper-active and hyper-vigilant patients.
· When clonidine might be a better choice than guanfacine.
· Potential drug interactions and contraindications.
Here are the 2 published papers I mention in the episode:
Ogata, N. and Dodman, N.H., 2011. The use of clonidine in the treatment of fear-based behavior problems in dogs: an open trial. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 6(2), pp.130-137.
Pflaum, K., Albright, J., Cox, S. and Smith, J., 2026. Pharmacokinetics of Orally Administered Clonidine in Dogs. Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
This is a bit of a whistlestop tour into clonidine, but if you'd like to dive even deeper, I've got you covered – My PSYCHOACTIVE course contains everything you need to know:
https://katrin-jahn.mykajabi.com/psychoactive
And here is the Professional Guides E-Book I mention in the episode, which includes a handout about clonidine:
https://katrin-jahn.mykajabi.com/trinity-ebook
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