Combination of ketamine and xylazine to reduce pain during electroejaculation in dogs

Abstract

The present study evaluated the efficiency of a ketamine-xylazine combination to attenuate the pain associated to electroejaculation (EEJ) in dogs. To that end, 10 dogs of undetermined breed were anesthetized (i.m.) with a mixture of 8mg.kg-1 ketamine hydrochloride (Cetamin®, Syntec, Brazil) and 1mg.kg-1 IM xylazine hydrochloride (Xilazin®, Syntec, Brazil) and subjected to EEJ procedures. Painful stimuli were detected by cardiorespiratory rate, measured every 5 min, and body temperature, taken before and after EEJ. Mean values for the parameters evaluated decreased, suggesting that the anesthesia protocol used is safe for semen collection by EEJ and can relieve the pain associated to this procedure.