The last few decades brought with them enormous changes in veterinary practices. Advances in diagnostic technologies and an increase in therapeutic possibilities for veterinary medicine are a big part of this rapidly and continuously changing industry. These changes have occurred because of the growing number of households that own pets. As companion animals, cats and dogs are often considered family members. The medical care for these pets has led to increasing demand from veterinary professionals for sophisticated, comprehensive, and personalized care.

To be on the cutting edge of veterinary medicine as a small animal veterinarian, you must stay up-to-date with the constant changes in the industry. Providing personalized care for canine patients should be your primary focus with a goal of achieving the best possible clinical outcomes and keeping your clients happy. Personalized care for canine patients can be accomplished by utilizing veterinary compounded medications.

What Are Veterinary Compounded Medications?

Veterinary compounded medications are medications prepared by or under the supervision of a licensed compounding pharmacist for to meet the needs of individual (in this case, canine) patients, ordered by a licensed veterinary practitioner. In a veterinary practice, canine patients are the best candidates for compounded medications. That is because, as a species, canids are represented by the largest variety of breeds, which means they present the largest variety in terms of sizes, shapes, weights, etc. Customization around these variables is a must when prescribing medication for canine patients. The veterinary drugs that are commercially available will never be able to keep up entirely with the large variety of needs that exist.

Treatment of Common Canine Conditions

Many of the common conditions for which your clients bring their dogs to your office have very limited approved medication treatment options available in today’s commercial drug market.

Numerous approved veterinary drugs and human drugs for off-label use in vet patients cannot be used in dogs for various reasons:

• Metabolic deficiencies (inability to acetylate),
• Pharmacogenetics (genetic mutations in certain breeds modify the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics for some drugs)
• Intolerance/sensitivity to inactive ingredients such as dyes, preservatives, sweeteners, and surfactants
• Toxic reactions to some drugs approved for veterinary patients from other species

Successful veterinarians must be knowledgeable not only about all these canine specific medication warnings and contraindications but also about the alternate options they can offer their canine patients as well.

In most cases, the alternative treatment options are available only through a veterinary compounding pharmacy. In the chosen veterinary compounding pharmacy, the pharmacist must be familiar with all the information related to what can or cannot be used for the treatment of canine patients. In these cases, the compounding pharmacist can be a great and reliable resource for the veterinarian when selecting the most appropriate customized treatment option for the patient.

Best Practices for Treating Your Canine Patients

Let us explore a few examples of common canine conditions where the existing approved animal or human drugs for off-label use can be replaced with a more canine-specific compounded medication option.

• In Canine Hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing’s Disease), the drug of choice, Trilostane, is available in a variety of vet-approved strengths in oral tablet form. Yet there will be some dogs that will refuse to take the tablets for gustatory or olfactory reasons. Patients tend to prefer flavored chewy treats or oral oil suspensions that better meet their needs and improve compliance.
• In Canine Hypoadrenocorticism (Addison’s Disease), Fludrocortisone Acetate is a drug approved for humans and comes only in one strength. Its off-label use in dogs for this condition requires it to be compounded. The ability to offer flavored options and various dosage forms is an added bonus to vets in providing personalized care for the benefit of the canine patient and its owner.
• Prednisone is another drug that is commonly used for the treatment of canine hypoadrenocorticism as a chronic concurrent therapy, and it can also be offered in a wide variety of strengths, flavors, and oral dosage forms as compounded medications to best meet the patient’s needs.
• In Canine Idiopathic Epilepsy, Zonisamide is one of the commonly used medications. It is available as a vet-approved drug in a limited number of strength options in capsule form. When a customized version is required, it may be compounded in other oral forms and strengths to the exact specification of the veterinarian.
• Canine Urinary Incontinence is a common reason for canine patients to visit their veterinarian. Estriol is frequently the drug of choice for female dogs with this condition, but it is approved for veterinary use and available in only one strength as a tablet. Compounded, flavored oral solution can be a more satisfactory treatment solution for finicky patients and will provide better compliance.
• Canine Cardiovascular Disease, manifests most commonly as CCVHD (Canine Chronic Valvular Heart Disease). A whole array of drugs are used for the treatment of this condition. Furosemide is available as vet-approved medication in tablets and injectable forms. Compounded versions in a variety of strengths and flavored oral forms can be offered to the canine patient where applicable.
• Spironolactone, Digoxin, Diltiazem, and Sildenafil are some other examples of drugs that veterinarians may choose when treating patients with CCVHD. They are all drugs approved for humans that are used off-label in dogs. Precisely customized options can be made by the compounding pharmacy to meet the patient’s need.

These are only a few examples where cutting-edge veterinarians opt to offer compounded medications for their canine patients.

The Benefits of Best Practices

The personalized care of your canine patients rewards veterinary practices with the following:

• The veterinarian achieves better treatment results and outcomes
• The client has greater ease administering the medication to their pet
• The canine patient gets a “treat” instead of a treatment.

If you want to be more competitive in your industry and stay at the forefront of veterinary practice, you must utilize compounded medications when treating your patients. This means choosing the right compounding pharmacy to be your trusted ally and reliable resource in helping your clients when you need competent compounding advice.

HALDEY Pharmaceutical Compounding has decades of experience working with veterinarians and veterinary hospitals to bring patients the personalized care they need and deserve.

Let HALDEY be your ally in achieving better clinical outcomes, and let our experienced pharmacists be your reliable resource for compounding advice. Contact us today for more information.