Sunday, November 27, 2011

Self Medicating

With the holiday season upon us, I thought I would share some common household medications that can be used for dogs as well.  As always, you should contact your vet before giving any medication to your dog long-term but these are pretty safe to use in situations where getting to your vet right away is not an option.


Product
Common Use
Canine Dosage
Buffered Aspirin
Pain relief, anti-inflammatory
18-12 mg per lb every 12 hours.
Benadryl
Treats allergies, itching, etc.
½ mg per lb every 8 hours. Max dose 2 mg per lb.
Hydrogen Peroxide 3%
Used to induce vomiting after accidental ingestion of toxic items.
1-3 tsp by mouth every 15 minutes until vomiting occurs.  DO NOT induce vomiting if it has been more than 2 hours since ingestion.
Dramamine
Reduces motion sickness.
Up to 50 mg every 8 hours.
Pepto Bismol
For diarrhea, vomiting and anti-gas.
1 tsp per 5 lbs every 6 hours.


Hopefully, you won't have to use any of these this holiday season.  Also, as The Chronicles of Cardigan pointed out, pureed pumpkin is also an excellent way to treat diarrhea and/or constipation but typically works a little slower.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting this. Not that I'm hoping to have to use it, I've always wondered about the Benadryl dosage - in case of a bug bite or something. Interestingly, many years ago, actually had a vet tell me go home and give Molly Pepto for a bout of colitis. It worked.

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  2. Sam gets a 25mg Benadryl every day to help with his allergies - airborne stuff that make his eyes goopy. Instead of liquid Pepto, I will use half a Pepto caplet. It's a lot easier to get a caplet into a dog than liquid, sometimes.

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