3 Medications You Should NEVER Give Your Dog

[dog is my buddy]

You should NEVER give your dog medication without first checking with your veterinarian. It is not uncommon for a well-intentioned owner to accidentally poison their dog with medications that are dangerous.

So...what medications should you never give your dog? I'll tell you.

1. Aspirin. Aspirin toxicity (salicylate toxicity) is poisoning that occurs following the ingestion of aspirin or aspirin-containing products. Aspirin can be especially dangerous when mixed with other drugs such as steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. There is a much higher risk of toxicity. Aspirin interferes with platelets, which are responsible for helping the blood to clot. Disruption of platelet function increases the amount of time it takes the blood to clot in cases of wounds or lacerations. Spontaneous bleeding may also occur causing pinpoint bruises to appear in the skin and on the gums (petechiae). Aspirin toxicity may cause gastrointestinal problems, respiratory difficulties, neurological problems, bleeding disorders and kidney failure. Gastrointestinal problems are common in dogs.

2. Ibuprofen is a popular and effective over-the-counter medication available to treat pain and inflammation in people. For dogs, ibuprofen can easily exceed toxic levels. The most common cause of ibuprofen toxicity is a well-meaning owner who tries to alleviate pain in his dog by administering a dose he thinks is adequate without knowing the toxic dose. The initial toxic effect is bleeding stomach ulcers. In addition to ulcers, increasing doses of ibuprofen eventually lead to kidney failure and, if left untreated, can be fatal. Symptoms include poor appetite, vomiting, black tarry stools, vomiting blood, abdominal pain, weakness and lethargy.

3. Acetaminophen . Common brands include Tylenol®, Percoset®, aspirin free Excedrin® and various sinus, cold and flu medications. Dogs most commonly receive toxic amounts of acetaminophen because owners medicate them without consulting a veterinarian. They also consume tablets that are dropped on the floor or left around. Dogs are less sensitive to acetaminophen than cats. For example, a 50-pound dog would need to ingest over seven 500 mg tablets in order to suffer toxic effects. In the cat, one 250 mg acetaminophen tablet could be fatal. If you suspect that your dog has ingested a toxic amount of acetaminophen, (one pill or more), contact your family veterinarian or local veterinary emergency facility immediately.

You never known when the unexpected can occur. All of these toxicities are fairly common and can be very expensive to treat. I would guess that they average cost of treating a dog with one of the above toxicities is $800.00 to $1000.00 (and there is no guarantee). Please - if this would be a difficult expense for you - do consider pet insurance.

To learn more about the benefits of pet insurance and to get a FREE quote go to: petinsurance.com.

So... keep all medications out of the reach of your dog and DON'T ever give any medication without first consulting with your veterinarian. If you ever suspect that your dog has ingested any amount of these medications, please contact your family veterinarian or local veterinary emergency facility immediately.

[nivek]

Good info

[dog is my buddy]

have someone told me gave dog eat Acetaminophen. yellow or white color humen medical.when the dog get cold and flu. Hope that dog still alive.

[meiers]

i gave my dog aspirin before, because he was in terrible pain at night and there was no 24 hours clinic in my area.

The dose 10mg/kg

i sent him to the vet the next morning and fed him the meds from the vet after that.

[Sashy]

You can use Mobic for a painkiller. I forget the compound name, but its marketed by Boehringer-Ingelheim, for dog arthritis under a doggy brand. Its pretty cheap, about rm1 or less per tab. You should calculate it by kg, just google the dosage as I have not used it in some time. However, do not give high dose for a long period of time as it can irritate the stomach lining and cause ulcers. Ulcers bad. Bleeding ulcers, very bad

The reason why I bought Mobic from a human pharmacy is because the vet was selling me a generic version, which I doubt was actually formulated for animals anyway, for RM2 per tab. Ugh

[meiers]

Originally Posted by Sashy

You can use Mobic for a painkiller. I forget the compound name, but its marketed by Pfizer (if I am not mistaken) for dog arthritis under a doggy brand. Its pretty cheap, about rm1 or less per tab. You should calculate it by kg, just google the dosage as I have not used it in some time. However, do not give high dose for a long period of time as it can irritate the stomach lining and cause ulcers. Ulcers bad. Bleeding ulcers, very bad

The reason why I bought Mobic from a human pharmacy is because the vet was selling me a generic version, which I doubt was actually formulated for animals anyway, for RM2 per tab. Ugh

Mobic aka Meloxicam, is the original brand for people medicine. It is in the same class as Asprin, ibuprofen, ketoprofen... NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)
It is effective, but have many side effects too... particularly stomach discomfort (like you mentioned) and potentially bleeding... due to it's non selective activity.

The medicine your vet sold to you is probably a pain killer (anti-inflammatory) medication which is in a class known as COX-2 inhibitor (i think they have it in doggy medication, coz we have it for ppl meds). This med selectively reduces the inflammation without up causing much side effect experienced with a non selective med like mobic.

In short... it would be great for dogs to take the COX-2 inhibitor medication especially if he's on it long term.
If the dog already used to taking mobic, and you're used to giving him mobic, it's no problem, but do watch out for stomach discomfort, bloody stools, and bruising. Also, a blood test every now and then would be great

[Sashy]

Nope he sold me meloxicam, hence buying mobic. I am not currently aware of any Cox-2-i which are being used for dogs, I did look as I needed painkillers for my dog at the time.

Meloxicam belongs to the NSAID group, which aspirin also belongs to. However, Meloxicam is a an oxicam (according to wiki)while aspirin is a salicylate class. Its salicylates which causes toxicity I believe.

And btw, meloxicam aka mobic is sold by BI. My mistake. Editted first post

[meiers]

No cox-2 for doggies? :(

when my dog fell down and was howling in pain, i had to choose between aspirin and mobic from my medication box (forget about pcm, i think it's useless)... I ended up giving him aspirin bcause it is water soluble and i know the doggy dose .
I also gave him pure glucosamine (i forgot the dose... but i think it's 50mg/kg) until he no longer show any signs of pain and fully restore his back leg movement.

btw, what's the dose of mobic for dogs dose/kg? I own a senior dog and accidents do happen when least expected. He's a miniature pincher, so i can't give him the whole 7.5 mg tablet.

[Sashy]

In dogs for an anti-inflammatory effect, meloxicam is dosed at 0.1 mg per pound (0.2 mg/kg) initially, followed by 0.05 mg per pound (0.1 mg/kg) once daily.

http://www.petplace.com/drug-library...cam/page1.aspx

The official website for Metacam http://www.metacam.com/index.php/Dosage-Forms does not state the oral dose, but it does state that initial injected dose should be 0.2mg/kg. After that the dog is switched to the oral suspension following their doses. I could calculate it all out from ml given to dog based on the mg/ml concentration of the solution but its too early :P

[dog is my buddy]

Don't give any medication to your dog without the recommendation of your veterinarian. Some drugs are toxic.