Yes, it is perfectly safe when given at the correct dosage. Yes, you can! Bug bite reactions and environmental allergies are two of the most common reasons to give Benadryl to dogs. Benadryl can also be helpful for anxiety about events such as thunderstorms or fireworks, for motion sickness, or as part of treatment for mast cell tumors.
For allergies, Benadryl is most effective if given before your dog is exposed to the thing that sparks his allergy. Thankfully, diphenhydramine has a fairly wide safety margin in dogs.
A safe and easy dosage to remember is 1 milligram per pound of body weight. For example, a pound dog would get 50 milligrams of Benadryl. Benadryl takes about 30 minutes to take effect, so if traveling is an issue, remember to administer the dose half an hour before setting off.
Being helpful for both motion sickness and calming dogs makes Benadryl good medicine to administer before flying to help them pass the time quickly and calmly. Before using any dosage guidelines, make sure you check with your vet, as there is a range of circumstances that might change the amount you should administer. For a healthy dog, you should weigh them, and per 1 pound of body weight, you should administer 1mg of Benadryl referring to the products only containing diphenhydramine.
The average size of a Benadryl tablet is 25mg, so if you have a pound dog, you should give them 1 tablet. In rare occasions such as in response to a snake bite, a single dose may need to be doubled to help make your dog comfortable. Obviously, if you think your dog has been bitten by a snake, emergency veterinary advice is required. The recommended dosage for dogs is the correct amount administered 2 or 3 times per day, with a gap of 8 to 12 hours between doses.
It may be that the antihistamine is just making them more comfortable and able to cope better with their original symptoms. If you use Benadryl for dogs on a long term basis, be aware that the effectiveness might start to lessen over time.
Every animal and human can respond to drugs differently, so your pet may experience none, some or all of these symptoms:. If your dog has any existing disorders or is already taking medication, it may not be recommended for them to take Benadryl. Pregnancy is also something to consider — the complications caused by needing medication during pregnancy are very similar to those we see in humans!
It is not recommended that you administer Benadryl to a pregnant dog, but depending on the individual circumstances, your vet may decide that the need outweighs the risks.
Benadryl produce a liquid form of the medicine, and the one specifically designed for children can also be given to dogs as it is alcohol free. It is safe to give your dog Benadryl in the form of a pill, as long as it is not the slow-release capsule form. Check the label carefully to make sure you have selected the right product from the Benadryl range.
If you opt for Benadryl in a pill form, the easiest way to get your dog to swallow them is by hiding it in their food. Most dogs will swallow tablets like this without any issues. If you can hide their tablet in something tasty that you can throw, just give them a few treats to catch, and sneak the medication into one of the chunks. If you have issues getting your dog to take medication from a syringe, try training them to take water from one first so they get used to the process and sensation of it being squirted into their mouths.
If you think your dog may have overdosed on the drug, contact your vet immediately to seek further advice. Cases have been reported of dogs surviving a dosage 16 times higher than recommended with immediate hospital treatment.
The most common side effects include:. It is possible for your dog to overdose on Benadryl, according to the Merck Veterinary Manual. Signs of an overdose include hyper-excitability of the central nervous system CNS and can be fatal. Signs usually show up within an hour of ingestion. Here are some warning signs to watch for:. If you suspect your dog has overdosed on Benadryl, contact your veterinarian or emergency veterinary hospital immediately. Some dogs develop an allergic reaction to Benadryl.
If your dog starts having symptoms of an allergic reaction, seek veterinary care immediately. Allergies were the 8 th most frequent reason for dog parents visiting the vet last year, according to the Cost of Pet Health Care report.
See My Rates. Sign-In ». See My Rates ». Get rates for your pet: Dog Cat. Boy Girl. Taken orally, Benadryl can be mild to moderately effective for dogs experiencing mild allergic symptoms. Vets commonly use it to treat environmental allergies and allergic reactions to insect bites or stings. It can also be used as a pre-treatment for possible vaccine reactions. But if your pet is having an acute allergic reaction with facial swelling or difficulty breathing, take them straight to the vet.
Many allergic diseases also require a combination of allergy medicine and treatment of underlying infections. By and large, Benadryl is very well-tolerated in dogs, with few side effects and a low risk of overdose. It remains one of the safest over-the-counter drugs that veterinarians frequently reach for and recommend for their canine patients.
But the reason why you still need to check with your veterinarian is to ensure that it is safe for your dog to take Benadryl, because there are safety risks if your dog has certain health conditions. Some instances in which it should not be used include:. Cardiac conditions cardiovascular disease.
0コメント