My spayed puppy is too active post-surgery. Can Benadryl calm her?

Benadryl doesn’t usually make dogs very sleepy, but you could try it. I would do your best to keep the paw covered or have her wear the cone while you give her lots of reassurance. It can take a few days for them to adapt to the change in sight and hearing while wearing the cone, but after that they should go on like normal. I would also talk to your vet about other sedative options to be used as needed.

Her behavior could be from the Benadryl but I doubt it as you gave an extremely low dose of it (I'm assuming you gave 1 tablet at 25mg - not 0.25mg). Benadryl is metabolized very quickly by dogs so they need a very high dose. The dose is 1mg per pound of body weight so she would have needed around 65 mg (so you would have to give 2 or 3 of the 25mg tablets for it to help much). You can refer to this information sheet about using Benadryl in dogs. ( https://www.petplace.com/article/drug-library/drug-library/library/diphenhydramine-benadryl-for-dogs-and-cats/ ) If you are worried about her behavior you should take her to the vet for an exam.

This is about twice as much benadryl as I would give a dog for allergies or a reaction but this is not a toxic drug and Sadie should be just fine. She may be very sleepy with this dose, however. As long as she doesn't start vomiting or having uncontrollable diarrhea, and seems like her normal self (aside from being drowsy), she should be ok and no need to panic. Hope that helps!

Typically Benadryl can be given two to three times in a 24 hour period (either 12 or 8 hours between doses), but because I can't see Daisy in person, I can't say it's safe to give it to her that often. I'd give the clinic a call to see if it's ok to give her Benadryl in that frequency.

The calculation for Benadryl is quite simple, it just 1mg per lb , so for a 5 lb dog it would be around 5mg. Since Benadryl comes in 25mg usually this is close to 1/4 tablet and there is a wide safety margin for Benadryl so 1 or 2 mg above or below is well tolerated. Expect some drowsiness just like in humans.

I’m assuming that the capsule prescribed to help with Mia’s skin and coat is a fatty acid fish oil (Omega 3 and/or 6) supplement. Yes, it is perfectly safe to put this with the Benadryl in her food at the same time. Try putting these medications in a small amount of food to assure that she eats them before feeding her the remainder of her meal. Only give the amount of Benadryl that your veterinarian directed - do not increase the dose. The Benadryl may make her a little bit groggy, but if it doesn’t, that’s ok. It’s normal for puppies to be a little hyper! Just offer her plenty of exercise and play time to try to burn off the extra energy. I hope this helps and that all goes well for Mia!

It's common for them to still be somewhat disoriented from the anesthesia the evening of the surgery. I do not recommend giving the Benadryl, because it may be dangerous in his case and likely won't be helpful. He will eventually sleep and start to act more normally this evening. If he is not acting mostly normal by the same time tomorrow, then I would recommend calling your vet. I hope that helps and all is well with Liam.