My dog accidentally got a double dose of phenobarbital. Is he okay?

Unfortunately you do not mention the weight of the dog which received the phenobarbital. A normal dose would be 2-3 mg of phenobarbital per kg (2.2 lbs) of dog. If your dog is much smaller than 6 kg (13lbs) then you need to watch it closely for the next few hours. Your dog will most likely get very sleepy. If it sleeps so deep you cannot wake it up or if you think it is not breathing properly, you will need to take it to the emergency room. If the ingestion occurred within the last hour and the amount ingested was a significant overdose, you should consider taking your dog to the emergency vet so that vomiting can be induced to get the drug out of the system. Also if your dog has liver disease, please take it to the emergency clinic.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! No, I wouldn’t be concerned about the extra phenobarbital. It could cause minor sedation. If he is very lethargic it is unrelated to the medication. I would encourage a vet exam for the foot injury if he is worsening. Have a great day!

Thank you for reaching out to Pet Coach. This should not be of major concern but may cause some mild sedation in your dog that ingested that dose unnecessarily. If your dog is on medications as well, phenobarbitol may or may not be OK to combined with those medications so that is something else to consider. As well as dogs that have decrease in liver function may process this drug a bit differently. If your springer is otherwise healthy and not on any medications, then sedation (if anything) may be the only problem.

Hello. Phenobarbital can be absorbed very quickly, so it possible that some has already entered the bloodstream. If Luna's seizures have been well controlled up to this point, then missing one dose will not be harmful. Just redose at her next normal scheduled time. If she continues to vomit or act unwell, see your vet quickly to have her liver & phenobarb levels checked to make sure all is well. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. 30mg of phenobarbitone twice a day is not a very high dose for Gum Gum's weight therefore you can give her another tablet now. It will not cause any problems even if it was a double dose for this evening. You should continue with other medications as normal.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Molly should take phenobarbital to avoid further seizures, which is a priority in this situation. You should continue with the dose she has been prescribed. Many dogs are lethargic after the first few doses of phenobarbital but then are back to normal. Please, get in touch with your vet on Monday to confirm that Molly is on the right dose of phenobarbital. If the lethargy and lack of appetite persists, your vet will likely decrease the dose or change the medication. Molly will probably stay on anti-seizure medication for life.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Those are likely side effects from the phenobarbital. For that reason, I would highly recommend that you contact your veterinarian as they may decide to decrease his dose of phenobarbital based on this. Best of luck!