My dog's phenobarbital dose missed her mouth. Should I give more?

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.

No. Phenobarbital needs to maintain specific blood levels and the half life of the medication is 12 hours. That’s why it is dosed at that interval. You must also be careful not to over dose the medication. If you have having trouble with control of Tootsie’s seizures, I recommend to call your veterinarian. There are other medications that can be given in combination with or in substitution for phenobarbital. Follow the instructions on the label with this medication. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

I probably would not give another dose if he spit up the material 45 minutes after receiving the phenobarbitol, especially if you are not sure it was actual vomit. Monitor for additional signs and call your vet if you have any concerns. So sorrry that Harley has lung cancer.

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.

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.

While you certainly could see symptoms at this dose it technically is within the dosing range. This dose of phenobarbital could cause sedation and/or lack of coordination. If Cinnamon seems very sedate or if she’s having trouble breathing you should head to an emergency clinic. If it’s at all possible that she ate more than one tablet or if you can’t monitor her through the night you may want to consider the ER now.

A single dose for a dog half the bodyweight is unlikely to cause any significant effects. I would not be overly concerned but monitor for any nervous system signs and report to your vet if you notice any abnormal symptoms