My dog ate antidepressants, had seizure. Why isn't he recovering?

Hello, Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. So sorry this happened to Sputnik. It can take up to 7-10 days for his body to regulate to the medications. It's not really the relaxers necessarily that is making him this way. Those are likely already out of his system. It is hard for me to say though as I'm not sure what he was given, how much, when the last dose was, etc. It is usually the anti-seizure medication that will make dogs lethargic until the body gets accustomed to it. As long as he is eating and drinking, urinating and defecating then I wouldn't be overly concerned at this stage. If after 10 days he is still very lethargic then you need to call your vet or the neurologist and talk about adjusting the dosage of the medications. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

This is a very high dose for a 20lb dog and some effects are likely to be seen. If it was eaten within the last 90 minutes, then it's best to take him to a vet so they can induce vomiting and give other treatment to prevent absorption of the drug. At this dose he is in danger of having tremors and possibly seizures, it's best to take him to the vet as soon as possible for treatment and monitoring. I hope that helps and all is well with Griffin.

The trouble eating, disorientation and wobbly gait is likely a transient side effect from the phenobarbital given to control the seizures. This should subside after about two weeks until the body is used to the medication.

Hello, and thanks for your question about Chester. Poor guy! If he's not eating or drinking and has not improved on 2 days of antibiotics, Chester needs to go back in to the vet. At the very least he needs help staying hydrated, which is necessary to keep his kidneys and other organs functioning. Sometimes antibiotics can take several days to start making the animal feel better, but I am concerned that Chester is still feeling so crummy after 2 days of therapy. I would recommend an abdominal ultrasound to better determine what's going on with his prostate enlargement. With bleeding from his penis and an enlarged prostate, I would also be most worried about a prostate infection. However, other things to consider would be a bleeding disorder (especially if there's ANY possibility that Chester may have gotten into rodent poison) or, unfortunately, cancer would be another concern at Chester's age. I hope this helps and he feels better soon.

If it has been two days with no issues Casper will likely be ok. I recommend monitoring him for decreased appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, dark stools and/or pain/pale gums for one week to ten days past the possible ingestion time. If you see any of those signs he needs to be seen by his veterinarian.

I would get Lulu to a vet immediately. Depending on the type of antidepressant and the dose of it, this could cause extremely serious problems such as seizures and death. I would consider this a medical emergency. Please take her into an ER vet clinic; if there isn't one in your area, there will be a vet on call for emergencies. The information to reach that vet is found on a clinic's answering machine or website.

It is not uncommon to have 24 Hours of lethargy and “post-ictal” behavior especially after a cluster of seizures such as JJ experienced. However, it is also possible that he has something more concerning going on in his brain causing the seizures and lethargy such as encephalitis or cancer. If the behavior or seizure events continue then I would encourage you to have a follow up appointment with your veterinarian to discuss further diagnostics and possible anti seizure medication. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.