My dog is restless, shaking head, vomiting. Should I give Benadryl?

Unfortunately, by law it is illegal for the experts at Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to recommend using any human drug, including OTC drugs, without seeing the animal in person first. That's because doing so requires a veterinary client patient relationship which cannot be achieved via an internet forum. In addition, the experts cannot say for certain if a specific drug is safe for your dog. If she is shaking and feels hot, she could have a fever which Benadryl wouldn't treat anyway. I would take her temperature rectally. A dog's normal temperature is 101-102.5F, and if her temperature is above 103F, I would take her into an ER vet or a vet on call immediately. Otherwise, I would monitor her and try to tempt her to eat with some boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day. Should her symptoms continue through until tomorrow, I would have her seen by a vet. If they suddenly become worse or she develops other signs like vomiting and diarrhea, I would have her seen by a vet immediately.

You likely didn't poison him. THe recomended dosage is 1 mg per lb of body weight, so this is the appropriate amount of Benadryl to give him. He likely has a sensitivtiy to Benadryl and can't tolerate it, or he may just have an upset stomach and it is just a coincidence that he vomited after giving the Benadryl. .I would recommend discussing with your vet about trying a different antihsitamine medication (i.e. Hydrozzine, Chlrorpheniramine, etc) for him that perhaps he can tolerate a bit better. Best wishes with Jethro and I hope that you can find a medication that agrees with his stomach soon. He wil likely be just fine. Take care!

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.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Izzy. Unfortunately I cannot recommend giving her Benadryl, I can't say it's safe to give her. Plus it doesn't help with vomiting. I think the best thing is to have her seen by a vet now. 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. I hope this helps!

Yes, you can do that as it has been almost 6 hours since her dose of chlorpheniramine. You don't want to dose them any closer together than that. If she is really 134 pounds she will need quite a large dose of Benadryl. The dose is 1-2 mg/# so essentially she needs at least 134mg. It comes in 25mg capsules. So, I suggest you give her 150mg or 6 capsules. People always balk at this but dogs take a much higher dose than humans due to the way they metabolize it so yes, I really did say 6 capsules. Hope this helps. Please post again if you have more questions. Take care!

Hi there! You can give him some benadryl (diphenhydramine) at 1 mg per pound. The tablets usually come in 25mg. You can go a tad higher too and it usually won't hurt anything. For example, if the dog is 10 pounds, I'll just have owners give 1/2 of the 25mg tablet which comes out to 12.5mg, or if the dog is 5 pounds, then 1/4 tablet which is 6.25 mg, etc. If your dog is really small, you can pick up the children's benadryl and use that to get a more accurate dose. The benadryl may or may not help, but it can't hurt. I think it's worth a try until you can get him in to see his veterinarian again. I would have him seen though since he has started medications and it still seems to be getting worse. Just be sure to check labels and make sure the only ingredient is diphenhydramine (or diphenhydramine hcl). Some of the benadryl products can have pseudoephedrine in them, and you don't want that. I hope this answer was helpful! Best of luck!

Oh no! So this dose is over twice the recommended dose for a dog her weight. Unfortunately, the lethal dose for oral diphenhydramine (Benadryl) in dogs has not been studied, but it's believed the minimum needed could be as few as four tablets according to a study published in 2014 in the Canadian Veterinary Journal. It would be best for you to take your dog into the vet now to have vomiting induced. While it is only two tablets, because the lethal dose hasn't been determined, it's better to be safe than sorry. I would find a vet on call to see her now, or take her into an ER vet.