My 120lb pitbull swallowed 10 Claritin 12hr pills. Is he okay?

Hello, Thanks for the good photograph. Children's claritin, or Loratidine 5mg tablets are often prescribed to dogs and mild overdoses are generally not serious. Moderate to severe overdoses have resulted in pets requiring hospitalization and supportive care (like IV fluids) but none have had long term serious effects or died from it. Kingsley's prescribed dose would be one tablet per day. It looks like that is all he consumed from this photo. If he consumed more than that, please monitor him closely over the next 24 hours and take him to a veterinarian if he begins to display any changes in behavior, lethargy, or vomiting. The ASPCA Poison control line may be able to give more specific information if he ingested a large amount. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck to you and Kingsley.

While a pill or two may not cause any harm other than increased drowsiness, if your dog got into a large or unknown amount it is best to seek veterinary care immediately or contact your local Animal Poison Control (if you are in the US you can call 888-426-4435 however there is a fee to use this service). They can provide treatment or let you know if the dose ingested is harmful. You may see signs like extreme drowsiness, or paradoxical reactions such as an increase in activity such as drooling, vomiting, etc. If you are seeing these signs, seek care immediately.

Hello. While this is not a reported lethal dose, it can result in very serious clinical signs. I would strongly encourage you to take Dobby to the nearest veterinary clinic where the pills can be safely removed & Dobby monitored if this is needed. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Oh no, Toffee! First of all, determine if Toffee ingested Claritin (loratadine alone) or Claritin-D (loratadine with pseudoephedrine). If she consumed Claritin-D, she should go to the vet immediately so that vomiting can be induced and so that she can be monitored, as this can cause significant heart rate elevations and neurologic signs. Also closely read the packaging material to assure that xylitol is not present in this particular tablet. It is used in some tablet forms of loratadine and is a bigger concern than the loratadine itself, as it is highly toxic to dogs (liver damage, low blood sugar, etc.). If you are unsure if xylitol is present, I recommend calling the company on the packaging or the ASPCA animal poison control center (888-426-4435). If xylitol is present, she will need to go the vet immediately to have vomiting induced and supportive therapy started. After ruling out ingestion of a pseudoephedrine-containg product and the absence of xylitol, there are likely no major concerns about ingesting 1 tablet of loratadine. There is a chance that Toffee may exhibit slightly excitable behavior, but if she seems overly agitated, you may need to take her to the vet for supportive medications. I hope that all goes well!

Claritin, not Claritin D can be given safely to dogs. The typical dose is 0.5mg / kg of body weight. So for example, a 20 lb dog would get 4.5mg by mouth every 24 hours. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

If Kash is really 170lbs, then this would not be enough to cause toxic effects, but I would have to verify that he is truly 170lbs, because this would be record weight for this breed. A normal lab would ideally weigh about 60-80lbs; and at this weight there would be a concern about toxicity. Considering this, it's best to take cash to a vet, so they can induce vomiting and prevent absorption of this drug. The sooner he goes the better. Signs of toxicity are hyperthermia, vomiting, agitation, dilated pupils, fast heart rate, tremors and seizures. I hope that helps and all is well with Kash.

I'm so sorry that Moet is having this problem. We most commonly see some GI upset (vomiting or diarrhea) and/or sedation with overdoses of Loratidine, but we also have a form of Loratidine that also has a decongestant in it (pseudoephedrine) which is VERY toxic to dogs. If the pills contained anything other than loraditine, please try to get Moet veterinary care immediately. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.