My epileptic dog is throwing up foam. Is she poisoned or overdosed?

It could be a very bad side effect of the phenobarbital, it is a strong medication that tends to cause severe side effects, especially if given at a loading dose in the beginning. you should contact your vet immediately in order to discuss possibly changing the dosage.

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.

Based on the history, a toxicity seems less likely and a primary disease of the brain more likely. If the seizures are not well controlled on phenobarbital it may be that she needs a higher dose. You should discuss phenobarbital levels with your veterinarian. If the levels are in therapeutic range, a second anticonvulsant such as levetiracitam should be considered. Furthermore, you may consider following up with a veterinary neurologist to discuss diagnostics including an MRI of the brain.

I'm so sorry to hear that Zoey is not feeling well. I would certainly recommend starting with having your veterinarian examine her and check some blood work. Phenobarbital can affect the internal organs (especially the liver), so we should make sure that is not an issue with Zoey. If all that is normal, then I would discuss anti-nausea and appetite stimulation medications with your veterinarian. There are a few over the counter (OTC) and prescription options that may help make Zoey feel better. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that she feels better soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

That sounds serious! Even though yournone dog seems okay now I would recommend taking her to a vet right away - she may have had a seizure or have heart disease or low blood sugar. While there are toxins that can cause vomiting and toxins that can cause neurologic symptoms like loss of consciousness it is not very likely that someone is deliberately poisoning your dogs without your knowledge. I’d recommend seeing a veterinarian to have both dogs evaluated.

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.