One of the most common mistakes some people make is to medicate their dogs without consulting the vet. It is a huge irresponsibility since dogs do not use the same doses as humans, in addition, many drugs for humans are lethal in dogs.
Some are toxic or fatal depending on the amount administered, others are directly fatal, whatever the amount they have taken. It is super important to know all the details, only this way we can create awareness and prevent many dogs from accidentally dying due to the irresponsibility of their owners.
Let’s review what are the main common medications that can poison a dog and even cause death.
Index of contents
- 1 Paracetamol
- 2 Ibuprofen
- 3 Alprazolam
- 4 Zolpidem
- 5 Tramadoll
Paracetamol
Paracetamol is an excellent medicine for humans but a poison for dogs, a simple one gram tablet of paracetamol is a toxic dose for a dog, capable of killing it.
Acetaminophen is rarely used in veterinary clinics because there are other, more effective and safer alternatives for dogs. To give you an idea, the normal thing in an adult human of 80 kilos is to take between six hundred milligrams and a gram of paracetamol.
Ibuprofen
Ibuprofen is a powerful anti-inflammatory that also acts as a pain reliever, ideal for headaches in humans but toxic to dogs. There are some medicines for dogs that use Ibuprofen but always in very, very low doses.
If we were to give a human Ibuprofen to a dog, we would be poisoning it and very possibly killing it. Veterinarians have plenty of alternatives to Ibuprofen, much safer for our dog.
Alprazolam
Some veterinaryns prescribe Alprazolam (active ingredient in Trankimazim) to dogs suffering from fears or phobias of external factors, such as fear of storms in dogs or to fireworks.
We do not share that opinion, because there are safer medications for the dog than Alprazolam. In the wrong doses, Alprazolam turns into a poison for dogs, capable of causing them to go into a coma or even die within a few hours.
At low doses (always verified by a veterinaryn) Alprazolam acts as a sedative. Imagine that your dog is afraid of storms, you give him an Alprazolam and you sedate him, the storm arrives and he tries to get up to hide but he cannot, because he is sedated … he will be much more scared.
Zolpidem
Zolpidem is another common human medication that can be fatal to a dog. It is a derivative of midazopyridine and has no use in dogs, except in clinical trials.
This medication is a powerful sedative of the nervous system for humans, but dogs simply sedate it in low doses without leaving them asleep, this causes the dog to become more nervous because he does not know what is happening to him and panic.
At high doses it is very toxic to dogs, just like Alprazolam. We must avoid by all means that our dog can access this type of medicine. If we use it for ourselves, we must keep it in a safe drawer or at the top of a closet where the dog can never access it.
Tramadoll
This medicine is an analgesic used in veterinary clinics to alleviate pain in dogs that have just come out of the operating room or suffer from some chronic painful disease. It is a very powerful sedative that has short-lasting effects, however … it can be fatal for our dog.
The dose of Tramadoll for a dog should be administered exclusively by a veterinaryn, since if we self-medicate our dog and spend only a few milligrams…. we will kill him.