PSA for those who give dogs and cats regular meds

[Tonks]

We had a scary situation last night and I’m hoping others can avoid it. One of our dogs receives nightly meds for anxiety, and we have recently started giving him the meds a few hours earlier because they seem to work better. I medicated the dog and left with the kids for their activities, and my husband came home and assumed the dog had not had his meds and gave them to him again. NOT GOOD. Way too big a dose and two medications.

We called the vet, who had us call Animal Poison Control, who had us induce vomiting, and all in all, it was not a fun night.

So, my takeaways:

—If you regularly give an animal meds, invest in a pill organizer. That should make it easy to see whether you have already given the pills or not.
—Find and keep the number for Animal Poison Control in your phone.
—Make sure you have an unexpired bottle of hydrogen peroxide 3% in case you need to induce vomiting.

 

[springerspaniel]

We had a scary situation last night and I’m hoping others can avoid it. One of our dogs receives nightly meds for anxiety, and we have recently started giving him the meds a few hours earlier because they seem to work better. I medicated the dog and left with the kids for their activities, and my husband came home and assumed the dog had not had his meds and gave them to him again. NOT GOOD. Way too big a dose and two medications.

We called the vet, who had us call Animal Poison Control, who had us induce vomiting, and all in all, it was not a fun night.

So, my takeaways:

—If you regularly give an animal meds, invest in a pill organizer. That should make it easy to see whether you have already given the pills or not.
—Find and keep the number for Animal Poison Control in your phone.
—Make sure you have an unexpired bottle of hydrogen peroxide 3% in case you need to induce vomiting.

Holy cow, thank you for the reminder @Tonks. We have had similar scary situations and found using the pill organizer to be helpful, but I had not considered the other 2 recommendations. How is your dog doing?

 

[Tonks]

Holy cow, thank you for the reminder @Tonks. We have had similar scary situations and found using the pill organizer to be helpful, but I had not considered the other 2 recommendations. How is your dog doing?

He is much better this morning, thank you for asking! He was sleepy last night and refused dinner (apparently normal after you induce vomiting). Honestly I think he’s kind of mad at us.

 

[MamaBee]

I’m so happy your dog is okay!
I had a very scary thing happen from lack of sleep on my part. My son takes Abilify at night before bed. Bailey, my dog, used to take two pills at night before bed. I was so tired I gave the Abilify to Bailey..I realized it the moment he swallowed it. I quickly called animal poison control. I was crying..in hysterics thinking he was going to die. They wouldn’t tell me what to do until I paid them. I also used hydrogen peroxide to make him vomit. I felt so bad…I watched him like a hawk that night because I never did see that pill come back out. It must have dissolved by then. He was perfectly fine but I felt horrible. Things happen..I never made that mistake again. Bailey is gone now. Please give a kiss to your dog for me.

 

[Tonks]

I’m so happy your dog is okay!
I had a very scary thing happen from lack of sleep on my part. My son takes Abilify at night before bed. Bailey, my dog, used to take two pills at night before bed. I was so tired I gave the Abilify to Bailey..I realized it the moment he swallowed it. I quickly called animal poison control. I was crying..in hysterics thinking he was going to die. They wouldn’t tell me what to do until I paid them. I also used hydrogen peroxide to make him vomit. I felt so bad…I watched him like a hawk that night because I never did see that pill come back out. It must have dissolved by then. He was perfectly fine but I felt horrible. Things happen..I never made that mistake again. Bailey is gone now. Please give a kiss to your dog for me.

Omg, @MamaBee how terrifying! I’m so glad your dog was ok after that. I know you must miss him now.

Yes, animal poison control does require a $75 consult fee (meant to add that in the original post). I think human poison control may as well but honestly cannot remember. If it’s not something you’re prepared for that can really throw you for a loop. I called our regular vet first and they were very up front that we needed the advice of a toxicologist, and that’s where you find one.

 

[Gussie]

Thank goodness he's OK! We have pill organizers for everyone in the family who takes regular meds; guess the pups need that too!

 

[Tonks]

Thank goodness he's OK! We have pill organizers for everyone in the family who takes regular meds; guess the pups need that too!

Same here—it just never occurred to us before last night that we needed them for pets!!!

 

[MamaBee]

Omg, @MamaBee how terrifying! I’m so glad your dog was ok after that. I know you must miss him now.

Yes, animal poison control does require a $75 consult fee (meant to add that in the original post). I think human poison control may as well but honestly cannot remember. If it’s not something you’re prepared for that can really throw you for a loop. I called our regular vet first and they were very up front that we needed the advice of a toxicologist, and that’s where you find one.

What really upset me was I had to get my charge card out to pay them while my dog could have died waiting. It sounds dramatic..but that’s how I felt.

 

[tyty333]

So glad your pup is going to be ok!

 

[missy]

@Tonks I am so sorry that happened to you and your sweet dog and relieved all is OK now.
Big hugs to you.

 

[kgizo]

Glad to hear your pup is OK. To add to your PSA, it can be challenging with eye drops, or any bottle, as there is no pill case. Our trick was to have a note card with AM and PM written on it and move the bottle when the meds were given.

 

[Tonks]

What really upset me was I had to get my charge card out to pay them while my dog could have died waiting. It sounds dramatic..but that’s how I felt.

Omg that would have upset me, too! The person I talked to last night walked me through what to do and THEN asked for payment. Much more humane when you are worried about your dog!!!!

 

[Diamond Girl 21]

I'm so glad your dog is doing ok. Putting a puppy pill organizer on my list.

 

[Tonks]

@Tonks I am so sorry that happened to you and your sweet dog and relieved all is OK now.
Big hugs to you.

Thank you, @missy

Glad to hear your pup is OK. To add to your PSA, it can be challenging with eye drops, or any bottle, as there is no pill case. Our trick was to have a note card with AM and PM written on it and move the bottle when the meds were given.

That is brilliant with the eye drops!!!

I'm so glad your dog is doing ok. Putting a puppy pill organizer on my list.

Yay! If we can keep other people out of trouble with this life hack it will be a great outcome.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I’m so happy your dog is okay!
I had a very scary thing happen from lack of sleep on my part. My son takes Abilify at night before bed. Bailey, my dog, used to take two pills at night before bed. I was so tired I gave the Abilify to Bailey..I realized it the moment he swallowed it. I quickly called animal poison control. I was crying..in hysterics thinking he was going to die. They wouldn’t tell me what to do until I paid them. I also used hydrogen peroxide to make him vomit. I felt so bad…I watched him like a hawk that night because I never did see that pill come back out. It must have dissolved by then. He was perfectly fine but I felt horrible. Things happen..I never made that mistake again. Bailey is gone now. Please give a kiss to your dog for me.

What ?
You had to pay poison control ?
That advice is most definatly free in this country - although we don't have a separate animal one

 

[Calliecake]

How scary @Tonks. I’m so glad to read he is doing well.

 

[Tonks]

What ?
You had to pay poison control ?
That advice is most definatly free in this country - although we don't have a separate animal one

Yes, unfortunately, that is standard here.

 

[LightBright]

We had a scary situation last night and I’m hoping others can avoid it. One of our dogs receives nightly meds for anxiety, and we have recently started giving him the meds a few hours earlier because they seem to work better. I medicated the dog and left with the kids for their activities, and my husband came home and assumed the dog had not had his meds and gave them to him again. NOT GOOD. Way too big a dose and two medications.

We called the vet, who had us call Animal Poison Control, who had us induce vomiting, and all in all, it was not a fun night.

So, my takeaways:

—If you regularly give an animal meds, invest in a pill organizer. That should make it easy to see whether you have already given the pills or not.
—Find and keep the number for Animal Poison Control in your phone.
—Make sure you have an unexpired bottle of hydrogen peroxide 3% in case you need to induce vomiting.

Thank you so much for this advice. It is terrifying to think how easy it would be to overmedicate. It is actually great advice for any pill routine. I hope doggie is recovering well after this scare, I can imagine how scary that must have felt for all of you. Hugs.

 

[Arcadian]

I'm so glad it worked out for you and yes, absolutely with meds, there needs to be a way to tell who does what.

We designate 1 person (me) to do meds. He won't do it unless I absolutely can't because I'm not at home (traveling) or, sick or otherwise unavailable. The girls will try to avoid getting meds in pill form from him (I've seen him try, its atrocious...lol). All the meds for both dogs goes on a chart in the kitchen. Like any good babysitter, he has to give me a report If they're with him, he does give meds if needed. I dont make him do the hard stuff though.

As my oldest gets older, we also have that poo thing that comes up more often than not. he doesn't like to talk poo but he now has to.

That on its own cuts down on any confusion.

Treats on the other hand....lol well they sometimes get double.