corgis and benedryl

Just got home from the vet with my guy, Tom, who has been scaring me with a phlegmy wheezy cough for a few days. His lungs and throat were clear and OK, but there was a big pool of phlegm at the back of his throat...vet said he was reacting to dust, allergens, etc. in the air and would cough when it got too full in his throat. Typically this happend when he way on his side or even asleep.

Anyway, he suggested I try 25 mlg og benedryl 2x a day for 3 days, then perahps only at night for another 3 nights and see if it clears up.

Anyone have any experience with this?

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Permalink Reply by sheila hatcher on July 18, 2010 at 9:01pm

I hope her allergys improve.

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Permalink Reply by Monica, Orion, and Laika on July 14, 2010 at 4:26pm

Benedryl is very safe for dogs. When they have vaccine reactions we have people give their dogs benedryl before they come in for their annual shots. 1 mg/lb two times a day is safe but it may make your pup a little groggy. I recently had to give Laika half a children's bennedryl due to bug bites (couldn't even walk around or do anything because all she could do was scratch) and it made her sleepy

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on July 14, 2010 at 5:20pm

Hey Monica, check your Children's Benedryl's UPC, it was on the recall list last week.

Just FYI: Diphenhydramine does have a lethal dose, I won't call it "very safe". Check out this NIH peer review toxicology study, page.14. Read the whole thing and you'll understand how different species process Diphenhydramine differently.

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Permalink Reply by Monica, Orion, and Laika on July 15, 2010 at 3:36pm

It was Target brand diphenhydramine, not benedryl brand, I should have been more specific. (I will need to go check my motrin I bought recently though, so thanks for posting that) When I said "very safe" I meant that I would be far less concerned about giving my dog the proper dosage of benedryl than other OTC drugs and that its extraordinarily helpful in the case of vaccine reactions and short term allergy issues like bug bites and bee stings. I would never ever give my dogs any drug without talking to my vet about it first though.

Thanks for posting that toxicology study, since taking a neurobiology of addiction class I've become pretty interested in animal drug models

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on July 15, 2010 at 5:00pm

You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it. Here's a Vet Pharmacology textbook on everything you need to know about antihistamines. I was worried that other readers would self medicate without knowing the consequences of delays. OTC Diphenhydramine is only effective in 75% of dogs, that's 1 in 4 failure. Diphenhydramine via IV at the vet is much more fast acting and effective. I've had 2 anaphylatic shock with 4% airway open, I would have died if it wasn't for the epi pen in my pocket. I want to make sure the readers know what they're doing, sometimes death is just a few seconds away.

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Permalink Reply by Melinda (Penny's Mom) on July 14, 2010 at 5:21pm

Yep...we used benedryl when Penny's face blew up like a balloon from a bee sting...worked great!

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Permalink Reply by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on July 15, 2010 at 12:16am

Has Beneadryl been recalled? I thought there was a bunch of name brand medicines being recalled and Benedryl was one of them. I heard that instead of using name brands you should use the generic versions. Can anyone verify this?

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on July 15, 2010 at 9:07am

Hi Nat, yes, only certain ones with the specific UPC code, check your packaging with the recall list link above. Johnson & Johnson's McNeil division issued a second recall last week, they have not fix the problem yet.

You can use generic versions, regular Benedryl is Diphenhydramine hydrochloride, you can compare the package's dosage and see if anything else was added side by side.