Ibuprofen and Your Dog

When a dog is experiencing pains from an injury, surgery or sickness, people often reach for human pain medication. Without considering the dangers, people will crush or roll ibuprofen into food and give it to their dog. However, before doing so a person should consult his or her vet.

Risks

Ibuprofen (often sold as Advil or Motrin) causes toxicity in dogs at high levels. When dogs are poisoned by ibuprofen it is usually done by a person who does not know what levels are toxic. If a dog is poisoned a vet should be consulted for treatment.

Symptoms

If a dog is experiencing toxicity it will have these symptoms: poor appetite, black stool, vomiting of blood, abdominal pain, lethargy, weakness and dehydration. Take a dog with these symptoms to a vet immediately.

Dosage

Vets rarely prescribe ibuprofen, but when they do it is 2-4 mg per pound of the dog, and an average tablet is 400 or 600 mg. Therefore only a fraction of an ibuprofen is safe for a dog.

Treatment

Ibuprofen toxicity should be treated within two hours to prevent death. The dog should be taken to the vet who will possibly pump the stomach or treat with over the counter antacids.

Warning

Even an aspirin can be dangerous for a dog and cause toxicity if administered at high levels. Pain relievers can cause severe damage to dogs' kidneys and liver.