Your Pets "At Home" Medical Info 


Baby Aspirin or uncoated 81 mg heart health aspirin:
My dog has pain / fever / inflammation.
The aspirin dose for a dog is approximately 80 mgs per 15 pounds. Never use aspirin for a cat and never use Tylenol or Ibuprofen on a dog or cat. Depending on the severity of pain you can repeat the dose every 8 - 12 hrs but you shouldn't continue for more than a few days because it is hard on their tummies. It's best to give it after a full meal.

Benadryl: 
My dog has had an allergic reaction / hay fever / bee sting / insect bites / scratching/ 
chewing on his feet or body/ is swollen.

If you have a dog you should carry Benadryl with you wherever you go with your dog in 
the warm months. It could mean the difference between life and death. Seriously, a dog can die from a bee sting.  The dose is approximately 10 - 12 mg for every 20 pounds of dog. Don't worry, you are not going to over dose your dog if you are a one or two mgs over. The tabs are 25 mgs. So if your dog is 35 - 40 pounds that is perfect. If you have a small dog like me, split the pills in half.

When a dog gets an allergic reaction we instinctively want to double the dose, don't. It won't really hurt them but it could cause dysuria (pain when peeing), dry mouth and even more lethargy than Benadryl normally causes.
**Never use liquid Benadryl, it contains alcohol which is a dangerous to dogs and in some cases even fatal. 
Don't do it, don't even think about it!!!
I should also mention that if a dog is chewing at his feet he may have something stuck in a pad, like a grass seed. 
This can be very painful and get infected. You may need a Vet to remove it for you.

Pepto Bismol:
My dog has diarreah and other gastro problems.
I recommend that before you medicate a dog for Diarrhea you try feeding him a mixture of 4 parts cooked rice to 1 part cooked ground beef. Failing that, the dose is 1 teaspoon twice a day for every 10 pounds of dog. So, if you have a 20 pound dog give 2 teaspoons and 12 hrs later give another two teaspoons.  Pepto-Bismol contains an ingredient called "salicylate."  This is a fancy word for aspirin.  Aspirin can kill a cat and is a very painful, horrible way to go. Talk to your Vet.

Milk of Magnesia:
My dog is constipated.
Like with anything else, you want to be sure that your dog isn't constipated due to a serious illness. However sometimes things like a change in diet or stress can cause a dog to become constipated. The Milk of Magnesia dose is 
one teaspoon for every 10 pounds of dog.

My Dog is Bleeding / Cut:
If your dog is seriously injured he will be frightened and prone to biting, keep that in mind; if you are able to get help restraining him, do so. Reach under the dogs head and press the side of his neck and head against you. This way you won't hurt him or choke him. Find the wound location. 

Determine if the cut is spurting blood, flowing blood quickly or just a cut / bite / puncture wound?  If the wound is spurting blood or the blood if flowing rapidly, there may be an injury to a vein or artery.  You must apply a tourniquet. You can use just about anything for this purpose, even a shoelace if you don't have nothing else. Apply the tourniquet a couple inches above the wound; just tight enough to stop the blood flow. Any tighter and he may lose his vein or worse, depending on how long the tourniquet is on, and he could lose the leg. You must get to the Vet ASAP. If it takes time to get there, move the tourniquet up an inch every 15 minutes. Preferably you will have a second tourniquet so you can place the new one before moving the old one. Remember blood comes from the heart, so if you are able to, keep the leg above the heart.

When the dog has a cut which has not affected a vein or artery, dress the wound. Clean the wound with a little peroxide or soap and water. Flush gently with cool water, pat dry with a clean paper towel. Apply nonstick or "ouch less" pad and wrap with a tensor bandage. Keep the wound clean and apply a fresh dressing a few times a day. Watch for signs of infection. Polysporin is safe for dogs if you wish to add a little to the nonstick pad. Personally, I do not use antibiotic or antibacterial medications unless there is infection present or it relates to the eyes. You will need to judge for yourself if the dog needs Vet attention for the wound.

My Dog Has Ingested Poison: 
If your dog has ingested a poison such as antifreeze, cleaning product or a large quantity of chocolate (or any chocolate with
a high cocoa content), you must induce vomiting and get to a Vet ASAP. Inducing vomiting is easy, get the dog to drink some peroxide. It is not poisonous or fatal to the dog, but it is a highly effective emetic and will cause the desired vomiting. The dose is 1 teaspoon per 10 pounds of dog. You usually don't have to force feed peroxide, they like it.

My Dog Has Fleas and Flea Bites / Is Itchy and Has Rash:
If your dog has fleas, wash him/her with Dawn-blue (original dawn).  Other colors of dawn won't do the job.  Treat bedding and carpeting by sprinkling with Borax (leave it on for several hours then vacuum up.  The Boras suffocates the fleas and flea eggs).  If your dog is itchy from flea bites, you can make him more comfortable with Calamine lotion. It is perfectly safe but like anything else they will want to lick it off. It you apply it to an area of the dog where they can reach, and they lick at it, simply cover with a little gauze and tensor bandage.

My Dog Has Scratched His Eye / Has an Eye Infection:
In both cases you can use Polysporin Eye (sterile antibiotic for infections of the eye). If the infection or scratch hasn't noticeably improved in 24 hours get to the Vet. You don't want to mess around with your dogs eyes. If you are treating an infection yourself, keep the treatment going 3 - 5 applications a day for 5 - 7 days. When you are using any kind of antibiotic, the first half of the treatment is for the infection and the second half of the treatment is to prevent secondary infections.

There are lots of human meds that you can use for a dog, just make sure you don't try any without checking a reliable resource first (NOT A PET STORE!). You should have a little first aid kit for your dog. All you really need is a big ziploc bag. If everything is in one place, there will be less confusion when it is needed. Here is a sample list of the types of things you should have in your kit.

Peroxide
Nonstick pads
Gauze (pads and roll)
Tourniquet (twine or shoelace)
Tensor Bandage
Scissors (to cut bandages, etc.)
Alcohol Pads
Q-Tips
Aspirin
Benadryl
Polysporin
Polysporin for eyes
Calamine Lotion
Pepto Bismol (refrigerated)
Tweezers

Important:
While working at the Vet clinic we had one serious reoccurring problem. Owners who made the sometimes tragic error of asking the Pet store for advice instead of us.  I suppose people did it to save a few bucks, but in doing so they ended up with a pet which was much sicker than it needed to be and on a few occasions, even died.

How anyone could think a kid with a high school education and minimum wage job is capable of providing the same care and advice as a person educated in Veterinary care is beyond me. 

It is heartbreaking to think of the number of times we asked people, "why did you do that?  That was the worst thing you could have done! Why did you let this go on for so long?!" Their reply always came back the same, "The pet store said so" or "The pet store said it wasn't serious."

Pet stores are in the business of selling, that is all, so buy your pet food there, not your medical care.

DISCLAIMER:  This information is not meant to replace the care of a Veterinarian.  I know first hand that not everyone can afford to go to the Vet every time the dog has an off day.  This information is meant to stop people from doing the wrong thing or worse -- nothing at all.  It is also intended to 
make sure that in emergency cases, you know what to do to improve your dog's chances before you get to the Vet.

How To Give Your Dog A Pill
#1 Lift your dogs head by reaching your hand over the top of his face, inserting you thumb and first finger gently into the side of his mouth and lift his jaw upward.
#2 With you other hand make sure his mouth is open by gently pulling down on his lower jaw.
#3 Place pill in the dogs mouth and push it down his throat with your finger.
#4 Slip you hand under the dogs jaw and tilt head upward.
#5 Wait for the dog to swallow once or twice, when his tongue juts out he has swallowed the pill.
      Give him some praise!

DOGGIE COOKIE RECIPE:  Here is an easy doggie cookie recipe.
3 ½ cups whole wheat flour (start with 2 ½ cups and add the last cup gradually until dough is no longer sticky)
1 egg
½ cup oil (I use peanut or olive but anything is fine)
1 can of beef or chicken broth (you can substitute a can of undrained tuna but you must store tuna cookies in the
   fridge and use within a week)
Add a little punch (add whatever you like for the last ingredient, maybe a teaspoon of garlic powder or a dollop of
   peanut butter or ½ a cup of cheese, be creative and think like a dog!)

Mix ingredient and roll out to ¼ inch thickness. Cut into the correct size for your dog. You can use cookie cutters if you want to make fancy treats. My dogs don't really care what they look like.

The key to making a crunchy cookie is cooking for a longer time at a lower temp and cooling on the cookie sheet. The dog cookies may not be crunchy when you take them out of the oven but if you cool them on the cookie sheet they will crunch up. Do not store until they are totally cool)

Your Pet's Prayer

● Treat me kindly, my beloved guardian, for no heart in all the world is more grateful for your love and kindness than mine.
● Do not break my spirit with harsh words or a stick, for although I will forgive you, I learn much better through your patience and understanding, the things you would have me do.
● Speak to me often, for your voice is the world's sweetest music as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail when I hear you call my name.
● Please want me with you always, for my joy springs from your attention, and I ask no greater glory than your love and the privilege of your company.
● Please keep my bowl filled with fresh water, and feed me clean food that I may stay well to romp and play.  I live to be with you and make you happy, to walk by your side, standing ready to protect you with my life should your life be in danger.
● And dearest one, if my suffering is too great, please see that my leaving is gentle and loving, and you stay with me to the very end as I have stayed with you.
● My beloved guardian, I will give you all the love I have to give, and I will keep 
all the love you give me.
● I shall leave you then, knowing even in my sorrow, with the last breath I draw, that our time together in this earth was precious and beautiful, and my life was always safe in your hands.