# Allergies and Benadryl



## Tuckerbear1 (Feb 26, 2007)

Hi All,

Just a quick question about benadryl. My almost 3 year old golden has some allergies.. he licks and scratches his ears quite a bit and his paws all the time. My vet (and tech) instructed to give him some benadryl. I was told to give him 5 (FIVE!)mg/pound of benadryl. That's 400mg of benadryl!!! That just seemed like quite a bit to me. 50mg knocks me out cold. I'm thinking of just starting with the 25mg to see if that helps and increase from there. Does anyone else have any experience or advice about this?

Thanks!!! :wave:


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## GRZ (Dec 4, 2008)

That dose is definitely wrong. Call your vet to clarify. I would think that 50mg is the max dose for even the largest dog.

Also benadryl it seems is just a band-aid. What about finding the source of the allergies and addressing that?


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## Augie's Mom (Sep 28, 2007)

I agree that the dosage is way off. Please double check with the vet prior to dosing.


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## Tuckerbear1 (Feb 26, 2007)

That's what I got FROM the vet and the tech as well. It just seemed strange to me.


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## GRZ (Dec 4, 2008)

Is that what they wrote down for you as instructions? If it is, I'd find another vet.


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## Tuckerbear1 (Feb 26, 2007)

That's what I thought too (since I'm a nurse).... but he said to try this first!



GRZ said:


> That dose is definitely wrong. Call your vet to clarify. I would think that 50mg is the max dose for even the largest dog.
> 
> Also benadryl it seems is just a band-aid. What about finding the source of the allergies and addressing that?


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## Tuckerbear1 (Feb 26, 2007)

You know, I don't think I looked on my sheets to see if there were instructions, but I know that's what they told me. I'm a nurse and that seemed like a lot of benadryl for a human, much less a dog! I've never given more than 100mg to a person before at any one time. I'm thinking another opinion would be in order too!



GRZ said:


> Is that what they wrote down for you as instructions? If it is, I'd find another vet.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

When Sunshine had that reaction and swelled up, I was told to give her 1mg per pound of body weight. In her case, at 53 pounds that translated to 50 mg, or 2 capsules.


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## boomers mom (Sep 17, 2008)

we had just started boomer on benadryl yesterday due to his scratching problems. the vet advised us to give him 2-3 25mg tablets 2-3 times a day for a few days. boomer weighs 82 lbs so that was his dosage. its been working awesome!


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

Maybe they meant .5 and that would be 40mgs not 400?


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## kgiff (Jul 21, 2008)

Benedryl apparently works different on dogs (they don't get sleepy from it). We were also instructed 2-3 Benedryl, 2-3 times a day. I usually start him on 2, 2 times a day when his allergies start getting out of control and go up from there if needed.


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## goldensequoia (Jun 4, 2008)

I gave Sequoia the same amount as Boomer. Two 25 mg. early in the am. Again around 2 pm and then again around 10 pm. She weights 82 lbs. Once the itchiness began to appear to be less, I reduced to 1 pill in the am, 1 at 2 pm, then 2 in the evening. Benadryl affects dogs differently. It reduces the itchy feeling. Sequoia never had any problems. She is a very laid back dog, as it is, so I didn't notice her calmer than usual - just more comfortable. Cindy


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## daisydogmom (Feb 26, 2007)

That sounds like a huge dose to me. Like the others said, I'd check with your vet to see if they gave you the right info. When I give Daisy Benadryl, I give her 1 caplet (She's only 32 pds.). She never becomes sleepy from it at all (although some dogs do from what I've heard). Good luck! I hope your pup feels better soon!


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## GRZ (Dec 4, 2008)

Ziggy was out for a day from two 25 mg doses of benadryl spaced 8 hours apart. Too bad he had and anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting, but nice that I had a quiet day!


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

The normal dosage for dogs for an allergic reaction is 1-2 MG per pound, which is more than the dosage for people. That said 5mg per pound still seems high... For a sting I usually give my 75 pound boys 3 25mg tabs.


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## Tuckerbear1 (Feb 26, 2007)

Thanks everyone!! I did call the vet's office again just to clarify and it was 1mg/lb. I'm really glad that I didn't give him what I thought was the case! I'm going to start the dose tonight while I'm home so I can watch him. Hopefully this will do the trick!!

Thanks so much! (I can't help but to be sad that Hooch wasn't here to reply - I know he would have!)


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## Tuckerbear1 (Feb 26, 2007)

Hi All!

Just an update. I gave Wrigley one benadryl last night and it seemed to help some. This morning I'm going to try 2 to see how that works. Thanks again for everyone's advice and encouragement! I love this forum!!!


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