# Long-Term Use of Benadryl in Goldens



## Golden999 (Jun 29, 2010)

I've been giving my golden two 25mg capsules of the generic equivalent of Benadryl twice a day for his allergies for several months now. It basically completely eliminated redness and some bad scratching and all of his allergy symptoms, and I've talked to people who's vets recommended it for their dogs. No side effects with it in my dog- they don't make him drowsy at all. So, in theory, problem solved, right?

The thing is, I'm a little concerned about whether there could be some negative long-term effects with him taking it daily the rest of his life. You know, like the way a human taking Tylenol would be more likely to develop liver damage. I don't have any reason to think that there would be long-term side effects, the Internet indicates that there probably aren't, but this seems like a knowledgeable group, so I thought I'd double check here.

I took him off the Benadryl for a couple days to see if maybe his allergies had gone away since we're hitting the dead of winter, and he's starting to scratch again, so it looks like these are year-round allergies rather than just seasonal. Because the generic Benadryl basically solves all the symptoms, I'm inclined to go back to it, unless there is a compelling reason not to.

So, what do you guys know about Benadryl and goldens? Alright for long-term use?

Like a lot of humans, I take allergy medicine (albeit not Benadryl) every day and probably will for the rest of my life without there being much risk of long-term issues from it. So, in theory, it seems like a dog could do the same. But I figured I'd check.


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## hubbub (Jun 28, 2011)

I can only speak for my own experience. My girl was taking 9 a day for 10 years and she just had her liver numbers checked a few weeks ago and they're fine.  It may be that, down the road, he builds a tolerance for that particular type of antihistamine, but if it is providing good results that's great!


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## hvgoldens4 (Nov 25, 2009)

hubbub said:


> I can only speak for my own experience. My girl was taking 9 a day for 10 years and she just had her liver numbers checked a few weeks ago and they're fine.  It may be that, down the road, he builds a tolerance for that particular type of antihistamine, but if it is providing good results that's great!


 
Benedryl is just an antihistimine so there shouldn't be long term effects. They can build resistance to antihistimines though. Another great thing for allergies that only has to be given once a day is generic Zyrtec.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

hvgoldens4 said:


> Benedryl is just an antihistimine so there shouldn't be long term effects. They can build resistance to antihistimines though. Another great thing for allergies that only has to be given once a day is generic Zyrtec.


 
that's what our vet has us give Maggie when her allergies flare. He said the derms around here are finding it their antihistamine of choice.


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

Is there anyway to decrease the amount, even a little? Maybe 2 in the morning and 1 at night? I don't know of any long-term effects, but it is just a thought.

Also, do you have your pup on fish-oil? We started all the dogs on fish oil and Sydney, who itches a lot has definitely been itching less. We always have prednisone on hand for her as it is the only thing that helps her (We don't use it everyday, though).


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## SylviaB12 (Sep 16, 2011)

When we moved to Louisiana from the northwest Tundra started having allergy issues...mostly ears. The vet said to put him on Benadryl twice a day....he weighs 88 lbs so that would be 6 pills daily! And she did say that it won't hurt him long term. I've found that 3 pills in the morning does the trick and we do it year round. I tried taking him off last winter and his ears flared up. He does get a little itchy when the heat starts running for a few days, but this winter we've literally run the a/c and heat in the same week.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

As mentioned above, zyrtec is an alternative antihistamine that is only given once daily.


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## Golden999 (Jun 29, 2010)

Thanks guys! Put him back on the generic Benadryl last night and am already seeing his level of scratching go back down. This looks like the allergy medication for him unless it stops working at some point. Works very well for him and it's inexpensive and easy to get.


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