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I find that I often answer questions sent in by owners who think their dogs may be poisoned and dogs do seem to swallow Omeprazole { Prilosec } from time to time, I have dealt with this more than once …
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The first thing to say is that I cannot diagnose this via the Internet and if you have any doubts you should contact a vet even if this means using an ER vet. However I sometimes find that my readers are in distant parts of the world such as a remote part of Alaska for example and it is just impossible for them to get to vet. This article is aimed at them.
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1. Omeprazole is in fact sometimes prescribed for dogs at a dose rate of 0.5 mg per pound of their bodyweight once a day so it is not poisonous to them per se. Do a quick calculation based on your dogs weight and the strength of the tablet the dog swallowed. If it falls within a therapeutic dose rate then you would normally have no worries and need not do anything. For example the top therapeutic dose for a 50 pound dog would be { 50 x 0.5 } = 25 mg so if it swallows a 20 mg Omeprazole tablet then that is no problem. But if a 10 pound dog swallows the same tablet then you have a problem as the top therapeutic dose for a 10 pound dog would be { 10 x 0.5 } = 5 mg so the same 20 mg tablet would be an overdose.
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2. If you think your dog has overdosed the best thing to do is to induce vomiting as soon as possible and try to recover the drugs that way. This may be effective up to two hours after the dog swallowed the Omeprazole.
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3. After that give activated charcoal orally if you have access to it, but a few slices of chopped well burnt toast may have the same effect. The activated charcoal will act to mop up and absorb some of the toxins.
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4. This drug is said to have a wide margin of safety in dogs and if you have already induced vomiting things may be OK, however you would be wise to monitor your dog and contact your vet without delay if any odd symptoms appear even if this means making a very long journey. Such symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, flatulence, diarrhea, urinary tract problems or nervous symptoms, having said that given time many dogs would recover even though they were showing symptoms as the drug slowly passes out of their system over a period of days.
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