Do you give your pet Benadryl?
By bonnie
@bunnybon7 (50973)
Holiday, Florida
April 18, 2010 8:45pm CST
When I had my black lab, Bear, 3yrs back he was always breaking out and agitated over allergies especially in Florida. I regret ever taking him there. thats one of the reasons I had to have him put down. he was miserable and the vet there obviously didnt know about Benadryl as he was always giving me Prednesone for him and giving him shots etc. i think thats a lot of what made him even worse. Now i was told a while back by a new vet to give coco a halph a childrens benadryl instead of always plying her with prednezone. I even worry about the long term of that at times. but at least it seems to help her get some rest and feel better. So this seems to work much better. yesterday i was talking with my son in ohio and he said they give it to their cat
so looks like its not just dogs. got me wondering if other pets are given it and also if anyone else has any other wonder drugs not usually given to pets? 
so looks like its not just dogs. got me wondering if other pets are given it and also if anyone else has any other wonder drugs not usually given to pets? 5 people like this
11 responses
@Christmas2006 (1661)
• United States
19 Apr 10
I don't have dogs but I think my daughter has given benadryl to her dogs. Also has given them Glucosimine for their arthritus.
1 person likes this
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
19 Apr 10
my poor Bear had arthritis also. that crummy vet never even suggested anything for that.@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
19 Apr 10
well the glucosimine sounds good since doctors recommend it for everyone with arthritic problems. im not sure you should blame the vet or yourself either concerning the active cat. it just seems cats are hard to keep calm. or keep anything on. im surprised he didnt recomend some sort of prevention like that head funnel they put on them at times for when you were gone and he would be out of your sight to watch.
@AmbiePam (85676)
• United States
19 Apr 10
Yes, I have given my Sherlock Benadryl before. It was recommended to me by my vet. At the time he just wouldn't sleep at night, and sometimes it seemed that he had allergies. So my vet, like yours, advised me to give him half a children's Benadryl tablet. After about a month he started to sleep better and his allergies seemed to be gone, so I quit giving it to him. And he's been fine every since. That was about two years ago I think.
1 person likes this
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
19 Apr 10
wow thats great they just stopped happening. about once or twice a year coco has problems with allergies. no fleas, so it must be foliage or something. not sure
1 person likes this
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
19 Apr 10
yep our language anyway. funny you should say that cause when son comes home, coco sounds like shes talking to him. not a whine or bark just noises like shes saying words. just cant make out the language shes using
maybe its a combination french and spanish since shes papilion and chihuahua. i dont know those languages. 
maybe its a combination french and spanish since shes papilion and chihuahua. i dont know those languages. 
@chertsy (3798)
• United States
19 Apr 10
I used to give my Basset hound Chloe benadryl. Her vet told me to give her 2 of the adult pills, because she was itching so bad, she had bald spots. Ever since she was 5 months she would get these limping spells. We later found out that she has Pano (puppy lameness). She's 18 months old now and has to take a form of Glucosamine basically for the rest of her life. Well, these pills gives her the itchies. The Benadryl works, but it doesn't knock her out according to what the vet said. She also takes a baby asprin twice a day when she is limping for the pain. One good thing, when I see her itching, I give her a couple of benadryl and in an hour. She has stopped doing it.
@chertsy (3798)
• United States
23 Apr 10
Poor thing, glad that the benadryl makes her sleepy. That way she gets a good nights sleep. I think the reason the 2 tablets don't work on Chloe is because of her weight, I won't give her more because that's what the vet told me to give her. I know you can give a dog cooked rice if he/she has diarrhea or vommiting. A teaspoon of peroxide will cause the dog to vomit, which is useful if he/she swallowed something they shouldn't. My favorite is a baby asprin if they are in pain or have a fever. The generic is just as good, and sometimes you can get the bogo free deals and have it around in case you need it.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
19 Apr 10
yes the benadryl does make coco sleepy and calm. mostly i give it to her at night so she wont be licking and scratching and keeping me awake with worrying over her
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
19 Apr 10
hi bunnybon7 I do not have pets now but I have given benadryl in small doses to my dog when I haf him. but no no no to predisone as its a very strong steroid
with a ton of bad side effects, my doctor who knew I was a diabetic put me on a week of that crap and I ended up in the ER almost having a stroke but thank god I did not as they got my blood pressure down to normal then my blood sugar from almost 400 to normal but what a day, never ever will I take steroids, he could have given me a antihistamine as it was just hives that I had. grrrrrr. so now do not let anyone
with a ton of bad side effects, my doctor who knew I was a diabetic put me on a week of that crap and I ended up in the ER almost having a stroke but thank god I did not as they got my blood pressure down to normal then my blood sugar from almost 400 to normal but what a day, never ever will I take steroids, he could have given me a antihistamine as it was just hives that I had. grrrrrr. so now do not let anyone 1 person likes this
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
19 Apr 10
yes that is what Benadryl is, an antihistamine. 
made for allergies.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
19 Apr 10
Good morning Bon, I was giving my dog benadryl & i really think it made her worse so i quit. I was giving it to her because she was scratching & carrying on all the time. I decided she must be allergic to it to because it made her worse. Have a good monday. hugs.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
19 Apr 10
No, after i quit giving that to her she finally got better on her own, thank heavens. She was driving herself crazy & me to.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
19 Apr 10
hi dear. so did you find another way to help the itching/allergies? one of the comments above mentions something else you can use. forgot the name now. 
1 person likes this
@catdla1 (6005)
• United States
19 Apr 10
My Tukay suffers from spring and fall allergies, so she gets benadryl during the worst of it. Her vet told me to give it to her, and so far it's really helped. A different vet tried the Prednesone, which did zip for her.
I use a pill crusher to grind it up and add it to her food. She hates medicine, so she gets the benefit without even knowing that it's there.
1 person likes this
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
19 Apr 10
hey never even thought of grinding them. i cut it in 2 with a pill cutter then wrap in a peice of cheese. she knows if she dont eat the whole thing she wont get another little peice of cheese after as she tried eating the cheese off and spitting out the halph pill once so now it goes down. might be easier if i grind it...hhmm. 
good idea
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
20 Apr 10
Hi Bunny
Yes I do it give it to Gissi as he suffers with Hay fever and they help him
It helps Gissi and does not cost me on Vet fees
I also gave Gissi Cough Mixture when I first got him, as he suffered bad with Kennel Cough when I brought him home I never gave him much but it worked
Then there is Cod liver Oil a bit mixed in the Food that helps their joints and bones
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
20 Apr 10
thanks thats a great idea. cod liver oil. its obviously whats in those expensive additives we buy at the pet store. very good.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
19 Apr 10
I have used Benedryl before when Cookie was itchie. She had allergies in Arizona, it was thought to be a grass allergy but when we moved to Ohio that disappeared--and there is grass everywhere! She rarely needs it now.
I've used aspirin to treat pulled muscles and such but only aspirin. Tylenol is poisonous to dogs! Luckily I have a vet that I can call with questions about stuff like that.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
19 Apr 10
you know thats what i could do is call the vet, but i just run to the internet each time i want to know something about my girl. yesterday, my son fixed some broccoli and i figured hed let coco have some since she begs terribley(shes so spoiled) so i ran right away and looked on the internet and come to find out it said feed your dog broccoli often who knew
yesterday, my son fixed some broccoli and i figured hed let coco have some since she begs terribley(shes so spoiled) so i ran right away and looked on the internet and come to find out it said feed your dog broccoli often who knew 
@Fortunata (1135)
• United States
19 Apr 10
I've heard you can use Zyrtec, too. I'm going try it for my cat. Poor thing scratches and scratches her neck. She doesn't have fleas. We've had to put a cover around her neck because she scratches herself bloody. A vet told me awhile back it was allergies, but never suggested a solution. You can use Pepto Bismol too, my brother used it for his dog when it had loose stools.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
19 Apr 10
ive heard about pepto bismol. i keep forgetting to pick up some for just in case. im not sure about zyrtec. id ask a vet if zyrtecs ok and how much. you could probably call him/her.
@MysticTomatoes (1053)
• United States
19 Apr 10
My husband's german shephard is allergic to fleas and bee stings. She's gotten stung before and after we drove all over San Jose trying to find an after hours vet, the one we took her to told us to keep Benadryl on hand and give her about 3 of them next time she got stung. Sure enough, she got stung again later that summer and remembering the Benadryl, I gave her some and she was fine.
I have bad allergies anyway and keep it on hand. You can also give a dog BABY ASPIRIN but NOT Tylenol.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
19 Apr 10
yes i should probably invest in some baby aspirin to keep on hand. i only have regular cheap kind.
@HelloMickey (1655)
• Hong Kong
20 Apr 10
Hello bunnybon7
No, I don't. Actually, as far as I know, we don't have benadryl here in my city. And my dog seldom has any allergies, I once bought a yoga mat back home and he got an allergy that he couldn't breathe, I called the vet immediately (it was 2 in the morning) and my vet told me cleared out all new stuff I just bought, after testing my pug's situation, the vet said he was not in danger and it was not fatal at the moment, the vet then asked me to take him to the clinic the following morning.
My pug did use to get fever before I discovered he had an inflammation of his left ear, I did give me pain-killer, a children's panadol.
