Dog Pain Killers

Dog Pain Killers

Acetylsalicylic Acid (Aspirin) is something all dog owners want to give their dogs. The derivatives of salicylic acid, a synthetic drug made from coal tar, are numerous, but only acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) is of much interest to pet owners. The salicylates act to reduce fever slightly. No effect on heat production is noticed, but the heat loss is heightened by bringing the blood to the body surface where, in shorthaired dogs, it tends to dissipate.

We can judge the effect of aspirin as a painkiller only by questioning human subjects. They assure us it does not relieve sore throat, toothache, or pain in the intestines. It does afford relief from neuralgia or arthritic pains. In canine encephalitis, when dogs are bound to have headaches, aspirin may be effective. Salicylates do not exert germ-kill-in power in the blood, so should not be given to cure disease. The dose for an adult human is five to fifteen grains (the usual aspirin tablet contains five grains). It is evident from this what a huge dose of only one five-grain tablet is to a dog, for instance, or to a twelve-pound dog. If the dog weighs twenty-five pounds, it weighs one-sixth as much as an average human being. One tablet for the dog is equivalent to giving a person six tablets an overdose, especially when given four or five times a day. Half a tablet is enough for the twenty-five-pound dog, while a grown St. Bernard can be given three with safety. 

Many dogs cannot tolerate aspirin and vomit from it. In overdoses, vomiting with blood is a danger signal. Always give aspirin-containing tablets wrapped in food to prevent the pill from resting on the delicate gastric wall and causing local irritation.

Dilating is one of the drugs used as an anticonvulsant to lessen convulsions. Equivalent doses of it are far more efficient than phenobarbital. Doses of one grain daily for a forty-pound dog, or even as high as one and a half grains, produce excellent results. A St. Bernard needs only three or four grains. One has to experiment with Dilating in slightly varying amounts on each pet to determine the proper dose.

Pinioned is another anticonvulsant effective in some cases of epilepsy.

Morphine and Opiates (Morphine, Paregoric, and Codeine)are derived from the poppy and are used in veterinary medicine. Morphine is being used less frequently today; many veterinarians no longer use opiates since they are convinced that other drugs work just as well or better. There are other vets, however, who still believe that it stands at the top of the list as a painkiller.

Morphine kills pain and brings sleep but produces constipation. Paregoric (camphorated tincture of opium) is used to induce similar effects, but the concentration of the opiate is so slight that there is less danger in its use. In general, paregoric produces a quieting effect while at the same time relieving pain. Like morphine, it produces constipation. These drugs cause the pupils of the eyes to contract to smaller than normal, varying with the size of the dose given. Paregoric, which causes the mobility of the intestines to decrease, will produce definite sleepiness in dogs but causes cats to become restless.

Paregoric with 0.4 opium is given in fairly large doses. When a forty-pound dog has been poisoned and is hemorrhaging bloody diarrhea, a drastic dose of a teaspoonful three times a day may be necessary. A. giant dog with diarrhea can massage two teaspoonfuls. For small puppies with diarrhea from six drops in a little water up to one-fourth of a teaspoon for a six-week-old Collie puppy has proved successful. Your veterinarian will tell you the safest dose for your pet. This old preparation is still useful in veterinary medicine.

Codeine in syrups is used considerably to control coughing. Opium or any of its derivatives accomplishes this result. Whether its use is sensible therapeutically depends on the kind of cough. If phlegm has accumulated in the pet’s air passages and coughing helps to remove it, then why should the cough be stopped except because it annoys the owner? Codeine is sometimes used as a drug of last resort to control heart cough which often accompanies chronic heart disease. But if the cough is a dry, useless, hacking spasm, opiates or any antitoxic are indicated.

See more: Dog Pancreatitis