Not our dog’s best week

Poor Serena. First, she got cut running her heart out to retrieve the Buddy Glow Ball that I had thrown. Then, she got poisoned (sort of) when Laurel gave her a Gabapentin (Neurontin) pill instead of the Amoxi-capsule antibiotic that the emergency vet prescribed after stitching her up.

Here’s a phone number that every animal owner should have ready at hand: the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, 1-800-548-2423 (or 1-888-426-4435). Our local vet said that if we wanted to pay $50 for a consultation, we should call the center and learn how serious taking 100 mg of Gabapentin would be for a dog.

Both medications were in similar green bottles, so Laurel absent-mindedly picked up the wrong bottle as she was in the midst of telling me something. It wasn’t until after Serena had swallowed the butter-encased Gabapentin and she took a glance at the container that a cry of “Oh my god I gave her the wrong pill what are we going to do!” echoed in our kitchen.

While Laurel phoned our vet I raced off to my computer to Google “Gabapentin dog.” I quickly learned that Gabapentin/Neurontin was used to treat dog seizures with doses of 100 to 300 mg every eight hours. The only problem was, Serena doesn’t have seizures. So our vet advised that she be given a quarter cup of hydrogen peroxide to make her throw up both the pill and a full meal that she had just eaten.

All three of us felt terrible as Serena retched on the linoleum after a few minutes. Well, two of us felt worse than the third, since Serena was the one throwing up, Laurel was the one poking through vomit looking for the pill, and I was merely still searching for information on the Internet about how Gabapentin would affect a healthy dog. Once we reached the Poison Control Center (after being on hold for several minutes--not desirable for such an entity) we were told that the Gabapentin dose was so mild, the vomiting wasn't necessary. Well, we can't blame the vet for playing it safe.

A couple of lessons can be gained from this experience. One, if you have a pet, be sure to have a poison safety kit on hand. Fortunately we had some hydrogen peroxide that wasn’t too far past its expiration date, because it worked. There must be other ways to make a dog throw up, but giving Serena the quarter cup of hydrogen peroxide was easy and effective. Sticking a finger down a dog’s throat seems like a decidedly less desirable option (especially if you’re interested in keeping all of your fingers).

Two, practice mindfulness. Laurel wasn’t fully conscious of what she was doing when she opened the pill container. I act similarly, often. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve parked the car, started to walk away, and then thought, “Did I lock the car?” I always go back to check. And I always find that I’ve locked the car. But I wasn’t conscious of locking the car even though I was pressing the “lock” button.

How much do we do without really knowing what we’re doing? Life is too short to be gone through unaware. And unawareness also is too dangerous for dogs and other living things, as evidenced by what a difference picking up one pill bottle rather than another makes.

Serena is fine. Her cuts are healing and she’s even back to playing some Buddy Ball (I’ve put cushioning around the edges of the well house roof in case our dog ever is unaware again of where she’s running).

[Note: the original version of this post had the Poison Control Center recommending that Serena be made to throw up, whereas actually it was our local vet. I've corrected what I mistakenly first wrote because I didn't want to leave an impression that the Center failed to realize that 100 mg of Gabapentin is a mild dose for a dog.]

Comments

YOUR CRAZY, NEURONTIN IS PERSCRIBED FOR DOGS WITH SEIZURES, HOW COULD IT HAVE POISONED YOUR DOG? DOGS GET BIG DOSES OF THAT MED 10MG/KG.

[pam]

Although it is prescribed for epileptic dogs, my non-epileptic 55lb pup (7mos) got hold of a neurontin bottle this morning and after the panic and calls to both my vet and the animal poison control center all is well. There was no indication of how much of the 10mg pills she injestested-all were accounted for, but broken with the contents on the floor. I was on hold with poison control for too long and never waited to speak with anyone. It was my vet who suggested the peroxide. The info I found on the net was that up to 100mg/8hrs can be prescribed for an epileptic dog. Unlike humans, their liver metabolizes the medication so a higher dose is suppsedly more effective. Thanks for your story!

[Michelle]

Our beautiful cocker spaniel recently had surgery performed on both rear legs a month apart. One of the prescribed medications in her recover process was 100mg of Gabapentin.

[Katie]

So glad your sweet dog is ok.

This is dangerous guidance on peroxide to induce vomiting for dogs. The vet should have known the 100mg of gabapetin was ALOT safer than prescribing peroxide to induce vomiting. The practice of inducing VOMITING WITH PEROXIDE can be HAZARDOUS in itself.

Glad it all turned out and hope you found a new pet!

[Blogger Brian]

Katie, I see your point -- that it would have been OK to let our dog digest the gabapentin. However, on the question of whether hydrogen peroxide is dangerous for dogs, when it's used in the correct dosage to make them throw up, I didn't see any general warnings when I Googled "hydrogen peroxide dog."

I did find some specific contraindications on this site:
http://www.dog-first-aid-101.com/induce-vomiting.html

Like if the dog has swallowed something caustic. Then vomiting could burn the esophagus. But otherwise it seems that it's fine to use hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting when this is necessary.

[Jake]

It is also given to dogs with cancer pain.
They gave him Tramodol (Ultram) and he had a very bad reaction. I am hesitant to give him this. I think codine would be safer.

[dogmomita]

It's the xylitol in the neurontin that can be fatal for dogs. The compound for dogs doesn't have it and is called deramaxx.

[Leeanne]

Actually our dog has been on gabapentin for back issues and it has helped quite a bit. He is 85 lbs. and takes 400 mg every 12 hours. I contacted the company who makes gabapentin (neurontin generic) that is a Pfizer shoot off company. The pills do not have the Xylitol in them, it is the liquid form. Xylitol is toxic to dogs, so it is best to get the pharmacist to compound if your dog needs gabapentin for seizures or pain-management. They are using gabapentin quite frequently now for pain-management, as it is not as bad as the NSAIDS. A previous poster that said that Deramaxx was the compound without it is mistaken, as that is not the same type of anti-inflammatory group as gabapentin.

Glad that your dog is ok and that you are such loving owners to have gone through all the measures to figure out/resolve the issue when it happened. We all can make those scary mistakes when doctoring your dog, especially if you get home with several prescribed meds! I will definately use your insight in the future to make sure I don't have a similar accident with all the similar pill bottles lined up for him!

[Jackie]

Very unnecessary reaction to taking one gabapentin. Very upset to hear that your dog had to experience what it did due to such poor advise.

[chairwoman]

My GSD takes Gabapentin twice a day for pain relief. She does not have seizures. I think your vet was a bit enthusiastic, but I'm British and allowing for cultural differences.

[Eileen Young]

Hello, is there anyone out there that can help me, My dog only weighs 18 lbs. He found a pill of my, ait was 300 MGs, I am not sure what to do, I do not have money to take him to the vet, Thank you if you can help.

[Eileen Young]

I lost the last post I made, My dog is fine.

[Jeanne Seltzer]

My dog is currently on tramadol and gabapentin. Does that seem OK? It seems that both drugs are for pain relief. She also is taking Previcox. She is very arthritic, has large tumors, CATARACTS and seems to be happy and sweet. She is 12 yo and 73 lbs.

[Lisa]

my weimeraner was on gapapentin and tramadol for about a month. she has a torn muscle and a few days ago she can longer walk well with out falling over .IS THE MEDICINE THAT MADE HER THAT WAY AND WILL SHE GET BETTER.

[Jen]

My 18 lbs yorkie mix chewed on a neurontin 400mg pill I must have dropped accidentally on the floor. I just found it and animal poison control wants money to answer any questions! I don't have $60 to give them. There's still some powder left in the capsule so she didn't ingest the whole 400mg but idk what to do. The multiple vets have said to call animal control cuz they have never heard of neurontin and/or gabapentin! Which I think is ridiculous! (Especially after seeing other posts of dogs being prescribed it in posts above) I want to know if I should give her peroxide to make her throw up just in case? Please help and thank u!

[gaz]

Gabapentin seems to be a very commonly used pain medication in dogs. Surprising the vet did not know the ins and outs of it. Maybe a younger vet?

Merckvetmanual.com gives doses used in animals in mg/kg and the dose intervals.