Common Medications

American BioSciences
Blauvelt

Antibiotics are the best weapon in our medical arsenal for fighting bacterial infections in dogs. Prescribed and given appropriately, antibiotics give our dogs the best chance at recovery from an infection.

Tylenol, or acetaminophen, is a go-to pain reliever for humans, but it can be deadly to dogs. Do not give your dog any Tylenol for any reason.

Traditionally dispensed solely from the veterinarian’s office, prescription drugs for companion dogs represent a ripe peach – ready for picking by retail chain pharmacies and emerging Internet-based pharmacies that have sniffed out a promising new niche in the lucrative pharmaceutical market. These drug retailers have discovered the more than 35 million dog owners in the United States who anticipate the same access to sophisticated medicines for their dogs as they have come to expect for themselves.

Whole Dog Journal readers often try techniques and products described in the magazine, but sometimes years go by before we need something we read about, or it disappears from the market, or we have trouble finding it, or we simply forget all about it. Last month we revisited green tripe, Seacure, and Willard Water. Here are two more go-to products featured in previous issues that might now be perfect for you and your dog, Wobenzym & EMT Gel/Spray.

Drug of choice for treating tick-borne disease and heartworm is unavailable (or unaffordable) due to supply bottleneckWhen my newest search and rescue partner, Cole, fell apart during a certification test in May 2012, I had accumulated enough hard lessons to know my next move. We didn't need to revisit our training protocol or take his nose in for a tune-up. We were at our vet's office the next morning for bloodwork.

A few years ago, I was at my vet’s office when an older couple brought in a Chihuahua puppy who was very ill. Despite the staff’s best efforts, less than an hour later the pup was dead. The cause? A drug overdose, due to a prescription error made by a human pharmacy.

There are almost as many opinions among veterinarians concerning the use of corticosteroids as there are veterinarians. Some feel that these drugs – prednisone, prednisolone, methylprednisolone, and dexamethasone foremost among them – are invaluable to every dog who itches; some feel that corticosteroids ought to be used only as a last resort, and only for short periods and in small amounts. Still others regard them as verboten. Why are these drugs so controversial?

My Border Collie Daisy trained for the world record in the hack put" event. This soon-to-be Olympic sport involves hacking pills from the back of the throat as far as possible across the room. Her record is 1.2 meters

Enzymes given with food are used for digestion, but certain enzymes (proteases, which break down proteins) can also help with inflammation, pain, recovery from injury, and more when given apart from food. Systemic enzyme therapy, also called metabolic or proteolytic enzyme therapy, allows enzymes to enter the body where they can be used for healing rather than digestion. Examples of proteolytic enzymes include pancreatin, trypsin, and chymotrypsin (from the pancreas); bromelain (from pineapple); and papain (from papaya).

Purchasing veterinary medications such as heartworm preventatives online can offer significant cost savings, but how can you be sure that you're buying the real thing and not counterfeit products from China, which can be impossible to tell apart? I recently read about a dog who tested positive for heartworms despite being given monthly preventative medications. The reason may be that the heartworm preventative the owner purchased online was not what it claimed to be.