Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) Safe? Dose?

[Andrew]

I've given mine benadryl (or the store brand version) many times for various bug stings, allergies to fleas, etc. I've always heard its 1 mg per pound of body weight… not sure on this. I had a ~25 pound boy who got the 25 mg dosage, and currently for my 17 lb girls, I break open the capsule & mix about 2/3 of it in peanut butter.
Just as a note, I'm saying 25 "MG" from memory... but it might be dosed in grams or some other measurement. They should be standard & you should be able to easily find the "25" whatever version, if any of that statement makes any sense at all.

[tanza]

I have given my girls full 25mg with weights from 18lbs to 22lbs

[Kananga]

I've always been told to stay close to 1mg per 1lbs when it comes to dogs and Benadryl. So a 25mg dose should be ideal for an average Basenji.

[AJs Human]

Awesome. Thank y'all for your answers. I'm about to make a doggy very sleepy…and no longer itchy.

[Nemo]

My vet gave me all of this on a reference card, depending on what you have in the house or how often you want to give them a pill.

Benadryl - 25 mg size
1 1/2 tablets every 8 hrs

Claritin (loratidine) - 10 mg
1/2 every 12-24 hrs

Chlor-Trimeton (chloropheniramine) - 8 mg tablets
1/4 tab every 8 hrs

Note: This was for a 20 lb dog.

[Nemo]

@AJs:

Awesome. Thank y'all for your answers. I'm about to make a doggy very sleepy…and no longer itchy.

It takes a lot of benadryl to make a dog sleepy. It doesn't affect them the same way as people.

[Terry]

Thanks Nemo for your list!
I have used Benadryl for bee stings and itching dogs. I have also given it to my boys when they're frantic about the girls being in season and inaccessible. Although the boys didn't really get sleepy, it did seem to at least take some of the edge off. I know it helped my Bruce calm just enough that he could go in the show ring without whining, jumping and spinning during that time of year… He got 1 about 4 - 4 1/2 hours before ring time and another about 30 minutes before.

Terry

[MacPack]

My vet once told me to give Topper (24 lb) 50 mg when he was having a very 'hyper, excited' reaction to something, that did make him sleepy! We gave the 2 pills, then 1 every 8 hours for a couple of days.

[Patty]

I hope the Benadryl does the trick! Poor itchy AJ.

[Kipawa]

Interesting to hear how dogs assimilate the drug differently than people. 75 mg. of the drug can make someone 150 lbs. quite woozy. So thanks to all those here who have shared the dosages. A little basenji getting his nose into his first bumblebee would definitely need some help.

[MacPack]

Dogs may take double the human dose of some drugs, my vet explained that their metabolism requires higher doses. Topper took one cardiac drug twice a day, the human dose was once daily. Other drugs, like antibiotics, are weight based so a dog might take a pediatric dose.

[mandi2doors]

The vet told me to use Benadryl when we were flying from the States to Germany with our two dogs to help with the stress of flying. It didn't last the entire trip but it seemed to help and I used it on the way back as well. My friend has also had success using it on her Min Pin when he starts chewing his paws.

I used the 1mg per pound rule when dosing them to knock them out but my Min Pin friend's vet told her to start with half that amount for allergies, probably so the poor dog would hopefully be able to function on a daily basis lol. Good luck! I hope he feels better soon!

[wizard]

My vet recommended benadryl before vacinations (can't remember the dose now).
However, some months back there was a recall on benadryl so be sure you check the expiration date and get the most recent batch.