[Yorkiemorkiemum]

I would NEVER give advice if it hadn't been given to me by an expert or give my dog something without checking it out with a vet. I certainly wouldn't give paracetamol tablets because you cannot work out weight to dosage ratio with tablets.
Calpol helps with an infection because it helps to lower temperature therefore helping the body fight the infection but obviously if it's bad you would see your vet anyway.
The consultants we have seen all say they are more worried about the use of 'Metacam' which is the usual pain reliever used by vets than Calpol

 

[bogdog]

I too was advised by my vet to give my dogs Calpol as pain relief on several occasions. Tried it once and did not liking using it, so afterwards whenever it was suggested, I would ask the vet for painkillers in tablet form.

Isn't it interesting how opinions differ within the veterinary profession.

 

[Yorkiemorkiemum]

It wasn't my vet to be fair, it was the specialist teams at two different animal hospitals! The consultants were from all over the world and each were experts in their field of spinal and brain surgery and rehabilitation.
They were concerned at the amount of anti inflammatory 'pain relief ' that was not effective for certain acute conditions.
On the other hand however my older Yorkie who passed away last May with liver cancer, was only ever given metacam makes you wonder eh?

 

[Sled dog hotel]

Oh I know it was a response to someone else...I did not check the dates right enough, lol.

But it can and is prescribed for longterm use, Brock has been on it for about 2 years now...

But that doesn't make it OK to use calpol without a vet's say so was more what I meant.

Odd that it says on NOAH and various different sources of the data sheet it mentions 5 days only The pardale I mean

 

[Sled dog hotel]

I think this whole thread shows how very dangerous it is to take lay people's word on anything veterinary. Everyone is absolutely sure they are right so it is fact that it is highly toxic for your dog and fact that is perfectly ok to give. I am glad to say my vets are quite happy to advise the use of human medicines, usually aspirin but also anti histamines. Unless I have used it before I will always check up on dose rates and as I have a dreadful memory often if I have used it before. Giving a cow 30 aspirin taxes the ingenuity of the farmer.

Out of interest and curiosity I wondered what the BSAVA British small animal Veterinary association Formulary says about paracetomol use, I managed to find a 7th addition on line.

Under Paracetamol (acetaminophen) (Paracetomol, Pardale V (parcetamol and codeine phosphate)
It does state that Therapeutic Margin is low in dogs, and due to the strength of the tablets, the risk of overdose is high. Under Overdose causes Liver damage.
So I guess the take home point is you can use it and products containing it like calpol, but only under veterinary instruction and supervision to be completely safe and ensure your not overdosing.

 

[Ceiling Kitty]

Pardale V is licensed for five days, as you've said SDH.

It can be (and frequently is) used off licence for longer periods where indicated and with the owner's informed consent.

I don't use the licensed doses for Pardale V though, they scare me lol.

 

[tabulahrasa]

Odd that it says on NOAH and various different sources of the data sheet it mentions 5 days only The pardale I mean

Pardale V is licensed for five days, as you've said SDH.

It can be (and frequently is) used off licence for longer periods where indicated and with the owner's informed consent.

I don't use the licensed doses for Pardale V though, they scare me lol.

I probably have signed a slip to say it's off licence - I no longer remember as pretty much every painkiller we've tried after he couldn't have NSAIDs has been off licence, lol.

 

[Lilylass]

I probably have signed a slip to say it's off licence - I no longer remember as pretty much every painkiller we've tried after he couldn't have NSAIDs has been off licence, lol.

I have one that can't have nsaids & it does make things much harder

 

[Sled dog hotel]

I probably have signed a slip to say it's off licence - I no longer remember as pretty much every painkiller we've tried after he couldn't have NSAIDs has been off licence, lol.

My old vets towards the end before I changed got you to sign a form as standard regarding human off licence medicines basically a waiver I supose. I hadn't actually been prescribed any I think it was just something that they were doing across the board.

 

[Rosie64]

Odd that it says on NOAH and various different sources of the data sheet it mentions 5 days only The pardale I mean

This is very worrying to me Chip has been on Pardale V since his diagnosis of H D it is only a quarter of a tab daily but I am nervous of giving it to him now,
Will have to phone my vet and have a word about it

 

[Little P]

This is very worrying to me Chip has been on Pardale V since his diagnosis of H D it is only a quarter of a tab daily but I am nervous of giving it to him now,
Will have to phone my vet and have a word about it

I wouldn't worry too much, as Chip has regular reviews as he should do. Licensing drugs for different species and uses costs an absolute fortune hence why some things just aren't licensed (like medications for small furries for example - lots are used, it's known they work and are safe, but only a handful are licensed).

@Ceiling Kitty will ne able to confirm but I'm pretty sure that it's only recently (in the last few years) that the licensing for metacam for cats was changed - was it changed to be licensed to use injectable cat metacam on 2 consecutive days?

Drug licensing is a complicated thing but something not being licensed doesn't necessarily mean it's unsafe as long as it's used at the prescribed dose and schedule and the animal under suitable review

 

[Sled dog hotel]

This is very worrying to me Chip has been on Pardale V since his diagnosis of H D it is only a quarter of a tab daily but I am nervous of giving it to him now,
Will have to phone my vet and have a word about it

Don't know if you saw ceiling Kitty who is a vets post above but she said:-

Pardale V is licensed for five days, as you've said SDH.

It can be (and frequently is) used off licence for longer periods where indicated and with the owner's informed consent.

I don't use the licensed doses for Pardale V though, they scare me lol.

So it does seem that it is often given longer periods, maybe they have just put him on a low maintenance dose and not what would be the full dose to weight ratio
if its only a quarter of a tablet. Obviously though check it with the vet if you are still worried.

 

[Rosie64]

I wouldn't worry too much, as Chip has regular reviews as he should do

So it does seem that it is often given longer periods, maybe they have just put him on a low maintenance dose and not what would be the full dose to weight ratio
if its only a quarter of a tablet. Obviously though check it with the vet if you are still worried.

Thank you both
I have spoken to my vet as you said SDH it is a low maintenance dose , He did start of with a 1/4 3 times a day to get him pain free for a week then went down to the 1/4 to try and keep him pain free, evidently it was explained to me at the time and I signed a consent form saying so because I have shown concern they will do bloods on him at the 6 month point
I am sorry , I tend to panic when I read things like this where he is concerned, I don't want to be responsible for making him ill again he is doing so well

 

[havoc]

My old vets towards the end before I changed got you to sign a form as standard regarding human off licence medicines basically a waiver I supose. I hadn't actually been prescribed any I think it was just something that they were doing across the board.

Is this for the human version or for off licence use of a medication? I've been given a prescription to get the human version of a product from the chemist because the vet didn't have any in stock and didn't have to sign anything. All the regulations say is that the vet must prescribe an animal version if available.

 

[SusieRainbow]

Tango couldn't tolerate Loxicom after her surgery , the vet advised me to buy Calpol and give her that . He worked out the dose for her and I gave what we already had.

 

[Sled dog hotel]

Is this for the human version or for off licence use of a medication? I've been given a prescription to get the human version of a product from the chemist because the vet didn't have any in stock and didn't have to sign anything. All the regulations say is that the vet must prescribe an animal version if available.

It was just a general thing they must have started it just explained that sometimes human medicines could possibly be used but they were off licence so we had to sign to say if one were prescribed that we are aware and would accept it. It was ages ago so cant remember exact wording but that was the jest of it from what I can remember.
I'm not even with the practice now.

 

[Sled dog hotel]

Thank you both
I have spoken to my vet as you said SDH it is a low maintenance dose , He did start of with a 1/4 3 times a day to get him pain free for a week then went down to the 1/4 to try and keep him pain free, evidently it was explained to me at the time and I signed a consent form saying so because I have shown concern they will do bloods on him at the 6 month point
I am sorry , I tend to panic when I read things like this where he is concerned, I don't want to be responsible for making him ill again he is doing so well

You did the right thing checking Rosie especially with the medical issues chip has had in the past, the last thing you want is for something to cause an issue or a flare up of a previous problem. It never does any harm to check things if your not sure or worried about something.

From what I can make out or from what I found in the British small animal veterinary association formulary under paracetamol previous post is that an overdose is dangerous to dogs and can cause amongst other things liver damage. Because dogs can only tolerate a very low dose and nowhere anything like a human can take, it can be very easy to overdose a dog and do harm. The take home point really seems to be dont give dogs paracetomol or anything thats got parcetamol in it unless under the instructions of a vet who will tell you whats safe to give.

 

[Freyja]

Tabitha was given Loxicom after having her leg pinned the vet told me it was the animal verson of Calpol

 

[paddyjulie]

I've never had to sign anything for Mavis's Tramadol I was just told it wasn't licensed for use in animals :-/

As for Pardale v I have some which I bought myself online there is no requirement for a prescription, I have only given very rarely before we were given the tramadol

 

[tabulahrasa]

I've never had to sign anything for Mavis's Tramadol I was just told it wasn't licensed for use in animals :-/

As for Pardale v I have some which I bought myself online there is no requirement for a prescription, I have only given very rarely before we were given the tramadol

They've both changed...relatively recently.

Tramadol I used to have to sign for, till about, hmm 3 years ago I think, then the licensing changed.

Pardale was prescription only when we started him on it and that's changed in the 2 years he's been on it.

Is this for the human version or for off licence use of a medication? I've been given a prescription to get the human version of a product from the chemist because the vet didn't have any in stock and didn't have to sign anything. All the regulations say is that the vet must prescribe an animal version if available.

I've had to sign for prescriptions for human drugs, but they were ones that there isn't an animal equivalent for at all and I'm pretty sure we're off licence as well, so I'm not sure which I was signing for.