Dogs have a very sensitive digestive system, and it can fail even when changing the diet. Incorrect gastrointestinal tract function may be accompanied by vomiting. What to do in this case? Some amateur dog breeders wonder if the Cerucal dog, designed for humans, can be used. Instructions for animals are not there, but you can familiarize yourself with the rules of administration and dosage in this article. Let’s figure out whether it is possible to give this drug to an animal without consulting a doctor.
Drug action
Cerucal acts on the brain to suppress gagging. The drug is available in two forms - tablets and compositions for injection. The tablets are packaged, as expected, in cardboard boxes, and the composition for injections - in glass ampoules of 2 ml in volume.
The action of Cerucal on dogs is fast. If you gave the pills, then they will work in about 30-40 minutes. If you injected under the skin or intramuscularly, then the action will begin in 15 minutes. The fastest result is given by intravenous injections, they act almost immediately - after a couple of minutes.
The composition of the drug
It is worth paying attention to the components of the drugs, for each of the forms of release it varies. A single component is the main active ingredient - metoclopramide hydrochloride monohydrate.
In tablets, the auxiliary components are as follows:
- gelatin;
- starch;
- sodium stearate;
- lactose monohydrate;
- silica.
In the composition for injection, the following excipients:
- saline solution;
- sodium sulfite;
- sodium chloride;
- edetate disodium.
Detailed instructions are included in the package with the drug, but there are no dosages and indications for use for animals.
The purpose of the drug
Cerucal can be given to a dog for the following reasons for vomiting:
- The animal swallowed a foreign object, it injured the tissue, vomiting appeared.
- Disturbed liver or kidney function.
- Due to taking other medications.
There are many other diseases in which it is necessary to stop vomiting. "Cerucal" for a dog can be prescribed as an addition to the main therapy for the following ailments:
- ulcer and its exacerbation;
- affecting the digestive organs of the disease;
- flatulence;
- chronic hiccups and others.
In addition to the therapeutic effect, “Cerucal” can be used to eliminate vomiting reflexes during the examination of the gastrointestinal tract, when it is necessary to introduce a probe, or conduct an x-ray with barium.
A full-fledged medicine will not help with poisoning, because it only stops vomiting. For example, the cause of vomiting was a “foul smelling” rotten piece picked up on the street, or chemical poisoning, carbon monoxide poisoning occurred. In this case, you can give the drug, but you need to contact the veterinarian as soon as possible to prescribe drugs that remove toxins.
"Cerucal" to the dog with vomiting during a viral disease will help, but, again, you can only stop this symptom. If the animal has ceased to vomit frequently, this does not mean that it has recovered. Viruses "go" the most terrible, and many of them are deadly if you do not apply the necessary treatment.
Is a veterinarian appointment mandatory?
No expert will say that you can give even the most harmless medicine without the prior advice of a professional. "Cerucal" for dogs is a certain danger, since there are a lot of contraindications and side effects can occur. Dosage is difficult to calculate if there is no accurate information about the weight of the pet, and the diagnosis is not made.
If the dog began to vomit, then you need to invite a veterinarian to the house. He will examine the animal, make a preliminary diagnosis and send it for examination. If it is not possible to call a doctor, then you need to take your four-legged friend to the clinic yourself. To keep the road calm, the dog did not spoil the upholstery of the car and felt comfortable, you can give a minimum dose of “Tserukal”, or even better, use a completely harmless “Smecta”.
Dosage "Cerucal" for dogs in tablets
Only an expert armed with pharmacy scales can measure the exact fraction of the tablet. The fact is that the dose of “Cerucal” to the dog is very small, and is measured depending on the weight of the dog and its condition.
- The calculation is carried out for 10 kilograms of weight! If the dog feels satisfactory, does not vomit often, or Cerucal is prescribed as an adjunct to the main therapy, then 0.5 mg of the substance is measured per 10 kilograms of weight.
- In case of severe vomiting and poor condition of the animal, 0.7 mg of the drug should be measured for every 10 kilograms of weight.
The whole difficulty is that in one tablet contains as much as 10 mg. That is, it is more or less less accurate to measure the dose only to a large-sized animal - more than 20 kilograms.
Per day, “Cerucal” can be given no more than 3 times. The daily dose per 10 kilograms of weight should not exceed 2 mg. In any case, you need to contact the veterinarian, only he can make an accurate calculation. If you make a mistake, give the drug more than expected, then you can greatly harm the health of the animal.
In the case when vomiting does not stop, tablets are completely contraindicated. The fact is that the pet part will burp back, and then it will be simply unrealistic to understand what dose was still swallowed.
How to give a pill?
It’s difficult for dogs to give medicine, not a single animal voluntarily, especially during vomiting, will not take the drug. So that the dog at least swallows the product and it is absorbed faster, you need to grind the measured part of the tablet. mix with a little water. Next, the medicine is pumped into the syringe without a needle, forcibly injected under the root of the tongue. you need to keep the dog's head raised until the medicine "falls" into the stomach.
Injection "Tserukala"
The easiest way is to calculate the dosage for the administration of the drug intramuscularly. It is intramuscularly, if you yourself will introduce the drug. Do not risk finding a vein on your own, and even less so by injecting it!
Instructions for dogs "Cerucal" in the form of injections are the same as for tablets: no more than 3 times a day, 0.5-0.7 mg for every 10 kilograms of animal weight. Measuring here is quite simple, because in one ml of the drug contains 5 mg of the substance. If the pet is small, you can use a more convenient insulin syringe.
The drug is introduced into the withers. The skin needs to be lifted up, a needle is inserted under the skin and a medicine is administered.
Side effects and overdose
Any medicine can give a side effect, and Cerucal is no exception, because it affects brain activity. So, as a result of taking the drug, the following symptoms may appear:
- irritability, or vice versa, drowsiness;
- abnormal lethargy;
- anxiety;
- allergic reaction;
- refusal of food.
If one of these symptoms appears, you should immediately stop taking Cerucal and consult a doctor for another drug. If, after a day after taking the last dose, the symptoms of side effects do not stop, contact your veterinarian.
With an incorrectly calculated dose, an overdose may occur in a larger direction. Symptoms may include:
- the dog may lose orientation in space;
- arrhythmia, decreased heart rate;
- respiratory arrest.
If one of these signs of an overdose appears, you need to get to the veterinarian as soon as possible.
Contraindications
Cerucal for dogs has a number of contraindications. For some of them, the use of the drug is completely contraindicated, while for others it is possible to use the medicine, but only with the permission of the veterinarian and under his strict control.
It is absolutely necessary to refuse if the dog has:
- asthma;
- neoplasms;
- individual intolerance to some components of the product;
- epilepsy or convulsive seizures of unknown origin;
- puppies up to 8 months old;
- intestinal and gastric bleeding;
- obstruction of the intestine with foreign objects.
With caution and only under the supervision of a specialist:
- pregnant dogs;
- feeding puppies;
- dogs with liver or kidney failure.
In the end, I would like to repeat: even if the dog has no contraindications, you can not prescribe treatment yourself. Vomiting is very serious, it can indicate a serious illness!