What dose of Allegra can dogs take safely?

Answer 1

YES they can Cornell University did a study and it is safe and effective in many cases Yes. My vet prescribed it for our miniature Schnauzer

I WOULD NOT give it to them unless you have gone to vet and asked if it was necessary or if there was a safe alternative

Answer 2

I am a small animal veterinarian in central Florida. Allergic animals probably occupy most of my time over my 13 year career. I agree with most of what the last person posted regarding antihistamines in dogs. However, like most breeders/trainers, given the opportunity, they will label vets as money hungry the first chance they get. I have treated dogs just like their large, itchy German Shepherd for years and years. Every animal responds differently to both antihistamines and steroids to control their Allergies. It is much more complicated than just giving a pill in many cases. Lots of variables affect an animals allergic symptoms. What an animal is allergic to and how much exposure that animal has to that particular allergen is most important. If we can identify that allergen and avoid it, awesome. If not, we have to deal with the symptoms as best we can.

I recommend using antihistamines (over the counter) to every client that comes in with an allergic pet. I always tell them to try the antihistamine first to see how that helps. Every animal responds differently to antihistamines, so trying different ones to see which one helps your pet is a good idea.

I just wanted to respond quickly to the last post. I read similar posts all the time online, and they always seem to end up bashing vets as money hungry out for a buck only. I don't know one vet that practices like that, and I know many. Veterinarians in general are the most ethical and honest professionals out there. We are taught to treat animals with respect and above all else, to do no harm. Hope this person that posted the last comment gives vets more respect as a partner in keeping our animals healthy.

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2nd Answer: We have given our German Shepard with Allergies Allegra for years. It is by far the best choice we have found. If you go to the vet they will give your dog either cortisone shots, or diphenhydramine (benadryl) which is none other than a first generation antihistamine. First generation antihistamines have been known to offer great power, but two major flaws, first they are short acting (won't last more than a few hours requiring you to dose more frequently, increasing the sedation rate) and second the sedation rate is enormous. We were doing agility and obedience trials with our dogs and did not want to put them in a medicine cloud. (A side note, Ever wonder what Tylenol and other products add to their PM formulas to make them sedating... well its none other than Benadryl.)

There are 5 Branded Antihistamines that are options. Claritin; there have been several clinical trials with Claritin that show the Placebo outperformed the actual chemical compound and the Medical Letter ended their review of the Claritin "spin off" Clarinex, by saying there "was no good reason to use it." This is without a doubt the weakest of all the Antihistamines. If a human found relief with this product it is simply because they did not require a more powerful medicine, or they were a lighter sufferer.

Zyrtec and its "spin off" Xyzal. Both are sedating, and Xyzal is so powerful (congestion relief) at even half a tablet that humans have severe dry mouth. This equates to your dog drinking more... can cause issues with dogs pottying in crates and not being able to go their normal stint without having to be let out. The only reason, I would ever consider these two is if the dog had liver issues. All the antihistamines are metabolized by the kidneys but Allegra. Allegra uses the liver to be metabolized, so if your dog has liver issues Zyrtec=sedating (but less than Benadryl) is a better choice than the "overpowering - super drying" of Xyzal.

That leaves Good-old ALLEGRA. Allegra was actually tested on Beagles in the lab when they did the initial studies to determine toxicity levels. (How high they could safely start the dosing in human trials.)

Allegra has the fewest side effects, the best half life and is the only NON SEDATING antihistamine. Now some will argue Zyrtec and the others weren't that sedating for them. That's a big difference in a 150 pound adult or your 45 pound dog. And as someone who has had access to all the medicines, all the journal articles, all the clinical trials... the only one I would use is Allegra.

Now what about dosing... There is a pediatric does of 60mg. That is really going to be the best choice for just about every dog. However our German Shepard has severe allergies and weighs 125 pounds. We started him on 60mg to see how he would do, and decided to move him to the adult dose of 180mg. Again really bad allergies, really big dog. Whatever you use for allergies make sure you dose at the same time everyday.

We have a new dog and he is lighter so we split the 180mg tablets in half= 90mg.

Special Note: If you are using the generic Allegra versus the branded, you are only guaranteed to have 80% bioequivalence to the branded medicine. What that means is the Generics are not exact copies of the branded, and they may not give the same results. Either way I would not take my dog above the 60mg dose. After all Allegra does not harm the liver but just like all of us, many many medicines are metabolized by the liver so the less you have needing the liver, the better they will be if you have to add other medicines for other reasons.

THERE ARE NO PUBLISHED STUDIES WITH ALLEGRA AND DOGS. I have wished for years they would make a formulation and market it to VETS. I have even contacted the company to encourage them to use this medicine in the Vet Industry.

Vets will not encourage you to use any medicine they do not sell. This is how they make their livelihood, not from the visits that pay for staff and lights... They need to sell the marked up medicines to make a profit. Not to mention I stated earlier there are no PUBLISHED studies with brand antihistamines and dogs, so they can not recommend it to you. They simply haven't seen the data.

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A follow-up on the above. There have been a couple of studies conducted on dogs. It has been done on one of the active ingredients in Allegra, Fexofenadine. One concludes with a marked improvement and the other one investigated toxicity level, which is non-existing. I would also recommend using low doses as it is more effective than in humans, but this can be adjusted over time by observing the dog.

Answer 3

My sons border collie was treated with 2 to 8 mg every 8 hours as an alternative to Cortisone and he is very happy with the results .

Answer 4

no why would a dog take cromain dummy

Answer 5

I don't think you should give him anything. If their allergies are bad, take them to the vet. I know a lot of medicines used for humans are not safe for dogs.

Answer 6

no. the dog will get very sick

Answer 7

Can I give my dog an allergex tabelet for his allergies, because he keeps on licking himself