In the next article we will talk about furosemide for dogs. This medication is a diuretic that can be prescribed by a veterinary professional., in order to contribute to the elimination of liquids. It is convenient to insist that furosemide can be given to our pet as long as this is under a veterinarian's control.
Read on to discover the number of doses of furosemide for dogs, the various presentations that the drug can have and the probable side effects and when it is better not to give it to the dog.
What is furosemide for in dogs?
It is never advisable to self-medicate your pet, given that doing so, we can cause serious problems that will end up affecting the health of our dog, as we will indicate in the following lines.
Furosemide is an active principle that has the function of serving as a diuretic., which indicates that it helps to eliminate fluids when they are highly accumulated in the body. It is a drug that can also be administered to people. It is convenient to be aware that today, there are other diuretics, such as torasemide, which at times is more effective and can also be prescribed by a professional.
There are various reasons that can promote fluid accumulation that we have mentioned. Therefore, the use of furosemide in heart disease dogs stands out. In the pathologies of the heart, several alterations originate in the body that contribute to the accumulation of fluids in various areas of the body.
A clear example of this is give furosemide to dogs with ascites, where the accumulation of fluid occurs in the abdominal cavity or in dogs with pulmonary edema, when the large amount of fluid has lodged in their lungs. Similarly, the heart failure it is another reason why furosemide should be administered in the dog.
Possibly the above cases are the most common where furosemide is used in dogs, in addition to kidney pathologies, since dogs that suffer from it can suffer from edema. This medicine can be given once in a while or long-term.
How It Works
The effect of this medicine usually occurs very quickly, although what it takes to act and stay will vary according to the active principle chosen by the professional. We will notice them in an obvious way, since for eliminate excess fluid in the body, the dog will really want to urinate and will do so repeatedly in large quantities.
This mechanism tends to quickly stabilize your pet's health. An example, a dog that suffers from edema in his lungs, it is normal for him to suffer from a cough, either mild or very serious, since the presence of the liquid in the lungs hinders his ability to obtain the necessary oxygen to breathe well. With the consumption of this drug an attempt is made to make breathing more fluid and therefore decrease the cough.
Introducing Furosemide for Dogs
This medicine can come in two forms, either by injection or as a tablet. Either furosemide in injection or tablet should be prescribed by a veterinarian. The same way, the two formats offer the same effectiveness in their use, although it should be mentioned that the injection version is more effective, faster than furosemide in its version for tablets.
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The exact dose of this drug is impossible to obtain and it works equally in all dogs. There is no set amount of the drug and no single way to administer it. This is because each dog will present an individual table.
Dogs will accumulate a greater or lesser amount of fluid, will present acute or mild symptoms or their hydration level will differ. Therefore, a dose of this medicine has been determined, both maximum and minimum, but it will be the professional who is in charge of choosing the correct one for your dog, taking into account the different factors that have been mentioned.
Also and according to the evolution of the dog's health, the dose of this medicine may change, in the same way as the number of times it is given in the day. For all these reasons, although our pet has already been administered the medication, a past dose should not be given on our own, since this could not be enough and, therefore, his health would not improve and even be counterproductive for the state he has, even causing him to become intoxicated.
Furosemide in dogs: adverse effects
It should be considered that with the drug administered, liquids will be removed, so the hydration of the dog must be regulated. An incorrect supply of this medicine can cause our pet to become dehydrated, for this reason, in the most harmful situations, the diuretic must be supplied by the same expert.
Although diuretics contain a high margin of safety, they can cause other effects, either temporary diarrhea and if the dose is higher than that recommended by the veterinarian, we can cause intoxication. Poisoning from this drug can be harmful, although this will be subject to the status of the dog and the amount supplied.
It can produce symptoms such as very dehydration, thirst, a large amount of urine passed, listlessnesssevere, kidney failure problems, which is very detrimental to the health of the dog, where you should immediately take it to the vet, in addition to alterations in its heart rate.
Contraindications of furosemide in dogs
Regarding the contradictions of the medicine, caution should be considered in dog breeds whose blood pressure is low, dehydrated, when they suffer from kidney diseases without producing urine, with liver pathologies or diabetes. In addition, it is necessary to be attentive if the bitch is pregnant or lactating. Similarly, be cautious about its supply in very old or weak dogs.
The article is only informative, so if you want a more reliable opinion and with the power to determine what is best for your dog, you must go to a vet, this will be in charge of guiding you through this whole process until you can improve the health of your pet.
Moreover, you should always be attentive to these casesOtherwise, your dog's health can deteriorate, causing death and thus losing a great companion. In addition to damaging their quality of life.
Remember pets are companions of life, therefore they not only deserve respect, but also love and attention, in this way you will ensure that he can live his years in a calm way and without any type of complication in his health beyond the symptoms that occur because of the old age.