My two pugs each just ate 50mg of rimadyl and 250mg of cephalexin in a pill pocket meant for a 50 lb dog. Do I need to take them to an emergency vet?
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The cephalexin should not be a problem - it's an antibiotic, so you may see some GI upset but no other expected issues. The Rimadyl is more of a concern - it's an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), and we worry about stomach ulcers and kidney damage at high doses. A one-time 50 mg dose in a pug (assuming that your pugs are around 20 lbs, give or take) is unlikely to cause any serious issues; but, the safest course of action would be to take them to the emergency vet just in case - the vet there can induce vomiting and give activated charcoal just to make sure there is no risk to your dogs.
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The recommended dosage is 1mg per lb every 24 hrs. So if they just ate one 50mg tablet of the Rimadyl they should be fine. Just make sure they don't get any more NSAIDs for the next 24 hrs and monitor them for signs of gastrointestinal upset which includes vomiting, diarrhea and lack of appetite. But I doubt they will have any issues with just one dosage, unless they are currently on steroids which can interact badly with an nsaid. In which case you should take them in to the ER vet if they are currently taking any steroid medication.
The cephalexin may cause some GI upset too. A bland diet of boiled chicken and rice or cottage cheese for the next few days should help with that.
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The cephalexin is not a problem, the Rimadyl may be a problem. Since I do not know how much your pugs weigh, it is difficult to figure out how big the overdose was if any. If your pugs weigh around 12.5 lbs then they would have received a double dose of Rimadyl and that would unlikely cause a serious problem. I do not think you need to take your dogs to an emergency veterinarian, however you need to make sure they drink plenty of water. If vomiting and diarrhea occurs, take them to a veterinarian ASAP.
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