Famotidine Dosage for Dogs

Many over-the-counter medications intended for humans can also be used to treat your pets. However, it is very important you check with your veterinarian before administering any human medications to your cat or dog. What's harmless to you can be lethal to an animal. Famotidine is one such drug that, when administered properly, can be used on your dog.

  1. Definition

    • Famotidine is a histamine H2-receptor antagonist. Parietal cells are stomach cells that produce gastric acid when they react with histamine. Famotidine blocks the interaction of histamine and parietal cells, decreasing the level of acid in the digestive system. Chances are, you've never heard of the drug famotidine. Nevertheless, you've more than likely ingested the drug or at least glimpsed it on the shelves of your local drugstore. Pepcid is nothing more than famotidine tablets.

    Function

    • Famotidine alleviates heartburn caused by any number of things such as indigestion in the stomach, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). It can be used in dogs to treat vomiting, nausea, general stomach pains and pain caused from ulcers.

    Dosage

    • Famotidine is sold in various sized tablets and in powdered. A safe amount for a dog is 0.25 to 0.5 mg per lb, once or twice a day. Again, it's best to consult your veterinarian before administering famotidine to any animal.

    Warnings

    • Famotidine should be prescribed with extreme caution for dogs with kidney or liver disease. Also, famotidine does not interact well with other medications, including digoxin and ketoconazole.