Dogs cannot take sleeping pills or many other medications made for humans. The dosage for human medication is often based on how much the average person weighs. A dog weighs far less than a human and so would suffer a drug overdose if given a human sleeping pill. There are no federally approved sleeping pills made specifically for dogs.
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Data
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The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center collated data on 33 dogs that accidentally swallowed Ambien (zolpidem tartrate), a popular prescription sleeping pill, between the years 1998 and 2000. All of the dogs, of various breeds and mixed breeds, showed signs of poisoning after taking these sleeping pills.
Symptoms
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Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics (Jim E. Riverie, et al, 2009) reports of 40 percent of dogs that accidentally swallowed human sleeping pills showed marked changes in behavior. Many of the dogs became hyperactive or even aggressive. Other symptoms were loss of coordination, seizures, vomiting, excessive drooling, excessive panting, elevated heart rate and nonstop barking or whining. A dog may not show all these symptoms in order to have sleeping pill poisoning.
Time Frame
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According to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, dogs began to show signs of sleeping pill poisoning within one hour of swallowing the medication. Symptoms lasted up to 12 hours but in that time a dog could die. "The Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook" (Debra M. Eldredge, DVM, et al; 2007) recommends immediately making a dog vomit if it exhibits the symptoms of sleeping pill poisoning, unless the dog is already vomiting. Induce vomiting in a dog by giving one teaspoon of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide for every 10 pounds that the dog weighs. Afterwards, call a vet.
Tranquilizers
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Tranquilizers are only prescribed to dogs with severe behavioral or neurological conditions such as epilepsy--not because they can't get to sleep at a time convenient for their owners. These tranquilizers include the human tranquilizers Valium (diazepam) and acepromazine and the antidepressant Prozac (fluoxetine hydrochloride), which is often sold to vets under the brand name Reconcile. However, these drugs may not make a dog drowsy. The dosages are small enough just to calm a dog down but perhaps not fall asleep.
Other Tips
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Exercise tires a dog out. Make sure a seemingly sleepless dog has enough exercise to get drowsy. If the sleepless dog is more than eight years old and has other symptoms such as coordination problems, housebreaking accidents or getting stuck in corners of the room, this could be a sign of canine cognitive dysfunction (also known as "doggy dementia".) See a vet as soon as possible.
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