# Canine drug dosages



## Medico (May 26, 2015)

Good evening, everyone. 

I was having a conversation with a colleague who stated that when treating K9's, their drug dosage can be determined by use of the broselow tape. Is this true? If so, is the measurement from snout to butt or shoulder to hip? 

I cannot find any information referencing the specific use of broselow tape. Knowing the doses are weight based, it makes sense.


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## DesertMedic66 (May 26, 2015)

@DEmedic, well your wife haha


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## Gurby (May 26, 2015)

This would definitely depend on the breed of dog.  Maybe it's true for German Shepherds, I don't know.  But, for instance, certain breeds of dog have no trouble tolerating a flea collar whereas some dogs will die because their bodies can't process the toxin.  A vet forum would be a better place to ask this!


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## NomadicMedic (May 26, 2015)

My wife said a resounding NO.

and she asked "why are you treating canines?"

... The she said, "drive fast to a vet".

Hahah. I laughed. She laughed.

Then she said, "I'm serious".


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## NYBLS (May 26, 2015)

DEmedic said:


> My wife said a resounding NO.
> 
> and she asked "why are you treating canines?"
> 
> ...




What about the cases of fluids or analgesia in burns?


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## DrankTheKoolaid (May 26, 2015)

If your serious about working TacMed to include K9 medicine don't do the EMS minimalist education approach. Go actually learn to care for the animals under the teams Vet.


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## Carlos Danger (May 27, 2015)

There are lots of textbooks out there on vet anesthesia, some of which I've inadvertently come across for free on the internet.

Not the same as emergency medicine, but they would probably have dosages for all the resuscitation meds, as well as plenty of info on airway management techniques.

But mostly I agree with what Koolaid said ^^^^


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## NomadicMedic (May 27, 2015)

(Just as the backstory to my comment above... My wife is a critical care/emergency vet)


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## COmedic17 (May 27, 2015)

I feel like humans and dogs would absorb medication completely different, so basing medication on the same weight based scale as a human would probably be a disservice to the dog. But that's just my assumption.

My cat eats everything, and ate some Xanax one time. He was pretty messed up.... Running into walls and such. Looked like he pounded a few to many shots at the bar. Vet figured out what happened with a blood test.


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## NomadicMedic (May 27, 2015)

...And they have totally different reactions to things you and I would consider innocuous. A bar of dark chocolate or a small box of raisins is nothing to you or me, but can kill your dog quickly.


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## CdnArmyMedic (Jun 11, 2015)

and uncooked onions or any fungus.


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## Twitch559 (Jun 11, 2015)

Sorry if this is a bit late but HERE is a spread sheet that has some info on emergency med for dogs


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## sartech (Jun 22, 2015)

aust10n said:


> I was having a conversation with a colleague who stated that when treating K9's, their drug dosage can be determined by use of the broselow tape. Is this true? If so, is the measurement from snout to butt or shoulder to hip?



Anyone from your department taken a K9 medic or etc class? We recently hosted one. I can see if I have a digital copy of the drug list they were given.


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## MackTheKnife (Aug 24, 2015)

NYBLS said:


> What about the cases of fluids or analgesia in burns?


My dog was on Tramadol 50mg PO Q4-6h after surgery (120 lb Rottweiler). 2015 Drug Guide says 50-100mg PO for adults. Sounds the same.


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## EBMEMT (Aug 25, 2015)

Some vet drugs seem to be XXX mg/kg for all common mammalian species.


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## systemet (Aug 31, 2015)

Be careful with this, if you're thinking about treating animals while working in a traditional EMS response role:

* Depending on your part of the world, practising veterinary medicine may be a restricted act, and subject to sanction if you're not appropriately licensed.

* Does your agency have procedures in place to properly clean a vehicle that's been used to give care to an injured canine?

* Are you willing to expose yourself to civil suit?

* Will your organisation back you up if you take an EMS resource out of commission to treat an animal if there's a cardiac arrest down the road?


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## Tigger (Aug 31, 2015)

If you are in Colorado, note that the state legislature recently passed legislation allowing for EMS to provide initial emergency "preveterinary care" to animals without violating the state's practice of veterinary medicine laws. The law does state that your employer needs to define what and when this is appropriate and whatnot. 
http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/cl...94E7F310DEB687257C3000061C8E/$FILE/039_01.pdf


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## chaz90 (Sep 1, 2015)

Tigger said:


> If you are in Colorado, note that the state legislature recently passed legislation allowing for EMS to provide initial emergency "preveterinary care" to animals without violating the state's practice of veterinary medicine laws. The law does state that your employer needs to define what and when this is appropriate and whatnot.
> http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/cl...94E7F310DEB687257C3000061C8E/$FILE/039_01.pdf


Wow. That's crazy. I've bandaged up dogs and administered O2 before, but I can't say I'd feel qualified to do any more than that. I seem to remember a "Pet CPR" class from my childhood, but I'm pretty sure a dog in cardiac arrest=a dead dog...

Reading the new law though, I guess this is just making the bandaging/O2 stuff completely kosher on a legal level. Technically, that probably means I illegally "practiced veterinary medicine" in CO since I did it before this law. Someone better prepare a cell in prison for this lawbreaker!


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## Jim37F (Sep 1, 2015)

We have pet O2 masks and the kit includes a direction sheet on K9/feline CPR....I know we've used the masks before, but I don't think we've had a crew attempt CPR on a pet though...


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## Tigger (Sep 1, 2015)

chaz90 said:


> Wow. That's crazy. I've bandaged up dogs and administered O2 before, but I can't say I'd feel qualified to do any more than that. I seem to remember a "Pet CPR" class from my childhood, but I'm pretty sure a dog in cardiac arrest=a dead dog...
> 
> Reading the new law though, I guess this is just making the bandaging/O2 stuff completely kosher on a legal level. Technically, that probably means I illegally "practiced veterinary medicine" in CO since I did it before this law. Someone better prepare a cell in prison for this lawbreaker!


We've had crews intubate dogs and give drugs to dogs, though the latter was under the direction of a vet I believe. I recently got us some pet O2 masks, media had field day with that.


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## exodus (Sep 1, 2015)

Tigger said:


> We've had crews intubate dogs and give drugs to dogs, though the latter was under the direction of a vet I believe. I recently got us some pet O2 masks, media had field day with that.



Do you happen to know how much that setup cost per unit? That would make for a pretty good PR stunt for I'm sure a fairly small expense, and in the end, bill the owners anyway.


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## DesertMedic66 (Sep 2, 2015)

exodus said:


> Do you happen to know how much that setup cost per unit? That would make for a pretty good PR stunt for I'm sure a fairly small expense, and in the end, bill the owners anyway.


Some CalFire units carry the masks. Station 66 used to carry them (this was back in 2010).


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## Tigger (Sep 2, 2015)

exodus said:


> Do you happen to know how much that setup cost per unit? That would make for a pretty good PR stunt for I'm sure a fairly small expense, and in the end, bill the owners anyway.


They were provided at no cost by Invisible Fence. In exchange I organized the media event and thanked them profusely. They will also replace them if we use them. I'm pretty sure billing the owners would be a no go...


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## Doczilla (Nov 12, 2015)

NO. 

Well, at least not with anesthesia/analgesia. Here's a little story for ya: 

One of our dogs got caught up in the razor wire at the COP. Really deep, big lacerations. Pup looked miserable.  I decided to repair them, and since you can't rely on local or regional anesthesia for dogs, I called my old friends ketamine and valium. 

I made the mistake of going on a "pediatric" weight based dosing scale, and the drugs barely touched him.  I had to reference it quick before I started working on him, and ketamine in particular was shocking. The dose required is several times higher than that of a human. Just make sure you reference a vet guide before you consider any drugs.


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