Medicines for Dog Diseases
For nearly every disease your dog may get, there are medicines that will at least treat the symptoms, if not cure the disease. You can find insulin for dog diabetes, pain relievers for arthritis, anti-fungal medicines for ringworm, antihistamines for allergies and a variety of other important medicines for your pet companion. In addition, you can find most dog medications, including prescription medicines, either online or offline.
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Prescription
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Oral prescription dog medicines include some pain relievers such as Metacam, heartworm pills, antibiotics, thyroxine for hypothyroidism, prednisone, fludrocortisone acetate for Addison's disease and phenobarbital for seizures.
Injections include dog insulin and long-acting corticosteroids. Topical prescription medicines include some medicines for heartworm and other parasites.
Non-prescription
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Non-prescription dog medicines include some antihistamines, topical antiseptics and anti-fungal medicines, some pain relievers (for example, aspirin formulated for dogs) and medicated shampoos for ringworm.
Many dog diseases are prevented through vaccines and many of these are available without a prescription. Examples include vaccines against parvovirus, distemper, adenovirus type 2 and giardia. -
Features
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Medicines for dog diseases are most commonly in either oral form (liquid or pills) or topical form (for skin allergies). Several diseases and conditions--allergies, for example--have both prescription and non-prescription medicines available, in a variety of forms.
Some human medications are also sold as non-prescription dog medicines--namely aspirin, diphenhydramine (benadryl) and cosequin. However, only use formulas specifically created for dogs, unless your vet tells you otherwise.
Warning
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Dogs can develop allergic reactions or intolerance to medications suddenly. Always watch for signs of this after administering any medicine. Avoid drug interactions--always let your veterinarian know about any other medicine, prescription or non-prescription, your dog is on. Also read labels and don't rely on your veterinarian to know or remember what medicines your dog is taking (vets are human too and may forget).
Although some medications for humans are also used for dogs, most medication safe for humans is absolutely not safe for dogs.
Considerations
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Watch out for fake medicines--buy dog medicines only from trusted, known companies or from your own veterinarian. Cheaper does not always mean a better deal in the end.
If your dog has a disease, such as diabetes, that requires frequent injections, your veterinarian may show you how to do these injections at home. Syringes are available from most online veterinary supply stores.
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