How to Safely Store Your Dog's Medication

If your dog is taking medication, you're probably very careful that he is taking the right dose at the right time. While this is very important, the way you store your dog’s medicine is also a huge safety issue. Often prescription bottles wind up sitting on the counter with the afternoon mail. Careless handling of medication can put both your dog and your family at risk. By following a few basic guidelines, you can make sure that your dog's medicine is fresh and never gets into the wrong hands.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Store your dog's medicine in the original prescription bottle. While the identity of each pill may seem obvious to you right now, over time medicines in unmarked containers can cause confusion and the risk of misuse.

2. Keep your dog's medicine at the recommended temperature. Your veterinarian may give you specific advice to her keep medication from spoiling. Some prescriptions need to be kept in a cool, dark place and others require refrigeration. When instructions are absent, it is safer not to take chances and to store the medicine in a place where it will not be exposed to direct sunlight or temperature extremes. Avoid keeping her medicine in the bathroom medicine cabinet where it will be exposed to heat and moisture from showers.

3. Dogs are curious about new things, so be sure to keep your dog's prescriptions safely out of his reach. If you have young children at home, even more precautions may be needed. Kids seem to get into things in ways we could have never imagined. For babies and the youngest crawling children, a high, closed cabinet or drawer, well out of reach may be enough. If your child has learned to climb and get into things, you will need to install a child-safe lock. Cabinet locks are readily available and inexpensive.

4. Make sure your kids aren't snacking on your dog's medicine. If his medication needs to be kept in the refrigerator with your family’s food, you might want to think about buying a small locking box to your keep little ones out. One of the first things children learn to open is the refrigerator, and they don’t hesitate to grab anything that might look like a tasty snack. Always ask your veterinarian for childproof medication bottles as an extra measure of safety.

5. Don't hang on to expired medicines. When your dog is finished with her prescription, ask your veterinarian if any leftover medicine can be safely stored for possible future use until the expiration date. In most cases, unused medications are best quickly disposed of. Never throw pills in the garbage where pets or children could find them. To be sure that the medicine you throw away is never misused, pour any remaining pills in the toilet and flush.

Tips & Warnings

• Always make sure your dog takes all the medicine she has been prescribed. Even if she is feeling better, she still needs to finish her medicine.