General Description

Ciprofloxacin, or Cipro as it is commonly referred to by most people, is a pharmaceutical drug used to treat challenging bacterial infections in humans. It is generally utilized for skin infections, urinary tract infections and respiratory infections. There are accessible forms of the antibiotic also intended to treat ear infections and eye infections.

Ciprofloxacin

• Drug Name: Ciprofloxacin
• Common Name: Cipro®, Ciloxan®
• Used For: Bacterial infections

A great number of dog parents nowadays are attempting to dodge veterinarian visits as much as possible because of how busy they are with work and other family responsibilities. Another reason to avoid visits to the vet is the high costs involved, and in a battling economy, having to spend $50 on a vet appointment, no matter how much your love your pet, can be a strain on a family’s resources. But when it concerns your pooch’s health and life, it’s better and safer not to take the most expedient route & avoid taking advice from other well-meaning dog owners online to make sure any health problem your dog may have is diagnosed properly and the proper drugs prescribed accordingly. In the end, misdiagnosing your dog or giving him the wrong medication could cost you more in vet treatment than if you had been to the vet in the first place, not to mention if the problem is really serious, it could cost your dog his life.

Can I Give My Dog Cipro?

Veterinarians do prescribe Cipro for dogs on occasions, so it’s not as though it’s poisonous to your pooch, yet you need to abstain from giving him a pill unnecessarily, and you definitively don’t want to give him the wrong dosage.  Finding a vet that says it’s Ok to give your dog Ciprofloxacin, or an owner in a chat room online that says their veterinarian told them it was Ok, is not difficult. But every situation and every animal is unique and someone saying their vet said it was OK doesn’t imply that it’s Ok for your pet! There are contraindications in using this drug in dogs like pregnancy or existing kidney problems, as well as other drugs it doesn’t mix well with, so unless you talk to a veterinarian about your dog’s exact circumstances, you cannot be certain this antibiotic is safe.

Answer: Not Recommended

without a Visit to your Veterinarian

One of the most common issue vets have to deal with is dog owners misdiagnosing and treating their mutts for diseases they don’t even actually have or using the wrong drug or the wrong dosage. Since the vast majority of us are certainly not qualified to identify what sort of bacteria is causing the infection in our puppies it shouldn’t be our business to choose which antibiotic to give them. So sompets.com answer to “Can I give my dog Cipro?” is Not Recommended unless it is prescribed after a vet visit. Better not to take any chances, don’t you think? It is your dog’s life we are talking about after all so ask a professional!

Possible Side Effects of Ciprofloxacin

If you do end up giving your dog ciprofloxacin either because your vet prescribed it or you decided to go ahead and give it him without a vet’s approval because you feel confident it is safe in your dog’s circumstances the recommended dose is 5 to 7 mg/pound daily (11 to 15 mg/kg) orally. You should also look out for these possible side effects:

• Loss of appetite
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Lethargy
• Convulsions
• Seizures in pets with CNS disorders
• Cataracts if given long-term

There simply isn’t sufficient research and study into how mutts will respond to the wrong dosage of Cipro, other than anecdotal evidence found here and there online from other dog parents making a case on what happened to their puppy in their specific circumstances. So if you chose to give your dog Ciprofloxacin, just like for any other antibiotic, follow the doctor’s prescription, don’t skip a dose, finish the entire prescription even if there are no more symptoms and watch your dog carefully for any extreme side effect.

Ciprofloxacin may not play well with these drugs:

• Aminoglycoside antibiotics
• Antacids
• Cephalosporin antibiotics
• Rimadyl (and other NSAIDs)
• Penicillin
• Aminophylline
• Cyclosporine
• Nitrourantoin
• Sucralfate
• Theophylline