Toxic to dogs · Medications

Is Carprofen toxic to dogs?

Extreme severity

Yes, Carprofen is extremely toxic to dogs. Even a small amount can be life-threatening, so treat any exposure as an emergency and contact a vet immediately.

Video explainer

Is carprofen toxic to dogs and cats?

Open the video page →

What to do right now

  1. Call your vet or an animal poison line now, even if your dog seems fine. The outlook is often excellent when treatment starts promptly. In the US: Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764-7661 (a fee applies) or ASPCA Animal Poison Control (888) 426-4435.
  2. Don't make your dog vomit at home unless a vet or poison-line expert tells you to. Pet Poison Helpline warns that doing it yourself can put your dog in further danger.
  3. Keep the bottle. Note the tablet strength, how many tablets may be missing, roughly when it happened and your dog's weight. The vet uses these to work out the dose.
  4. Tell the vet if your dog takes carprofen every day, and about any other medicine, especially a steroid or another anti-inflammatory. Two NSAIDs, or an NSAID and a steroid, should not be given at the same time.

Go to an emergency vet if

  • Your dog ate carprofen that wasn't prescribed for it, or more than its dose, and you can't reach your vet or a poison line. Prompt treatment gives the best outcome.
  • Your dog vomits blood, or passes black, tarry or bloody stools. These can mean a bleeding stomach ulcer.
  • Your dog has belly pain, stops eating or is very lethargic, even several days later.
  • Your dog drinks or pees more than usual, or pees much less or not at all. These can be signs of kidney damage.
  • Your dog's gums or the whites of its eyes turn yellow.
  • Your dog has a seizure or becomes unresponsive.

Symptoms to watch for

  • Vomiting
  • Bloody vomitus
  • Diarrhea
  • Black-tarry stool
  • Inappetance
  • Lethargy
  • Increase in urination
  • Increase in thirst
  • General malaise
  • Abdominal pain
  • Liver damage
  • Seizures
  • Death

How much is dangerous

Carprofen is prescribed for dogs, but an overdose can seriously harm them. The figures below come from ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center cases of dogs that were treated, and the ASPCA warns they may not be the lowest doses that can cause harm. In otherwise healthy dogs, fairly severe stomach and gut signs may be seen at doses above 20 mg of carprofen per kilogram of body weight, and the ASPCA recommends a drip (IV fluids) to protect the kidneys at 40 mg/kg and above. Kidney damage was confirmed in a dog that ate 48 mg/kg. Liver damage may occur with any dose: mild, short-lived rises in liver enzymes, often without signs, have been seen from around 40 mg/kg, and moderate to severe rises, often with illness, above 100 mg/kg. Seizures, stupor and coma have been seen after extreme ingestions of 281, 536 and 645 mg/kg respectively, and a death despite treatment has been reported at 536 mg/kg. Dogs with stomach or gut disease, and dogs that also take a steroid or another anti-inflammatory, are at higher risk. Your vet works out the dose from the tablet strength, how many tablets are missing and your dog's weight.

When signs appear

Carprofen is absorbed almost completely and quickly: blood levels peak 1 to 3 hours after a dog swallows it, according to the ASPCA (the Merck Veterinary Manual gives about 2 to 3 hours). Vomiting is the most common sign, seen in 78% of the dog overdose cases the ASPCA reviewed. In one case, kidney damage showed up in a urine test as early as 24 hours after the overdose. Pain from a stomach ulcer may not show until carprofen's pain-relieving effect has worn off, so vets watch for black stools, loss of appetite, lethargy and belly pain for several days afterwards. Don't wait for signs before calling your vet.

Why it's dangerous

As a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, it inhibits enzymes that protect the stomach lining and maintain kidney blood flow, leading to gastric ulceration and acute kidney failure.

Toxic compound: Carprofen

How vets treat it

If your dog swallowed the overdose within the last couple of hours and nothing rules it out, the vet may make it vomit. The remains of chewable tablets often look like partly digested food, so the vomit doesn't always show how much came back up. Activated charcoal then limits absorption, and because carprofen cycles between the liver and the gut, the vet may repeat it every 8 hours, usually for no more than three doses in all. Stomach protectants are given as a precaution for 7 to 10 days: an acid reducer such as famotidine or omeprazole and sucralfate to coat ulcers, often with misoprostol for the first 3 to 5 days. If the dose could harm the kidneys, your dog stays on a drip (IV fluids) for 48 hours, with daily blood and urine tests for the kidneys and liver, and kidney values are checked again at 72 hours. A dog at greater risk of liver damage may get a liver-protecting supplement, SAMe. Vets treat complications as needed: a blood transfusion for severe anemia, medicine for seizures and sometimes dialysis for kidney failure. For severe overdoses, they may also use an IV lipid (fat) emulsion or plasma exchange.

Outlook

Even after extreme overdoses, the ASPCA says the outlook is often excellent with prompt decontamination, a drip and stomach protection. It is worse if a bleeding or perforated ulcer, severe kidney failure or liver failure develops. In a 2023 study of 434 dogs treated at five US hospitals for ibuprofen, carprofen or naproxen poisoning, 129 had eaten carprofen. Of these, 44% showed stomach or gut signs and 12% developed acute kidney injury during their hospital stay. Overall, 429 of the 434 dogs survived to discharge, and all but one of the dogs that died had eaten carprofen. Across the three drugs, dogs that reached the vet later, or weren't made to vomit, tended to be more seriously ill.

Where pets are exposed

  • Carprofen is a prescription anti-inflammatory and pain medicine made for dogs, used for osteoarthritis and for pain after surgery. Brand names include Rimadyl, Novox, Vetprofen, Carprieve and Rovera. It belongs to the group of drugs called NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).
  • In the US, carprofen comes as caplets and chewable tablets of 25, 75 or 100 mg, and as an injection that vets use. A bottle can hold up to 240 caplets.
  • Your dog's own medicine. Dogs find the chewable tablets tasty, and the ASPCA says it is not unusual for a dog to eat an entire bottle if it can reach it. After ibuprofen, carprofen is the NSAID most often reported in animal exposures, according to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.
  • A dose mix-up: a dog that gets more than its prescribed dose, or tablets meant for another dog. Poisoning can happen when a dog takes too much, and the FDA warns that a medicine meant for one dog may hurt another.
  • Cats. According to the ASPCA, cats are exposed to NSAIDs mostly when their owners give them one, and more rarely when they eat a dog's chewable tablets. In the US, carprofen is approved for dogs only.

Prevention

  • Give carprofen only to the dog it was prescribed for, exactly as your vet directs. Following the dosing instructions is how you prevent an overdose.
  • Never give your dog's carprofen to a cat or to another dog. A medicine meant for one pet may hurt another, and in the US carprofen is approved for dogs only.
  • Keep carprofen locked away, out of reach of all your pets. Dogs find the chewable tablets tasty, and the ASPCA warns that flavored chewable pet medicines greatly increase the risk that a pet eats the whole container.
  • Never add another anti-inflammatory or a steroid such as prednisone without asking your vet. Combining them raises the risk of stomach and gut damage.
  • Never give your dog a human pain reliever such as ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Aleve) instead: human NSAIDs can be extremely dangerous for dogs.

Good to know

Carprofen is not approved for use in cats. In dogs, chronic ingestion can rarely cause liver damage even without an overdose.

Common questions

My dog ate a bottle of chewable carprofen tablets. What should I do?

Call your vet or a pet poison line now, even if your dog seems fine, and keep the bottle so the vet can check the tablet strength and work out how much your dog ate. Don't make your dog vomit unless a vet tells you to. This happens often: the ASPCA says it is not unusual for a dog to eat an entire bottle of the tasty chewable tablets. Even after extreme overdoses, the outlook is often excellent with prompt treatment.

I gave my dog a double dose of carprofen by mistake. What should I do?

Call your vet or a pet poison line, and tell them the tablet strength, how many doses your dog got and when, and your dog's weight. The treatment depends on the dose, any signs and your dog's overall health, so let the vet decide. Afterwards, watch for vomiting, diarrhea, black or bloody stools, loss of appetite or low energy: if you notice any of these, stop giving the medicine and call your vet.

How much carprofen is toxic to a dog?

ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center cases suggest that in otherwise healthy dogs, fairly severe stomach and gut signs may be seen above 20 mg/kg of body weight, and the ASPCA recommends a drip to protect the kidneys at 40 mg/kg and above. Liver damage may occur with any dose. The ASPCA warns that these figures come from treated cases and may not be the lowest doses that cause harm. Your vet works out the dose from the tablet strength and your dog's weight, so call with the bottle to hand.

Can I give my cat my dog's carprofen?

No. Don't give your cat any medicine without talking to your vet first. In the US, carprofen is approved for dogs only, and using it in cats is off-label; in the EU and some other countries it is registered for short-term treatment in cats. Cats break carprofen down slowly, and the ASPCA says even one 25 mg tablet is potentially serious for a cat. If your cat has swallowed any, call your vet straight away.

Can carprofen harm my dog's liver even at the prescribed dose?

Rarely, yes. A small number of dogs have an unpredictable liver reaction to carprofen at the normal dose. In one report, signs began on average about 20 days after the dog started the medicine, and most dogs recovered fully once it was stopped and they got supportive care. About a third of the dogs with this reaction were Labrador Retrievers, though a true breed risk hasn't been established. Your vet may run blood tests before and during long-term treatment. If your dog vomits, stops eating or has yellow gums or eyes, stop the medicine and call your vet.

Sources

This page is informational and is not veterinary advice. If your pet has been exposed to something risky, contact your vet or an animal poison control line right away.

· How we prepare our guides

More substances toxic to dogs

Ibuprofen Extreme severity Ivermectin Extreme severity Naproxen Extreme severity Acetaminophen High severity Everything toxic to dogs →

Barcode food checks, now on iPhone.

Scan a product's barcode with StrawPaw to spot ingredients that can harm dogs and cats. The app is free to download.

Download on the App Store