My dog was bitten, acting strange. Can I give OTC pain meds?

Question

My jack Russell terrier got into it with my neighbors husky, he has a wound on his head that was bleeding. I cleaned it and put some Neosporin on it, now he is acting strange, he is panting and won't eat. Should I give him an over the counter pain med? I can't take him to the vet right now but if he's acting strange tomorrow I will. Pet's info: Dog | Jack Russell Terrier | Male | neutered | 12 years and 1 month old | 14 lbs

Amber Da Silva, DVM · Accepted Answer

Poor Viper! I don't recommend giving over the counter pain medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen or Tylenol as these can have serious side effects in animals. It will also limit the type of pain medication that your veterinarian can prescribe and may result in Viper not getting adequate pain control. Unfortunately there is nothing over the counter that can be given to dogs for pain control, so if he is acting very painful, I would recommend taking him to a vet tonight if you can. If you are unable to, I would recommend taking him as soon as you can tomorrow. Most bite wounds will get infected and they almost always need oral antibiotics. The veterinarian will also make sure the wound isn't worse than it looks. Bite wounds can appear small on the surface, but can penetrate deeper than what we see or tear the skin from underlying tissue so that a pocket is created under the skin. These pockets can fill up with blood or pus and need to be drained. Good luck and I hope that Viper is feeling better soon!

My dog was bitten, acting strange. Can I give OTC pain meds?

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