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My dog's stomach looks swollen on phenobarbital. Is it a side effect?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Boxer | Male | neutered | 18 years and 9 months old | 109 lbs

My 9 year old boxer is on phenobarbital for about 5 or 6 weeks we noticed that the area around his penis looks swollen its actually his stomach but its the area around his penis. Could this be from the phenobarbital? His blood levels looked very good when they put him on it so the vet said to wait for 6 months to check it again. I've just read alot of info about the medication hurting the liver

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Megan, DVM, CVA

Veterinarian

Published on June 18th, 2018

This just looks like a normal "fat pad" but I would have your vet take a look at it to ensure that that is all it is. Phenobarb will sometimes make them eat more than normal and cause weight gain. I hope this helps!

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2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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