Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

My 15-year-old dog is not eating, throwing up. Is it phenobarbital?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Chinese Crested Powder Puff | Female | 14 years and 4 months old | 15 lbs

My 15 Y.O chinese crested powderpuff dog has not been eating much for the last two weeks, and also has been throwing up. She regularly eats Wellness brand senior dog food mixed with 2 tablespoons of white rice and 2 tablespoons of Little Caesar's home delights wet dog food. She has been taking a small amount of phenobarbital anti-seizure medication twice daily for the past 12-13 years. If you have any advice to share, I would greatly appreciate it!! She is my best friend and companion. Thank you

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner

Published on May 1st, 2018

I'm so sorry to hear that Zoey is not feeling well. I would certainly recommend starting with having your veterinarian examine her and check some blood work. Phenobarbital can affect the internal organs (especially the liver), so we should make sure that is not an issue with Zoey. If all that is normal, then I would discuss anti-nausea and appetite stimulation medications with your veterinarian. There are a few over the counter (OTC) and prescription options that may help make Zoey feel better. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that she feels better soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Vote icon

2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Image profile

    Answered By Mara Howard, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on August 5th, 2017

    I'm sorry to hear Zoey is having issues. Vomiting in cats can be due to hair balls, dietary indiscretion, foreign material ingestion, toxins or an inflammation of the pancreas, among others. Shaking can be related (nausea, discomfort, or toxin related), or a separate issue. I would recommend she be seen by her regular veterinarian to determine the underlying cause for her discomfort, have any necessary testing done (X-rays, booodwork) and get started on any necessary treatment to get her feeling better. Good luck!

    Vote icon

    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

See More Answers

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has been on phenobarbital for about 10 days due to 2 minor seizures from an ear infection. The vet said she would only be on them about 2 weeks total. She has been doing fine except for pacing yesterday and today she is extremely lethargic. Sh
I would have your vet re-examine Belle tomorrow. We do not normally see seizures as a result of an ear infection or prescribe phenobarbital short term for seizures. We don't usually see decreased appetite or severe lethargy as a result of ear infections either. Belle may need some additional testing to help determine if there is something other than an ear infection going on, or if your vet cannot find a cause for her symptoms she may need to go and have a more advanced workup at a specialist who has imaging/testing a normal service vet may not offer.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi Zoey hasn't ate any of her dog food and at all yesterday and i still cant grt her to eat her dog food this morning but last night I just gave her a half of a hot dog and she ate that but she wont eat her dog food and this morning she threw up some
Poor girl. Zoey sounds like she has some internal illness going on here. A number of diseases can cause the symptoms she is displaying (vomiting, decreased appetite, lethargy) such as kidney disease, gallbladder disease or an infection. I would highly recommend taking her to your vet at this point for testing so that we can identify the underlying problem so that we know how best to help her moving forward. I hope that Zoey feels better soon! Best wishes and take care.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My small dog had a grand maul seizer last night. The vet we see was able to prescribe phenobarbital. We gave it to last night and another does this morning. She is lethargic, do we continue giving her the meds? She is an older dog. The vet thin
Hello and thank you for contacting Boop by Petco. Molly should take phenobarbital to avoid further seizures, which is a priority in this situation. You should continue with the dose she has been prescribed. Many dogs are lethargic after the first few doses of phenobarbital but then are back to normal. Please, get in touch with your vet on Monday to confirm that Molly is on the right dose of phenobarbital. If the lethargy and lack of appetite persists, your vet will likely decrease the dose or change the medication. Molly will probably stay on anti-seizure medication for life.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hello, My dog Burt is 7 years old. He has had 3 seizures over the course of 2 years. His vet put him on 30 mg phenobarbital twice daily. He's been on this for 1 year, no seizures. He has gained a total of 17 pounds and now his back legs are very
Hi there and thank you for using Boop by Petco to address your concern. The phenobarbital can cause a voracious appetite leading to weight gain, unfortunately. I have seen this happen in several of my cases on Phenobarbital. I would not recommend taking him off of the Phenobarbital as the seizures could start up again. Once under control, ideally you do not want to mess with the medications unless the seizures are uncontrolled. If you do wean him off of the phenobarbital, do so at your own risk as he may suffer from the seizures once more if not on medication to stop them. I would recommend putting him on a diet such as Hills Metabolic + Mobility to try and get him to lose weight. This is a prescription diet and is very effective at reducing weight in addition to supporting the joints. I hope this helps! You will have to get this food from your vet or have your vet write you a prescription, as this is a prescription diet. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns a
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Is my dog poisoned? This morning I woke up to my dog throwing up foam. She is epileptic, but I've never seen her have a siezure like this. She takes phenobarbital and im starting to wonder if I maybe gave her too much. I have to cut the pills into fo
While toxins could cause vomiting there are many more common causes ranging from a bowel obstruction to intestinal parasites. An overdose of phenobarbital would not cause vomiting: I would expect to see sedation or difficulty vomiting. If she had a seizure that is atypical for her, or if her vomiting continues I would recommend taking her to the veterinarian later today. I would recommend withholding food until you can see the vet. A little water should be okay but don't let her gulp an entire bowl.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
Zoey did not eat her dinner tonight and has not drank any water since this morning. She is not lethargic and seems to want food and treats, but she does not even try to chew and just spits it out. She vomitted bile a few times and tries to eat grass,
It is definitely suspicious that something is hurting her mouth and causing her to not want to eat, but this would not normally cause her to vomit. The bile staining in the vomit doesn't tell much other than she is vomiting on an empty stomach. This is not specific to any one disease, but indicates that something is either directly upsetting her stomach, or generally making her feel nauseous. It would be best to first have a good look on her mouth using a flash light to see if there are any obvious injuries or something stuck in her mouth. I recommend having someone help you with this. In order to discover the cause of this problem you will need to take Zoey to a veterinarian for an evaluation. They can help narrow-down the cause of this and provide treatment to at-least make her feel better. For more information about vomiting, I recommend you read the article at the link below. https://www.petcoach.co/article/diarrhea-vomiting-in-dogs-when-to-call-your-veterinarian/ If
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is 9 yrs old 11 kg n yesterday she'd extreme seizures.she fell down n then went completely stiff for few minutes n wasn't even blinking eyes then she fell down again n started kicking her legs very fastly but struggling.then she was unable to
Hello and thank you for contacting Boop by Petco. I assume Chhutki was prescribed phenobarbital for seizures. This medication can produce transient elevation of liver enzymes, increased thirst, increased appetite, lethargy and weight gain. It does not affect kidney or heart function and does not cause gallstones formation. If you don't use any anti-epileptic medications for your dog, she will likely have more seizures, which can be longer/more severe than her first seizure.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My 15year old dog has become extremely skinny, he is vomitting and not taking his meals. Please help!
Vomiting, weight loss, and decreased appetitie in a 15 year old dog could be caused by many different things, including kidney disease, liver disease, cancer, infections, pancreatitis, diabetes, etc. He needs to be examined by a vet for a work-up with blood-work and x-rays to determine the exact cause. Once diagnosed, your vet can determine the best way to treat the problem and the prognosis. An anti-vomiting medication may help with the vomiting and get him eating again.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I gave my dog her phenobarbital pill in one of those pill pocket treats 1 hour and 20 minutes ago. Now she has just threw up. There is no evidence of the pill treat in her vomit, just dog food that she has eaten since taking the pill 1 hour and 20 mi
While it's possible that there was some pill remaining, enough time had passed that most of the pill was probably digested. If you didn't see any of the pill or the treat in her vomit I would not recommend redosing.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
8 yr lab started phenobarbital 15 days ago. The effects of the drug appeared to be subsiding. Wobbly hind end, falling over on hind end. The last couple days they have seemed to get worse. He is dazed, panting, drooling, and still continues to fall o
Hi there and thank you for using Boop by Petco to address your concern. In the initial stages of starting Phenobarbital, dogs develop what we call transient symptoms. These include becoming wobbly (ataxia), drooling, disorientation, panting, etc. These symptoms will eventually subside as the dog's body becomes used to the phenobarbital. If Trapper is no longer having seizures, I would call the veterinarian and ask if the dose can be slightly lowered. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored