When your dog is itching and scratching from allergies, you’ll do pretty much anything to make him stop. There’s only so much a cone and a soothing bath will do for your pet however, sometimes medication is the only real option.
If you’ve been thinking about treating your pet with medication for his allergies, you may be wondering if you can use Claritan for dog allergies. Claritan for dogs is actually pretty common, and it has been shown to be highly effective in the treatment of allergies, especially from insect bites. Although a snake bite isn’t an allergy, Claritan has also been used in the case of snake bites as a treatment. However, it does come with more side effects than other allergy medications.
How Does It Work?
Claritan uses Loratadine as its active ingredient. Loratadine is an anti-histamine, which helps by removing histamines from the body. An allergy is caused when your dog’s body attacks something that isn’t actually a threat to the body. This could be an environmental allergy such as polin, an insect bite such as those from fleas or ticks, or a food allergy such as from grain or chicken.
When the body reacts inappropriately to these threats, it releases histamines to fight them—and often way too much. These histamines cause other symptoms besides fighting the perceived threats. Histamine is also what makes dogs feel itchy, have watery eyes, sneezes, and runny noses.
An anti-histamine takes some of that histamine out of the body, so your dog experiences fewer symptoms.
Important note: Never give Claritan-D to dogs as it contains pseudoephedrine
Side Effects Of Claritan For Dogs
Claritan for dog allergies unfortunately does have some side effects. These side effects may include:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Drowsiness (though this is rare)
- Urinary retention
- Hyperactivity
- Dry eyes
- Depression or lethargy
If your dog has any of these symptoms, you may wish to switch your dog to a different allergy medication that is safe for pets. Other allergy medications include Benadryl and Zyrtec.
Dosage For Pets
You should ask your vet before giving Claritan to your dog. Claritan may not be appropriate for your pet, especially if he has health issues. Your vet can evaluate your pet and his allergies, and let you know if Claritan is the best choice for your dog, or if you should try a different remedy for allergies.
The dosage for allergies is done by weight, as follows:
Dogs weighing 1 to 14 lb: 1 dose daily of 5 milligrams
- Dogs weighing 15 to 39 lb: 10 milligrams daily, administered in 2 doses of 5 milligrams each
- Dogs weighing 40+ lb: 20 milligrams, administered in 2 doses of 10 milligrams each
Our Recommendation – Try Other Remedies
After seeing what Claritan does to pets, we recommend trying other allergy medicine like Benadryl and if that doesn’t work then Zyrtec. These two options have less side effects and are used more often than Claritan.
If you’d rather try something more natural for your pet, or are just plain terrified by all those side effects, CBD oil may be a good choice for your dog. The best CBD oil for dogs have little to no side effects, the worst being irritability. CBD oil has been shown to help with inflammation and itching caused by allergies, but it may also help at the heart of the issue by helping to keep the dog’s body from over reacting in the first place. If you’re worried about Claritan in your pet, CBD oil may be the best option.