Do You Give Pepto to your dogs for upset stomach? - Page 1

My vet just informed me at Pepto Bismol has asprin in it (very bad for dogs).  I looked at the ingredients and I did not see it; I am no expert though.  Better to be safe than sorry.

My vet said to give generic Bismuth subsalicylate (the solid pill not a gel cap).  The pills I give have G172 on then and it does contain subsalicylate.  There new versions of Pepto and Kaopectate that for some reason can no longer be given to dogs or cats

My dogs rarely have "upset stomach" or anything like that  since usually there's an obvious reason if they puke and they just puke once, like doing a lot of exercise and drinking too much water before I stop them, eating grass, etc.  However, yesterday I gave Coke a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar because he ate something gross off the ground at the park (looked like some sort of poop) and then looked sort of queasy.  I didn't want to make him throw it up using hydrogen peroxide so instead I gave him a small meal, floated (water), with a little apple cider vinegar.  Supposedly it helps with digestion and is like a metamucil to dogs as long as you just give them a little, diluted.

If any of the dogs look bloaty or I have any reason to suspect gas or bloat, I give them Gas-X.  I always keep this with me since I have deep chested dogs (GSDs and mutt) and most of my dogs are or have been involved in sports.  Last week at flyball a friend's dog got into the food bin and ate it ALL so I gave her Gas-X from my dog med kit.

The problem with giving PeptoBismol is that it DOES contain bismuth subsalicylate, which is a derivative of aspirin--and it always has contained it--and it is possible to (a) overdose the dog with it, and (b) it has to be used with caution, as it carries the same risks and contraindications as aspirin: don't give when there's a bleeding ulcer present, don't use with steroids, don't use with other products that contain salicylates, don't give if using doxycycline. 

It CAN be given to dogs, but it should be given ONLY on advice of, or at the direction of, your veterinarian, who SHOULD know what else your dog is receiving [unless you're giving your dog medications or supplements that your vet does not have recorded in the dog's records] and can tell you if there's any contraindications. 

KaoPectate, for the record, also contains bismuth subsalicylate--though the old formulation did not.  You can still purchase a veterinary formulation of kaolin clay and pectin in suspension, which were the original active ingredients in KaoPectate.  The reason the human formulations of KaoPectate [and its generic versions] now contain bismuth subsalicylate is because research discovered that it was the bismuth subsalicylate in PeptoBismol that was key in its efficacy against bacterial gastrointestinal disease, because of the compound's ability to absorb the enterotoxins produced by disease-causing bacteria such as E. coli, and its bacteriocidal action against many species of enterobacteria.  The kaolin clay and pectin in KaoPectate has no such action, and therefore has no beneficial effect in cases of bacterial gastroenteritis.

Bottom line is that we really should not give our dogs ANY product, over the counter or otherwise, without at least informing our dog's vet[s] of what we're giving them so it can be recorded in the dog's records, and the vet can advise us if we're about to give something that should not be used in conjunction with another product we're using.

All good to know information, thanks.  It was actually another vet years ago that told me to give the Pepto; that is the only reason I had it in the house, as none of us humans use it.

i give a spoon full of canned pumpkin

JWalker, that's fine, but it doesn't have any bacteriocidal properties...it just adds bulk to the stool, which can be helpful if the problem is hypermotility of the GI tract. Helps not at all in instances where the diarrhea is bacterial or viral in origin.

I give my dog when her tummy is upset a Pepcid pill.

I too, have used Pepto, on my vets advice. I do think it worked. Same with low dose pepsid A/C. If they start to lick and eat everything, dried leaves, gunk, almost anything- stuff, they don't feel well in the gut.