I would think that activated charcoal at this point might be a moot issue. The medication has more than likely already been digested and absorbed.
According to the toxologic studies done on this drug, repeated doses of up to 10 times the recommended amount resulted in little problems. However, this does not mean your dog will be fine for certain. Your dog ate about 5 times the recommended daily dosage for a dog of his weight. So, he certainly might be fine.
The adverse effects with overdosage include the following:
- gastrointestinal effects: gastritis, gastric ulcers, bleeding, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, blood in the stool or black stools (digested blood in the stool)
- liver damage
- kidney damage
You dog may experience none of these problems, or could get all of them. That is why your vet recommended a check up. Most times we will check the liver and kidney values, and then start stomach protectants to prevent any stomach damage. If the ingestion was recent (in your case it isn't) we will induce vomiting and give activated charcoal. If there is evidence of liver or kidney damage, we will often hospitalize the patient and put them on i.v. fluids, stomach protectants, etc., until they are stable and improving. I would also add SAM-e (a liver supplement, brand name Denosyl for dogs) if there are any signs of liver damage.
It is certainly up to you what you do with your dog. I will give you the facts, and you have to decide for yourself. If it were my dog, I would recommend you be cautious, and I would be monitoring the blood values. You should also give your dog Pepcid AC (to protect the stomach). Danny's dose would be 1 1/2 tablets twice daily, of the regular strength (10 mg) Pepcid AC from the store. This should help prevent his stomach from being irritated. .
The effects of one big dose will be seen within a day or two, but it can take several more days for their system to recover completely.
Please reply if you have further questions.