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Interceptor dose


eydielee
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Hi,

My puppy is 9 months old now.
He was 49 lbs early April, which is more than a month ago.

So I thought he was over 50lbs now for sure, and ordered interceptor for 51-100lbs.
I weighed him just now, and he's still 49lbs!

 

I'm just worried that it might be too harsh on his liver...
Should I cut a little piece off the tablet? (maybe a quarter?)
Or is that a bad idea?

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The problem with cutting an item like this in half or in any other way is that you do not know whether or not the active ingredient is evenly distributed. So, while I may order larger Dasuquin and split it in two for two dogs, I know that over the days, the dosage will even out, even if it might not be even on any particular day, and that underdosing or overdosing a bit will do no harm as, in the long run, the average dosage will be within goal and the ingredients are benign.

 

Of course, the other thing to consider is that 49# is only two pounds less than 51#, so is there any significant problem giving him this dosage? I wouldn't have an issue giving my one dog, who fluctuates between 48 and 52#, one of the tablets for 51-100#, which is his normal dosage, because I know his "normal" body weight is 52# and lower weights tend to mean he's a bit underweight. However, the larger tablet is the correct dosage for a maximum weight of 100#, which means that it's really twice the correct dosage for your size dog.

 

As long as your dog is not ivermectin-sensitive (MDR-1 mutation), this should not be an issue but others may feel that cutting in half is equally reasonable. Since higher dosages of ivermectin can be prescribed for certain conditions (like mange, for instance), the higher dose of this should not be harmful but I wouldn't want to make this a regular practice. A lot of information is found on this page - http://www.dogaware.com/health/ivomec.html

 

I am eager to see what others think about this.

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This is what the FDA says about splitting pills, including uneven distribution of active ingredients in some tablets.

 

https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm171492.htm

 

And consumer reports has guidelines including not splitting tablets with multiple active ingredients because even distribution of both may not occur

 

http://www.consumerreports.org/drugs/is-it-safe-to-split-pills-in-half/

 

Another study

http://www.empr.com/news/tablet-splitting-can-significantly-vary-doses-fda-study-finds/article/505053/

 

I split pills every day for me and one of my dogs. You just need to understand the dose may not be accurate or consistent and therefore know the impact of the variable dose on efficacy and side effects.

 

Some pills should not be split (capsules) and I wonder about chewables (don't know how chewables are made to know if drug would be evenly distributed).

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