Tramadol Dosage for Dogs

Prescription only, and the evidence that it works in dogs is weaker than was once assumed.

Dose per administration40 to 100 mgTramadol, 2 to 5 mg/kg

Times per day3Every 8 to 12 hours, adjusted to the individual.

Total per day120 to 300 mg

Body weight20 kg44.09 lb

Tablets or mL per dose0.8 to 2at 50 mg each — splitting tablets accurately below a quarter is not realistic

Before giving thisA controlled drug in most countries, and the evidence for its effectiveness in dogs is weaker than once assumed. Prescription only.

This is a published range, not a prescription. The dose for your animal depends on its organ function, its other medications and what is actually wrong with it. Confirm it with your veterinarian before giving anything.

The formula

dose = body weight in kg * mg per kg, within the published range

A range, and why it stays a range

Published doses are intervals because the right point within them depends on the individual: what is wrong, how the kidneys and liver are working, what else is being given, and how the animal responded last time. A calculator can show you the interval. Only a veterinarian who has examined the animal can pick a number inside it.

Formulation is as important as arithmetic

More household poisonings come from the wrong product than the wrong sum. Antihistamine tablets sold for people often contain a decongestant as well, and those are dangerous to dogs. Liquid preparations may be sweetened with xylitol, which is severely toxic. Getting the milligrams right in the wrong product is not a partial success.

Cats are not small dogs

Cats lack some of the liver enzymes that dogs and people use to clear drugs, so several medicines that are routine in dogs are hazardous or lethal in cats at any dose. Paracetamol is the notorious example. Never transfer a dose from one species to the other by scaling for weight.

This does not replace a veterinarian

Every figure on this page comes from a published reference range, and a range is what it stays. The right dose for an individual animal depends on its kidney and liver function, on what else it is taking, on whether it is pregnant or very young or very old, and on what is actually wrong with it — none of which arithmetic can see. Use this to understand the scale of a dose or an exposure, and to have a better conversation with your vet. Do not use it to start, stop or change a medication.

If you believe your animal has swallowed something toxic, do not wait to see whether signs develop. Contact your veterinarian or an animal poison line immediately — in most poisonings the treatment that works is the one given early.