How Much Pyrantel for Puppies? (Simple Guide to Safe Dosage)
Okay, so, today's little project was figuring out how much pyrantel to give to puppies. Now, I've got these adorable little furballs running around, and they needed some deworming. I did some digging cause it isn't just a straightforward thing, you know?
First off, I had to weigh each of the little guys. Let me tell you, that's a bit like trying to herd cats, except cuter and with more wiggling. I got a little kitchen scale, the digital kind, and one by one, I managed to get their weights. Most of them were around the 4 to 6 pound range, but there's always one overachiever who was a hefty little 7-pounder.
Then came the part where I had to figure out how much of this dewormer to actually give them. The stuff I'm using is this liquid pyrantel. From what I found, it looked like I needed to match up their weights with how much of the medicine to give.
Finding the Dosage
I found this chart online, it was kinda handy. It was something like:
- 2 lbs. - 0.2 mL
- 4 lbs. - 0.4 mL
- 6 lbs. - 0.6 mL
- 25 lbs. - 2.5 mL
- 30 lbs. - 3 mL
- and so on...
So for example, the little guy who weighed 4 pounds got 0.4 mL of the medicine. The 6-pound furballs got 0.6 mL. And for the 7-pounder? The chart didn't go up that high, but using my brain and this handy chart, I figured he'd need just a bit more than 0.6 mL, so I gave him about 0.7 mL, just to be safe. I've also read that 60 lbs. equals to 6 mL.
Actually giving them the medicine was the next adventure. I used a little syringe, the kind without a needle, of course. You just draw up the right amount of the liquid, and then, the tricky part... getting the puppy to open its mouth and swallow it down. Let's just say there was a lot of coaxing, a few gentle head holds, and maybe a little bit of the medicine ended up on me instead of in them. But, we got through it!
After all that, they were all running around again in no time, none the worse for wear. I'll have to keep an eye on them, and probably do another round of deworming in a few weeks, just to make sure we got all those nasty worms. But for now, mission accomplished! It's a bit of a messy job, but hey, someone's gotta do it. And seeing those happy, healthy pups makes it all worth it.
