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If you have already given your dog ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve) or acetaminophen (Tylenol), call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435 now, even if the dog seems fine. The damage from these drugs shows up hours to days later, and the treatment works far better before symptoms start. Have the bottle in your hand when you call: the strength per tablet and how many are missing is what they will ask.
The short answer: there is nothing in your medicine cabinet that is safe to give a dog for pain without a vet telling you the dose. Ibuprofen, naproxen and Tylenol are the three most common causes of medication poisoning in dogs, and the amounts that cause harm are smaller than most owners expect: less than one Advil a day, for a few weeks, is enough to ulcerate a 20-pound dog's stomach. What is safe is a short list of dog-specific prescription NSAIDs your vet can dispense the same day, usually by phone, plus a handful of things you can do at home tonight that cost nothing. This page covers all of it: what is toxic and at what dose, what vets actually prescribe, what you can do before the appointment, how to tell how much pain your dog is in, and the one place a hemp supplement fits.
Written by Marc Brannigan, Co-Founder & CEO of HempMy Pet. Last updated 15 October 2026.
The Medicine Cabinet, Drug by Drug
These are the thresholds from the veterinary toxicology literature, converted into tablets for a 20-pound dog and a 60-pound dog so you can see how little it takes. Dogs are not small people: they clear these drugs slowly, and they have no safe over-the-counter painkiller.
| Human drug | What it does to a dog | The dose that causes it | In a 20-lb dog / 60-lb dog |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ibuprofen Advil, Motrin, Nurofen |
Stomach ulcers and bleeding first; kidney failure at higher doses; seizures and coma at the top end. | Ulcers from 8–16 mg/kg a day given for a month. Vomiting and GI bleeding from a single 100–125 mg/kg dose. Kidney failure from 175–300 mg/kg. Potentially lethal above 600 mg/kg. | Under one 200 mg tablet a day, for a few weeks, ulcerates a 20-lb dog. A single 4–5 tablets makes a 20-lb dog sick; about 14 tablets does the same to a 60-lb dog. Kidney damage from about 8 / 24 tablets. |
|
Naproxen Aleve, Naprosyn |
The most dangerous of the four per milligram. Severe GI bleeding and kidney injury from doses that look tiny. | Vomiting, black tarry stool and weakness from 5.6 mg/kg a day for a week. A single 35 mg/kg dose causes bloody vomiting and melena. | A quarter of one 220 mg Aleve a day harms a 20-lb dog within a week. One and a half tablets in one go does it to a 20-lb dog; about four to a 60-lb dog. There is no safe dose. |
|
Acetaminophen Tylenol, paracetamol |
Not an NSAID, so it does not ulcerate; instead it damages the liver and, at higher doses, stops red blood cells carrying oxygen (brown gums, dark urine, laboured breathing). | Signs from about 100 mg/kg in a single dose; red-cell damage above 200 mg/kg. Lower doses cause harm if repeated. In cats, toxic at 10–50 mg/kg: one regular tablet can kill a cat. | Just under two Extra Strength (500 mg) tablets for a 20-lb dog; about five for a 60-lb dog. Never, at any dose, for a cat. |
|
Aspirin Bayer, "baby aspirin", Bufferin |
The one older vets sometimes allowed. Still ulcerates: half of dogs given a modest dose three times a day had stomach erosions within two days. | Mucosal erosions in 50% of dogs at 25 mg/kg three times daily after two days; ulcers at 35 mg/kg three times daily by day 30. Acute toxicosis around 450 mg/kg. | Under one 325 mg tablet, three times a day, erodes a 20-lb dog's stomach in two days. A vet may still use it short-term in a specific dog, but it is not something to start on your own, and it must never overlap with a prescription NSAID or a steroid. |
|
Leftover carprofen or meloxicam from another dog, or another time |
The right drug family, but the dose is by weight and the risk depends on this dog's kidneys, liver and what else they take. Carprofen plus a steroid or plus aspirin is a recipe for a bleed. | Carprofen is dosed at 2.2 mg/kg twice daily or 4.4 mg/kg once daily; above that, or in a dog not screened for it, the stomach and liver are the targets. | A 100 mg Rimadyl chewable meant for a 50-lb dog is two and a half times the dose for a 20-lb dog. Ask the vet; a phone call usually sorts it. |
Thresholds from the Merck Veterinary Manual, analgesic toxicosis. Tablet conversions use 9 kg and 27 kg bodyweights and standard US tablet strengths; they are illustrative, not permission. Signs can start below these numbers in a dog with existing kidney or liver disease, a dehydrated dog, or one on steroids.
The reason human painkillers hurt dogs is not that dogs are fragile. It is that they metabolise these drugs far more slowly, so a "small" dose keeps circulating for days and the damage accumulates.
What Vets Actually Give Dogs for Pain
All of these are prescription-only, and the FDA is explicit that no over-the-counter NSAID for dogs is approved. Most vets will dispense a few days of an NSAID after a phone consult or a brief exam, so the gap between "I noticed my dog is sore" and "my dog has something that works" is usually hours, not days.
| Medication | What it is for | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Carprofen (Rimadyl, Novox, generics) | The default first-line dog NSAID for arthritis, injury and post-surgical pain. The only one with placebo-controlled trial evidence that it improves how a dog walks. | Works within hours. Needs baseline bloodwork and periodic rechecks for liver and kidney. We go through the real side-effect data on our carprofen page. |
| Meloxicam (Metacam, Loxicom) | Same family, once daily, liquid, easy to dose small dogs accurately. | Same monitoring. Never with aspirin, carprofen or a steroid at the same time. |
| Deracoxib, firocoxib (Deramaxx, Previcox) | Alternatives when a dog does not tolerate carprofen. | Same class, same rules. One NSAID at a time, with a washout between them. |
| Grapiprant (Galliprant) | A newer anti-inflammatory that works on a single pain receptor rather than the whole prostaglandin pathway; often chosen for older dogs with borderline kidneys. | Approved for osteoarthritis only, not for acute injury or surgery. |
| Gabapentin | Nerve pain, and as an add-on to an NSAID. Very widely prescribed. | The evidence for it on its own in arthritis is weak; it works best alongside an anti-inflammatory. Sedation and wobbliness are the common complaints. Gabapentin side effects, with the research. |
| Tramadol | Still prescribed for arthritis and after surgery. | A 40-dog blinded trial found it was no better than placebo for arthritis pain, because dogs barely convert it to the active form. Details on our tramadol page. |
| Bedinvetmab (Librela) | A monthly injection that blocks nerve growth factor; for osteoarthritis in dogs that cannot take NSAIDs or need more. | Effective for many dogs; the FDA warned vets in December 2024 about reports of wobbliness, seizures, weakness and incontinence, and the label was updated in 2025. Not for acute injury. What the trials and the FDA letter actually say. |
| Amantadine, opioids, local blocks | Chronic wind-up pain (amantadine); surgery, trauma and hospice (opioids). | Vet-managed. If your dog is at the end of life and in pain, these exist and your vet can send them home; nobody should be improvising with human pills. |
If your dog takes any prescription painkiller and you are considering adding hemp, read what the canine research shows about CBD and medications first; the interaction picture is better than the human extrapolations suggest, but it is a conversation to have with your vet.
What You Can Do at Home Tonight
None of these replace a diagnosis. All of them help, and none of them can hurt a dog whose pain you have not identified yet.
A fresh limp, a yelp on a jump, a sore paw: strict rest for 48 hours, no stairs, no sofa, lead walks only to toilet. A cold compress wrapped in a towel on the sore spot, 10 minutes, a few times the first day. Do not massage or manipulate anything you suspect is broken.
Stiff joints want warmth, not cold: a heated pad on low under a blanket, a warm room, a thick orthopaedic bed off the floor. Rugs on hard floors. A ramp for the car and the sofa. Short, frequent walks instead of one long one. Nails trimmed so the foot sits flat.
Every extra pound on an arthritic dog is loaded onto the joints several times over with each step. Losing it is the single most effective non-drug intervention in the canine arthritis literature. If your dog is in pain and also limping, our limping guide walks through the warm-up test that separates joint pain from injury.
The Five Stages of Arthritis in Dogs →
How to Tell How Much Pain Your Dog Is In
Dogs hide pain, and the signs owners look for (crying, limping) are the late ones. The early ones are things your dog has quietly stopped doing.
- Stopped doing things: the last stair, the jump into the car, the greeting at the door, the long walk. This is the most reliable early sign and the one most often written off as age.
- Posture: a hunched or roached back, head held low, sitting off to one side, "praying" position (front down, rear up) with belly pain.
- Movement: slow to rise, stiff for the first thirty seconds then easing (joints), or stiff throughout (muscle, injury, spine). Bunny-hopping with the back legs. Shifting weight when standing.
- Behaviour: panting at rest, trembling, whining that tracks position changes, restlessness at night, hiding, a dog who normally loves being touched flinching or going still when you reach a spot.
- Face: ears back, tight mouth, a fixed stare, lip-licking, a "worried" expression that is new.
- Appetite and grooming: eating less, drinking less, licking one spot repeatedly, coat going dull.
"Silent pain" is the clinical term for the dog who shows none of the loud signs and all of the quiet ones. If you can count three items on this list, your dog is in enough pain to treat. The Cornell Riney Canine Health Center is a reliable owner-level reference for the conditions behind it.
Where Hemp Actually Fits, and Where It Doesn't
We make hemp products, so this is the section to read sceptically. Here is the honest version.
Where it does not fit: a fresh injury, a suspected fracture, post-surgical pain, dental pain, a dog who has eaten something, or any pain you have not yet identified. Those need a vet and, usually, a prescription NSAID. Hemp is not an anti-inflammatory in the way carprofen is, it does not work in an hour, and it is not a reason to delay the phone call.
Where it does fit: ongoing joint discomfort in a dog whose diagnosis is known. That is the one use with real controlled evidence in dogs: five published canine osteoarthritis trials, four of them positive, one of them ours. In our 90-day study of 37 dogs with chronic joint discomfort, 30 of the 32 that finished showed a benefit and 94% of owners reported better quality of life; of the 23 dogs that started the study on gabapentin, 10 came off it and 11 reduced the dose under veterinary supervision. It is used alongside whatever the vet prescribes, not instead of it, and it takes two to four weeks of daily use to judge, not two hours.
If that describes your dog, the joint and mobility page sets out what to expect, and the serving guide works from bodyweight.
For ongoing joint comfort, alongside your vet's plan
250mg Hemp Seed Oil
Up to about 40 lbs
$49
1,000mg Hemp Seed Oil
40 lbs and up · the trial strength
$99
Large Dog Hemp Treats
5mg each · pre-measured
$32
Grown on our own Colorado farm, third-party tested every batch, and the same full-spectrum extract used in our 90-day university trial. Serving by weight →
When to Call the Vet
Call an emergency line now if:
- Your dog has had any amount of ibuprofen, naproxen or acetaminophen, or an unknown number of any pill
- There is vomiting with blood, black tarry stool, or pale, brown or blue gums
- The dog cannot stand, cannot bear weight on a leg, or a limb is at an odd angle
- The belly is swollen or hard, or the dog is retching without bringing anything up
- Breathing is laboured, or the dog is crying out continuously
- Pain follows being hit by a car, a fall, or a fight, even if the dog seems fine (internal injury shows late)
Book an appointment this week if:
- A limp or stiffness has lasted more than two days of rest
- Your dog has stopped doing two or more things they used to do
- They are slow to rise most mornings, or restless most nights
- They flinch or go still when you touch one area
- They are eating less, or have started panting or trembling at rest
The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center runs 24 hours on (888) 426-4435; there is a consultation fee, and it is worth every cent if your dog has eaten a human painkiller.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I give my dog for pain over the counter?
Nothing from the human aisle, safely. Ibuprofen, naproxen and acetaminophen are the three most common causes of medication poisoning in dogs, and the harmful doses are smaller than one tablet in a small dog. The only OTC options with any legitimate role are non-drug ones: rest, cold or warmth, weight loss, and for known joint discomfort, a hemp or omega-3 supplement alongside the vet's plan. The dog-specific NSAIDs are prescription-only in the US, but most vets will dispense a few days' worth after a phone call.
What can I give my dog for severe pain at home?
Severe pain is a vet visit today, not a home remedy. Until you get there: keep the dog still and warm, do not give any human medication, do not feed if there is any chance of surgery, and carry rather than walk a dog who cannot bear weight. If your dog already has a prescription painkiller at home from a previous episode, call the vet before using it; the dose may be wrong for the current problem and it must not overlap with anything else.
Is there a human pain reliever I can give my dog?
Not without a vet's instruction. Aspirin is the only one vets occasionally use in dogs, at a specific dose and for a short time, and even then half of dogs show stomach erosions within two days at modest doses. Ibuprofen, naproxen and acetaminophen should never be given. If a vet does suggest aspirin, it must be plain or buffered aspirin (never enteric-coated, never with caffeine or other ingredients), and never alongside a prescription NSAID or steroid.
Can I give my dog aspirin or Tylenol?
Tylenol (acetaminophen): no. It damages the liver and, at higher doses, the red blood cells; under two Extra Strength tablets is enough to make a 20-pound dog ill, and a single regular tablet can kill a cat. Aspirin: only if your vet tells you to, at the dose they give you, for the number of days they say. Baby aspirin is still aspirin, and "low dose" for a person is not low dose for a 15-pound dog.
What pain relievers are OK for dogs?
The FDA-approved dog NSAIDs: carprofen, meloxicam, deracoxib, firocoxib and grapiprant, all prescription. Beyond those, vets use gabapentin (mainly as an add-on), amantadine, the monthly Librela injection for arthritis, and opioids for surgery and hospice. Which one depends on your dog's age, kidney and liver function, other medications and what the pain is from, which is why there is no single safe answer that applies to every dog.
How can I tell if my dog is in pain?
Look for what they have stopped doing rather than for crying. Skipping the last stair, hesitating at the car, slow to rise, stiff for the first thirty seconds, panting or trembling at rest, restlessness at night, a hunched back, flinching when touched in one spot, and a tight, worried face are the early signs. If three of those apply, your dog is in enough pain to treat.
My dog is dying. What can I give him for pain?
Call your vet and say exactly that. Hospice and palliative pain control for dogs is well developed: opioids, local blocks, injectable NSAIDs and sedatives can all be sent home with you, and many practices offer home visits. What you should not do is improvise with human pills, which can add vomiting, bleeding and liver failure to a dog's last days. Our quality of life scale is the tool vets use to help families judge where a dog is.
Can hemp or CBD replace my dog's pain medication?
No. It is not an anti-inflammatory in the way an NSAID is, and it has no role in acute injury, post-surgical or unexplained pain. Where it has controlled evidence is ongoing joint discomfort, used alongside the vet's plan over weeks, not hours. In our 90-day trial, some dogs were able to reduce or stop gabapentin under veterinary supervision, but that was a decision made by the vet with bloodwork in hand, not by the owner at home.
How much gabapentin can I give my dog for pain?
Only the amount your vet prescribed for this dog, at the interval they set. Gabapentin has no published toxic dose in dogs, but higher doses cause heavy sedation, wobbliness and vomiting, and some human liquid formulations contain xylitol, which is toxic to dogs. If the current dose is not controlling pain, that is a call to the vet, not an extra capsule.
The Short Version
Human painkillers are the wrong answer for a dog in pain, and the doses that cause harm are smaller than a single tablet for a small dog. The right answer is a dog-specific prescription NSAID from your vet, usually available the same day, plus rest, warmth or cold, and weight control at home. Hemp has one evidenced role, ongoing joint comfort, and it is a slow add-on to a vet's plan, not a substitute for the phone call.
Hemp for Hip & Joint Mobility → All Hemp for Dogs
Arthritis in Dogs · Why Is My Dog Limping · Carprofen Side Effects · Gabapentin Side Effects · CBD and Medications · Serving by Weight
Marc co-founded HempMy Pet in 2016 with his business partner Natalie Mondine, the company's COO. HempMy Pet breeds its own hemp genetics, grows them on its certified-organic Colorado farm, and formulates every batch in-house under human-grade standards — seed to sale, nothing sourced overseas. Every batch is third-party tested and the certificates of analysis are published. More about us.
HempMy Pet ran its own 90-day study of 37 dogs with chronic joint discomfort. Of the 32 that completed it, 30 (93%) showed a benefit, and 94% of owners reported their dog's quality of life had improved. It was overseen by Dr. Robin Downing, DVM, MS of the Downing Center for Animal Pain Management, with Lori Kogan, Ph.D. and Peter W. Hellyer, DVM of Colorado State University's College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, and published in the Journal of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association. Read the methodology.
Why Dr. Downing: in 2005 she became only the third veterinarian in the world credentialed as a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management. She founded the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management, is a Diplomate of the ACVSMR, a Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner and a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner, and was the AVMA's 2020 Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year. Chronic joint pain is her life's work. Read the published paper (PDF).
This article is general information for dog owners, not veterinary advice. Toxicity thresholds are taken from the Merck Veterinary Manual and the FDA; it is reviewed and updated as new peer-reviewed evidence is published, and where the evidence is thin or negative we say so.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This article is general information, not veterinary advice. If your dog is unwell, contact your veterinarian.
