Hyperactivity side effect of Drontal Plus

atelierk · Aug 14, 2014

Last night, I gave my new 9 week old puppy, Robin, her Drontal Plus as prescribed by my vet (after eating, around 8 - 8:30). By 10 PM, she was bouncing off the walls. She just paced, whined and barked constantly. Since sleep was impossible, I stayed up with her. Whether she was in my lap or in her crate, she absolutely could not settle down. I could tell she wanted to lay down and sleep but couldn't lie still for more than a few seconds before getting up and moving.

Since we're in the middle of housebreaking, I normally don't give water at night but decided it was my best bet to try and push this Drontal stuff through her system quickly. I gave her some (which she drank frantically) two or three times (along with multiple trips outside). Not sure if it helped or not but by 2 AM, she was finally able to lie down and sleep for about an hour. We went back outside at 3, it took her some time to settle again but then we slept until about 6 or so. She still seemed a bit wired, but by 9 AM was back to normal.

Robin did not have any diarrhea or vomiting, the side effects that the FDA does list for Drontal Plus. This morning's stool was somewhat larger in volume and lighter in color than normal, but not loose. I did not see any sign of worms. I'm also a doting "mom" and she has been absolutely supervised - either in her crate or on leash or on the floor playing with me - so I am confident that she did not get into anything else. The only thing that was different was the Drontal.

In the middle of the night, I Googled "hyperactivity Drontal" to see if anyone else's dog had ever experienced this reaction. To my surprise, I found many reports on dog forums and all followed exactly the reaction my pup was having. While probably not common, this side effect is certainly not unheard of. The only people who don't seem to be aware of it are vets. Sure enough, when I called my vet's office this morning to report it, they had never heard of it either. I only found one reference online where a vet had actually called Bayer and they (Bayer) did confirm that hyperactivity can be a side effect of one of Drontal's ingredients, primarily in Labs and Goldens. However, there are forums of many breeds where this same reaction is discussed.

Most of what I found online is, of course, "anecdotal evidence" but there's enough of it, and the scenarios are consistent enough that I think further "official" investigation is warranted. Has anyone else on here ever experienced this Drontal side effect?

atelierk · Aug 15, 2014

Follow-up: I talked directly to my vet this morning. He said he doesn't hear of this kind of reaction very often (I was relieved that he had heard of it since so many vets apparently have not), but in the future, he agreed we should use Panacur instead of Drontal Plus. It's hard to say whether it was a reaction to the Drontal itself or to the dying worms (and I found reference to this elsewhere online) although Robin's worm load was pretty light as she had been previously wormed by the breeder. I have, over the years, wormed puppies and dogs many times, and have never seen this sort of thing before; can't help thinking that if it was a reaction to dying worms, then wouldn't it be more common irregardless of which wormer was used? A dying worm is a dying worm is a dying worm I would think.:yuck:

In any event, all's well that ends well. Robin has been completely back to her old self for 24 hours now and slept well last night. (So did I!

)

swishywagga · Aug 15, 2014

Glad to hear that Robin is back to normal. I have used Drontal many years ago when my boy was a puppy, and he was very ill with vomiting and diarrhoea, so haven't used it since. I am sorry that your girl had a bad reaction to it. Hopefully using a different wormer next time will solve the problem!

TheZ's · Aug 15, 2014

Just seeing this thread. My pup was prescribed Drontal Plus after passing a single round worm. She had a reaction almost identical to what the OP describes, hyperactivity, hyper alertness, incessant barking. It lasted for about 12 hours through the night until 4:00am. When I reported it to the vet they said it couldn't be the Drontal that there were no side effects to Drontal. They reminded me to give the follow up dose after 2 (?) weeks. I gave the follow up dose early in the day in case there was a reaction. And there was. The same 12 hours of hyperactivity. The vet has acknowledged that our dog has reacted to Drontal and won't be given it again.

tlkring · Jun 20, 2017

My 3 year old 18# dog is experiencing the same issues. He's whining, running, sitting when he can. Am waiting for a call back from my vet. Going to be a long night.

uray · Sep 15, 2017

I was searching the net for similar kind of reaction, and found this post. I have applied De-worm pill on my 14 week old havanese puppy , Apollo. I have given him the medicine at around 9:00 in the evening. Unfortunately I dont know which kind of medicine it was, as it was given by my vet in a plastic file. Normally once in kennel after 10:30 in night Appollo sleeps well all night and never makes any noise or whining. To night he was totally agitated moving around the kennel and making lots of whining. As I could not sleep, I took him out and he was running in our living room non-stop from 3am in night till morning.

I am worried, if this will continue tonight also.

clsimmons10 · Oct 5, 2017

Today at 830am 10/5/17 I gave my 13 week old terrier mix puppy Drontal Plus for Tapeworm. As of 12:30p he too is now whiny and hyper and restless. He is drinking more than usual and I'm allowing it. We go out for fresh air and to potty. Hoping this "side affect" that is not listed from the manufacturer doesn't last too long. Not sure what my vet can even do if I were to call him.

usually lurking · Oct 5, 2017

Expect 8-12 hours of restless behavior. That seems to be about the norm for this.

Dawn Cloyd · Jan 28, 2019

Old dog reaction to Drontal

Thanks to all for sharing your stories on Drontal and hyperactivity! It saved me an emergency trip to the vet at 4:00 a.m. with my old girl. We gave our partially paralyzed 16 year old Black Lab mix (Chow and Blue Healer, we think) Drontal Plus about 10:00 p.m., and the poor thing did not sleep a wink. Because her hind legs are paralyzed, she couldn't run around as others have described, but she fidgeted and whined and drank water and fussed all night. After finally finding this thread and deciding it wasn't going to kill her, we put her in the other room so that we could get some sleep. She was pretty much back to normal by morning and doesn't seem any worse for the wear, but we will never do that again. I wrote it up for our vet and emailed our experience to them along with a link to this thread.

Peri29 · Sep 26, 2019

Dawn Cloyd said:
Thanks to all for sharing your stories on Drontal and hyperactivity! It saved me an emergency trip to the vet at 4:00 a.m. with my old girl. We gave our partially paralyzed 16 year old Black Lab mix (Chow and Blue Healer, we think) Drontal Plus about 10:00 p.m., and the poor thing did not sleep a wink. Because her hind legs are paralyzed, she couldn't run around as others have described, but she fidgeted and whined and drank water and fussed all night. After finally finding this thread and deciding it wasn't going to kill her, we put her in the other room so that we could get some sleep. She was pretty much back to normal by morning and doesn't seem any worse for the wear, but we will never do that again. I wrote it up for our vet and emailed our experience to them along with a link to this thread.

Same with 2 of my oldies. For one of them strong reaction. We did not know what was wrong with her or her reaction that time was more than normal compare to previous times. We even cancelled the operation. They said she had gas even though we had given the drontal 2 days ago. I do not know it causes also gas but I am happy that her operation got cancelled that day with that surgeon.

ken71 · Jan 29, 2019

Our puppy Alfie had exactly the same reaction and I vowed never to use it again. Instead we now use Milbemax with no problems.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

staceyjones123 · Feb 17, 2019

OMG..........we had 2 episodes of this PACING back and forth both times I gave my lab/pit mix Drontal. I was absolutely miserable all night long after giving him his Drontal after dinner. He couldn't settle down, lie down for longer than 5 seconds. I was so angry but knew it wasn't his fault. I did look this up at 2 am but like you, only found the vomiting and diarrhea. Thank you so much for posting this. This has helped me so much as I knew it had to be the Drontal. I will look up more information to see what else I can find but I am with you......this Pacing around the room, not being able to sit or lie down for HOURS after giving Drontal was the worst night of my life. Both times he got this medicine after dinner. We will also use Panacur next time. Well hopefully we won't need dewormer ever again.

Maggie'sVoice · Feb 17, 2019

Yep, I only use Pancur (fenbendazole) which you can buy in most pet stores as Safeguard. It's a powder that you use 3 consecutive days and that's it. No waiting 12-14 days to reworm to get hatching eggs. It also handles all the major worms except ring worm (fungal) and heartworm. It does, tape, hook, round and whip work. And you can use it starting as early as 3 weeks of age but recommend waiting to use it first at 6 weeks unless you see the evidence of worms before that.

KayRome · Mar 15, 2019

Same issue how long does it last?

The same exact thing is happening to us - Our 4 month old puppy is at this time completely crate trained - goes in at night with no issues and sleeps through the night without a peep. However, last night Drontal Plus was give for hook worms and he was up for hours on end barking, yelping, scratching to get out, crying - behavior we've never seen in him ever since taking him home. Fast forward to this morning, I can see our on camera that he is still completely restless in his crate barking and fidgeting with no end in sight for 2 hours now since leaving for work. The pill was given at 7pm last night - it's now 10:30 am ... how long will this last?!

Sweet Girl · Mar 15, 2019

KayRome said:
The same exact thing is happening to us - Our 4 month old puppy is at this time completely crate trained - goes in at night with no issues and sleeps through the night without a peep. However, last night Drontal Plus was give for hook worms and he was up for hours on end barking, yelping, scratching to get out, crying - behavior we've never seen in him ever since taking him home. Fast forward to this morning, I can see our on camera that he is still completely restless in his crate barking and fidgeting with no end in sight for 2 hours now since leaving for work. The pill was given at 7pm last night - it's now 10:30 am ... how long will this last?!

If he has hookworms, the meds may be starting to have an effect and he may be having intestinal discomfort. I'd take him out and let him try to poop. It might make him feel better.

Rose95 · Sep 26, 2019

Same issue - HAVE to give again!

Hello,

I know this post is old (and I don't have a Golden Retriever) but I had this same issue with Drontal when my Mastiff was a puppy. He had roundworms really bad. After the Drontal reaction we switched to Panacur with no issues.

He is now 8 years old and has a tapeworm (caught it from ingesting a flea while eating grass in the yard). The ingredient praziquantel is the only medicine that will treat this tapeworm (Dipylidium caninum). I cannot use Panacur, it only treats the tapeworm Taenia solium.

I have heard stories of switching to Milbemax and no issue but how is this possible if it still has the same active ingredient (praziquantel). Can I assume the dogs ok on Milbemax are reacting to the other ingredients (pyrantel pamoate and febantel). I am pretty sure febantel is the same thing as fenbendazole which is in Panacur.

I have heard stories of dogs reacting this same way with Panacur. So my thought process is that it is possible that dogs are reacting to the Febantel that is in both Drontal and Panacur. And the ones that try Mibemax are ok because neither of these ingredients are in it. I cannot find any stories on bad reactions with Milbemax.

BUT my dog was ok on Panacur so how can he react to the febantel? Doesn't it make sense he reacted to the praziquantel?

I also heard of Droncit pills which I think they only ingredient is praziquantel but I can't find much information about it.

I am actually scared to give this to him at 8 yrs old because he is much bigger with a worse temperament than when he was a puppy. His reaction this time can be aggressive instead of just scared. I almost consider leaving the tapeworm verses something awful happening. The praziquantel is the ONLY medicine to get rid of this tapeworm and I don't know what to do.

My vet gave me Trazadone (anti-anxiety pill) to give him but it doesn't help me feel better. What if it doesn't do anything?

I know there's a chance he may not react to the Drontal now that he's older (most stories are of puppies) but I don't want to risk it.

Just looking for some thoughts.

Do you think he will be ok on the Milbemax or Droncit even though it's the same active ingredient?

Has anyone heard of Pumpkin seeds ridding dogs of tapeworms?

Sorry this post is so long. I just don't know what to do.

Thank you for any help

Prism Goldens · Sep 26, 2019

You might ask the vet to try Cestex-epsiprantel- I keep this on hand because I have a couple who like to make squirrels into mid-day snacks. It just grosses me out- and squirrels have fleas and I don't want tapes, so I auto dose anyone I see 'hunting' whether I see them eat the squirrel or not. Part of my own issue is my XDN is a squirrel rehabber so the squirrels here are very tame, and unafraid of dogs (he has dogs) and humans (they sometimes catch me unaware and go to climb my leg to get to my imaginary peanut holding hand- I scream- process repeats- these things are not afraid). Anyway- I keep Cestex and have never noticed any side effects at all, where Drontal sometimes makes my dogs act off.

Rose95 · Sep 26, 2019

Thank you so much Prism.

That actually treats both types of the common tapeworm with NO praziquantel. In all my research I couldn't find anything else that would treat them.

I will definitely be looking into using this.

Thank you again.

Laura Hynes · Apr 21, 2020

THANK YOU.

We adopted a 3 year black lab and after picking up a squirrel we believe is how he got tapeworm. We gave him Drontal around 5pm, and by 10pm he was WIRED. He paced our bedroom all night long and couldn’t settle down at all. I Gave him a bone this morning so he at least has something to distract him, but he is going insane. I sent the vet an email to advise of this side effect. We hope that we only have to give him this once.
but thanks to this forum we didn’t feel crazy. Nothing online says anything about this besides this and another page of people having issues. Hoping by mid morning he will be back to normal self.

atelierk said:
Last night, I gave my new 9 week old puppy, Robin, her Drontal Plus as prescribed by my vet (after eating, around 8 - 8:30). By 10 PM, she was bouncing off the walls. She just paced, whined and barked constantly. Since sleep was impossible, I stayed up with her. Whether she was in my lap or in her crate, she absolutely could not settle down. I could tell she wanted to lay down and sleep but couldn't lie still for more than a few seconds before getting up and moving.

Since we're in the middle of housebreaking, I normally don't give water at night but decided it was my best bet to try and push this Drontal stuff through her system quickly. I gave her some (which she drank frantically) two or three times (along with multiple trips outside). Not sure if it helped or not but by 2 AM, she was finally able to lie down and sleep for about an hour. We went back outside at 3, it took her some time to settle again but then we slept until about 6 or so. She still seemed a bit wired, but by 9 AM was back to normal.

Robin did not have any diarrhea or vomiting, the side effects that the FDA does list for Drontal Plus. This morning's stool was somewhat larger in volume and lighter in color than normal, but not loose. I did not see any sign of worms. I'm also a doting "mom" and she has been absolutely supervised - either in her crate or on leash or on the floor playing with me - so I am confident that she did not get into anything else. The only thing that was different was the Drontal.

In the middle of the night, I Googled "hyperactivity Drontal" to see if anyone else's dog had ever experienced this reaction. To my surprise, I found many reports on dog forums and all followed exactly the reaction my pup was having. While probably not common, this side effect is certainly not unheard of. The only people who don't seem to be aware of it are vets. Sure enough, when I called my vet's office this morning to report it, they had never heard of it either. I only found one reference online where a vet had actually called Bayer and they (Bayer) did confirm that hyperactivity can be a side effect of one of Drontal's ingredients, primarily in Labs and Goldens. However, there are forums of many breeds where this same reaction is discussed.

Most of what I found online is, of course, "anecdotal evidence" but there's enough of it, and the scenarios are consistent enough that I think further "official" investigation is warranted. Has anyone else on here ever experienced this Drontal side effect?

Lilianacrystal · May 20, 2020

My 10 week old lab mix experienced the exact same symptoms last night. Finally calmed down around 13 hours after her dose of Drontal. It was hard to watch her cry, scream, and claw at her crate. She went into such a frenzy she temporarily got her jaw stuck in the bars of her crate. Ended up sleeping on the floor with her for 2 hours compared to her normal 8 (with a potty break or two). It was so unusual- she had the same thing where she'd lay down for a second or two and then spring back up like she just couldn't relax. Happy to have her tapeworm free, but VERY glad she only required a one time dose.

Janna80 · Jun 3, 2020

Thank you for this post. I have my puppy a second dose and she is completely out of her mind. I have her at 5pm. Now it is 11pm (!) and this 10 weeks old puppy didn’t sleep for 6 hours. I think this is because of this medicine. This is insane! She was like on crack she r something. Very agitated, panting and just moving back and forth. I thought I saw reaction to the first dose, but we just brought her home, so I wasn’t sure what is her normal anyway. But now I see how insane it was.

Ilovepuppylove · Jan 22, 2021

Our five month old pit mix pup had a restless night, up & down with several trips outside quite soon after we administered Drontal. I suggest someone do a blind study with dogs that have worms & those that don’t. It’s the only way to get a definitive answer. I have a feeling it’s the die-off that made her so antsy, since hardly any vets know anything about it. Our vet said it was very unusual. Perhaps the level of infestation is a factor. We had wormed her twice previously but apparently Drontal works best for tapeworm, which didn’t show up in earlier flotation tests. We had to bring in a fecal sample with writhing worms before we got the proper prescription.

Susieoregon · Feb 10, 2021

I have a 3 year old cattle dog mix who I gave Drontal to last night for tapeworms. He is super anxious, clingy, constantly whining, barking, restless, pacing. Called the vet and they said it was not the meds. So glad I found this thread. It’s been 15 hours now, I gave him a bone to keep him busy so I can work for a while.

Thank god for this thread.

Coachtank55 · Feb 21, 2021

I do it have a retriever, but I have a presa I have him Drotrol Plus as well
And he has been off the chain. He typically sleeps right in his crate. He has been restless all night long.

Dneuf · Feb 24, 2021

This is the second time I’ve given my mix dog drontal and again he is nuts! Constantly whining, sketchy, barking, hyper vigilant and just unsettled. Ugh poor guy. Poor me!

Kwnull · Apr 18, 2021

atelierk said:
Last night, I gave my new 9 week old puppy, Robin, her Drontal Plus as prescribed by my vet (after eating, around 8 - 8:30). By 10 PM, she was bouncing off the walls. She just paced, whined and barked constantly. Since sleep was impossible, I stayed up with her. Whether she was in my lap or in her crate, she absolutely could not settle down. I could tell she wanted to lay down and sleep but couldn't lie still for more than a few seconds before getting up and moving.

Since we're in the middle of housebreaking, I normally don't give water at night but decided it was my best bet to try and push this Drontal stuff through her system quickly. I gave her some (which she drank frantically) two or three times (along with multiple trips outside). Not sure if it helped or not but by 2 AM, she was finally able to lie down and sleep for about an hour. We went back outside at 3, it took her some time to settle again but then we slept until about 6 or so. She still seemed a bit wired, but by 9 AM was back to normal.

Robin did not have any diarrhea or vomiting, the side effects that the FDA does list for Drontal Plus. This morning's stool was somewhat larger in volume and lighter in color than normal, but not loose. I did not see any sign of worms. I'm also a doting "mom" and she has been absolutely supervised - either in her crate or on leash or on the floor playing with me - so I am confident that she did not get into anything else. The only thing that was different was the Drontal.

In the middle of the night, I Googled "hyperactivity Drontal" to see if anyone else's dog had ever experienced this reaction. To my surprise, I found many reports on dog forums and all followed exactly the reaction my pup was having. While probably not common, this side effect is certainly not unheard of. The only people who don't seem to be aware of it are vets. Sure enough, when I called my vet's office this morning to report it, they had never heard of it either. I only found one reference online where a vet had actually called Bayer and they (Bayer) did confirm that hyperactivity can be a side effect of one of Drontal's ingredients, primarily in Labs and Goldens. However, there are forums of many breeds where this same reaction is discussed.

Most of what I found online is, of course, "anecdotal evidence" but there's enough of it, and the scenarios are consistent enough that I think further "official" investigation is warranted. Has anyone else on here ever experienced this Drontal side effect?

Our 9 week old Australian Shephard already was dewormed by our breeder and when we took him in for a checkup to our newly found vet they said they wanted the tapeworm covered by Drontal. We thought it was overkill. But followed instructions.

Found this thread tonight because our perfectly calm puppy is literally hulked out like never before. If you've been told by a vet this stuff has no side effects, it's ignorance or a complete lie cause of some deal they have with this company.

Our puppy's heart rate is through the roof. He's nuts when he's normally the chillest dog ever. His pupils are massive.

DO NOT LET YOUR DOG TAKE THIS MEDICATION.

CAROLINA MOM · Apr 18, 2021

Kwnull said:
Our 9 week old Australian Shephard already was dewormed by our breeder and when we took him in for a checkup to our newly found vet they said they wanted the tapeworm covered by Drontal. We thought it was overkill. But followed instructions.

Found this thread tonight because our perfectly calm puppy is literally hulked out like never before. If you've been told by a vet this stuff has no side effects, it's ignorance or a complete lie cause of some deal they have with this company.

Our puppy's heart rate is through the roof. He's nuts when he's normally the chillest dog ever. His pupils are massive.

DO NOT LET YOUR DOG TAKE THIS MEDICATION.

Sorry to hear about your pup's reaction, you may need to take him to a Emergency Vet or at least give them a call.

Derek6441 · May 11, 2021

atelierk said:
Last night, I gave my new 9 week old puppy, Robin, her Drontal Plus as prescribed by my vet (after eating, around 8 - 8:30). By 10 PM, she was bouncing off the walls. She just paced, whined and barked constantly. Since sleep was impossible, I stayed up with her. Whether she was in my lap or in her crate, she absolutely could not settle down. I could tell she wanted to lay down and sleep but couldn't lie still for more than a few seconds before getting up and moving.

Since we're in the middle of housebreaking, I normally don't give water at night but decided it was my best bet to try and push this Drontal stuff through her system quickly. I gave her some (which she drank frantically) two or three times (along with multiple trips outside). Not sure if it helped or not but by 2 AM, she was finally able to lie down and sleep for about an hour. We went back outside at 3, it took her some time to settle again but then we slept until about 6 or so. She still seemed a bit wired, but by 9 AM was back to normal.

Robin did not have any diarrhea or vomiting, the side effects that the FDA does list for Drontal Plus. This morning's stool was somewhat larger in volume and lighter in color than normal, but not loose. I did not see any sign of worms. I'm also a doting "mom" and she has been absolutely supervised - either in her crate or on leash or on the floor playing with me - so I am confident that she did not get into anything else. The only thing that was different was the Drontal.

In the middle of the night, I Googled "hyperactivity Drontal" to see if anyone else's dog had ever experienced this reaction. To my surprise, I found many reports on dog forums and all followed exactly the reaction my pup was having. While probably not common, this side effect is certainly not unheard of. The only people who don't seem to be aware of it are vets. Sure enough, when I called my vet's office this morning to report it, they had never heard of it either. I only found one reference online where a vet had actually called Bayer and they (Bayer) did confirm that hyperactivity can be a side effect of one of Drontal's ingredients, primarily in Labs and Goldens. However, there are forums of many breeds where this same reaction is discussed.

Most of what I found online is, of course, "anecdotal evidence" but there's enough of it, and the scenarios are consistent enough that I think further "official" investigation is warranted. Has anyone else on here ever experienced this Drontal side effect?

Hi my dog gemeni wich is 8 to 9 weeks old went to vet today and he is glued to me always so like you said there no way it could been any thing else other than his parvo shot but i waited unti night to give him the pill and he was fine all day but couple hours after giving him the pill same thing is goin on he is up and down i can tell he just wants to sleep so what ever he is goin through will just go away idk if your puppy did this but he yelps every now and again and motions to his rear end usually he lays on my arm and sleeps all nigh its now 252 am and he is just seeming to wind down from being extremely restless i pray to hod he is gonna be ok he is my world i seen puppys get wormed alot never seen this and didnt see any worms come out all other wormings i seen they was lots but i feel a lil better cause like you said the vets and vet forums say nothing of this but you honestly took 100pounds off my shoulders knowing you have been through the same thing and your pup was ok from bottom of my heart thank you i will give a update as well

Molly4 · Jun 5, 2021

Omg(oodnees) searching on line for side effects for this drug. Found nothing about the pacing, whining, barking, drinking water, not settling down ALL night. It was insane, I was up all night with her! She was crazy. In the am I decided to look on line. She is fine after 12 hours. Will call vet on Monday to update. A greatful thank you to this thread from a very tired dog mom

SodaPup · Jun 16, 2021

I don't have a golden retriever but a 10 month old Cockapoo and I just wanted to also post to say thank you for this thread. We are in the UK and I gave her Endogard Plus which I think is the same as Drontal Plus and she was INSANE! Like many of you, she has slept in her crate overnight 10ish to 7ish every night since she was about 10 weeks old with no problems. After giving her a pill at 6pm on Saturday she woke up at 1.30am and did not go back to sleep. She was still manic for much of Sunday and has settled down a bit but is still waking early and not napping as much during the day, three days later. I did take her to the vets yesterday and they said she seems fine physically and had never heard of a reaction to worming tablets before but what has happened to her seems so similar to threads like this I have found. I hope she continues to settle and I will definitely think twice before giving this medication to her again. Just wanted to add another experience to this thread.

Hyperactivity side effect of Drontal Plus

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