Behaviour change after Doxycycline in dogs

135 reports to the FDA describe behaviour change in dogs given Doxycycline. That is 3.4% of all reports for this medicine, compared with 2.5% across reports for all dog medicines.

135Reports

67%Marked serious

15%Recovered

26%Died or euthanised

12 daysTypical onset

How soon it started

Same day

19 17%

1–2 days

15 14%

3–7 days

17 15%

1–4 weeks

15 14%

Over a month

44 40%

How the animals did

Recovered

18 13%

Recovered with lasting effects

2 1.5%

Still unwell when reported

40 30%

Died

11 8.1%

Euthanised

24 18%

Not known

40 30%

Problems reported at the same time

57 42%

49 36%

37 27%

35 26%

31 23%

31 23%

23 17%

21 16%

Age of the animals

Under 1 year

1–3 years

4–7 years

8–11 years

12+ years

About this medicine

Doxycycline treats bacterial and tick-borne infections.

Questions owners ask

Can Doxycycline cause behaviour change in dogs?: 135 reports link the two, but a report alone does not prove the medicine was the cause: other illnesses, other medicines or coincidence can be involved. Your vet can judge it for your animal.
How soon after a dose was it reported?: In half of the reports with dates, it started within 12 days of the first dose.
What should I do?: Don't give another dose until you've spoken to your vet, and keep the packaging so you can tell them the product and dose. Your vet can also report it to the FDA (or you can, through the manufacturer or FDA form 1932a).

Behaviour change with similar medicines

Behaviour change after Amoxicillin + Clavulanate (Clavamox) 226 reports · 4.2% of its reports
Behaviour change after Cefovecin (Convenia) 164 reports · 4.3% of its reports
Behaviour change after Enrofloxacin (Baytril) 196 reports · 5.2% of its reports
Behaviour change after Metronidazole 164 reports · 5.3% of its reports
Behaviour change after Amoxicillin 84 reports · 6.2% of its reports

All reported side effects of Doxycycline in dogs · Medicines most reported with behaviour change