Why is my dog's tongue blue after taking Rimadyl medication?

If he is still taking the Rimadyl I would stop giving it and call your vet as soon as they are open. He probably should got back to your vet for a follow-up. It may not be related to the Rimadyl at all but it is better to be safe than sorry. Even though he is eating and drinking, that much pacing and restlessness is not normal.

If her gums and tongue turned blue (cyanosis aka cyanotic), this is a sign of not getting enough oxygen. This can come from a heart problem, a tracheal issue like tracheal collapse, a severe allergic reaction, poor pulmonary perfusion (pneumonia, cancer, fluid around the lungs, etc) and much more. I would strongly recommend to take her to the vet for an exam to see if they can figure out what caused her to be cyanotic and hopefully prevent it from happening again. Lack of oxygen can be fatal if not immediately treated. I hope this helps!

Hello, sorry to hear about Rocky. He could have a local infection or mass on his tongue that is painful. The discomfort is likely not allowing him to eat regularly. If this continues, or if the area gets larger, then he should be evaluated by his veterinarian as he may need antibiotics or surgery to treat the area in his tongue. Hope this helps and best of luck.

I can understand your concern. It is unlikely that she will have a serious complication from getting this dosage early due to her weight of 17lbs. I would recommend monitoring her for vomiting, bloody stool or refusal to eat for more 12 hrs. I assume you gave her the Rimadyl with a full meal as instructed. If you didn’t and she won’t take a meal now, then that is cause for concern and she should see an ER vet right away. But if she ate a full meal and is just sleepy it’s ok to wait it out. I would also give her a half of slice of bread, if she’ll take it and if anything else changes over the next 12-24 hrs Paige should be seen by a vet to make sure she is ok. Giving back to back NSAIDS do have the tendency to cause an upset stomach and in severe cases they can cause stomach ulcers, but typically this happens after long term usage of the drug or any drug interactions. Best wishes and I hope that Paige turns out ok.

I'm very sorry to hear about Gizmo. Half of a 25mg Rimadyl tablet is a relatively normal dose for a 10.4lb animal, maybe a little high, but not enough to usually cause a significant problem in the short term. Some of the side effects that can occur with Rimadyl do include vomiting and dark tarry stool as a result of ulceration of the stomach lining. It is not a very common side effect but it is something that we can see. Without a full autopsy, it is impossible to know for sure why Gizmo passed. However, it certainly is curious that he was having those clinical signs immediately after giving the medication.

His tongue does not appear to be critically discolored or alarming. It is actually quite pink still. If it seems darker to you, you could always take him in to have his blood checked to make sure he does not have any red blood cell abnormalities or clotting disorders. Otherwise, it is too difficult for me to give you an exact diagnosis without examining him. I would have a vet examine it just to be on the safe side if it is still there and you are concerned about it. A hands on exam will give you so much more information than a picture.

The color of the tongue and gums and skin can change shades based on things like hydration level, blood pressure (which is influenced by hydration and activity level), ambient temperature, oxygenation, red blood cell level, etc. In this case, if Brooke's blood pressure is just a little lower because she has been sleeping, then she may appear a little more pale. Shades of pink are good! White, blue, gray, or purple are bad. But often there can be severe medical issues and the gums can still be nice and pink, so it is rarely a true indication of disease.