In this article a list of medication names for dogs and other animals is provided
Composed By: Timothy P. Gauthier, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCIDP
Article posted 20 August 2022
Recently @HaPhanPharmD asked the twitterverse for good medication names for dogs. Many people commented, sharing some actual names of their pets (see below) or hypothetical names that would be a possible name for a dog (or pair of dogs).
As someone who once almost named a dog colistin (after an antibiotic I used to study), I can totally relate to wanting to name your dog after a medication name. From the chatter on social media many people from the world of pharmacy, medicine, nursing, and other healthcare professions feel the same.
Thinking that people may be looking for a list like this in the future (and just for good fun), the following list of medication names for dogs is provided. Most of this list is sourced from comments on social media. Some are what may be the formal name on the vet office visit (with the shortened version for daily use), while others are pun nicknames. I am admittedly biased towards favoring the antimicrobial drug names, go figure.
All of these medications can also of course be used for other pets beyond dogs. Scroll down for pairs of names and bonus medical names for pets.
This is #Piperacillin (we call him Piper so that our vet doesn’t hate us) pic.twitter.com/V6WUZAtoZw
— Marina Simeonova, PharmD (@msimeonova) August 20, 2022
Meet Benzo! pic.twitter.com/n6iNNwHQSc
— Maura Harkin (@MauraPharmD) August 20, 2022
- Penicillin (Penny for short)
- Nimbex
- Zofran (Zoe for short)
- Pawxlovid
- Taltz
- Amphoterrier B (Ampho or B for short)
- Verapawmil (Vera for short)
- Lidocaine (Caine for short)
- Augmentin (Auggie for short)
- Zosyn
- Vancosyn or vancopime (Vanc for short)
- Puppercillin
- Woofarin
- Plavix
- Cialis (Cia for short)
- Staxyn
- Ceftin
- Lasix (Lasi for short)
- Chloramphenicol (Chloe for short)
- Ozempic (Ozzzie for short)
- Moxifloxacin (Moxi for short)
- Flomax (Max for short)
- Zithromax (Max for short)
- Fidoxomicin (Fido for short)
- Merrem
- Dawgsycycline or Doggsycycline (Dawgsy for short)
- Lexapro (Lexie for short)
- Celexa
- Prozac (Zac for short)
- Paxil (Pax for short)
- Harvoni (Harvy for short)
- Mavyret (Mav for short)
- Rexulti (Rex for short)
- Ruxolitinib (Rux for short)
- Baricitinib (Bari for short)
- Jakafi (Jak for short)
- Xyzal
- Allegra (may be particularly funny if allergy issues)
- Yaz
- Levora
- Beyaz (Bey for short)
- Ocella
- Nora-BE (Nora or B for short)
- Mirena
- Adderall (Addie for short)
- Dexamethasone or Dexmeditomidine or Precedex or Dexedrine (Dex for short)
- Phenytoin (Pheny for short)
- Tessalon (Tess for short)
- Remifentanyl (Remi for short)
- Ketamine (Katy for short)
- Codeine (Codi for short)
- Marinol (Marin for short)
- Percocet (Perc for short)
- Doglaudid (Lauddie for short)
- Benzodiazepine (Benzo for short, can sing Ba-Ba-Benny and the pets to them)
- Midazolam (Dazzie or Dazzle for short)
- Xanax (Xanny for short)
- Haldog (Hal for short)
- Tikosyn (Tiko for short)
- Norepinephrine (Nori for short)
- Levophed (Levo for short)
- Montelukast (Monte for short)
- Bictegravir (Bic for short)
- Dogorubicin (Doggo for short)
- Famotidine (Fammy)
Here are names for pairs of dogs..
- Pip and tazo
- Ampicillin and gentamicin (short for Amp and Gent)
- Quinupristin and dolfopristin (short for Quinnie and Dolfo)
- Bella and Donna
- Carbidopa and Levodopa (short for Levo and Dopa)
Other bonus names from social media…
- Henle (after loop of henle in the kidney)
- Vitamin
- Purrdaxa for a cat (call them Dax)
- GABA (for the neurotransmitter)
- Dopamine (Dopey for short)
- Billy Rubin (after bilirubin, Billy for short)
- Bezoar for a cat (Bezzie for short)
- ECMO
- QT (pronounced cutie)
- Doppler
I hope you found this fun/helpful!
This is Caine for “Lidocaine”! pic.twitter.com/2Js3VOkBbQ
— Ashley Costello, PharmD (@SouthernPharmer) August 20, 2022
not a dog, but meet Nimbex 🙃 pic.twitter.com/W3o7NLCtLY
— Sarah Jesse (@serratiapharmd) August 20, 2022
Meet GABA! He is named after the neurotransmitter, but often people think it is short for gabapentin 😂 pic.twitter.com/1b3UAEvGWz
— Jessica Daniell (Keefe) (@keefejm) August 19, 2022
This is my boy Moxifloxacin, Moxi for short 🙂 pic.twitter.com/3JcgasorMK
— lindsey (@lincel_) August 20, 2022
Lunesta (Luna) and Methylene Blue (Blue) pic.twitter.com/OQ1YokufTo
— Cory Durbin (@PharmerDurbin) August 20, 2022
Not dogs obvi but my hamsters names are Tikosyn & Levophed (Tiko & Levo for short) ☺️😅🐹 pic.twitter.com/EHT7MgH4OD
— Emily F., PharmD (@emidazolam) August 20, 2022
No, this is Benzo! 🤣 pic.twitter.com/LKeB8LGbsc
— Shelby Warring (@Shelb_RX) August 20, 2022
This is Paxil 🤩 the best little boy/serotonin boost ever pic.twitter.com/W2j1W9xWAX
— Erika Alonso (@EKA_PharmD) August 20, 2022
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