Trazadone

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697 adverse event reports submitted to the FDA

Important: Adverse event reports do not establish that a drug caused or contributed to the event. Consult your veterinarian before making treatment decisions.
697
Total Reports
57
Deaths Reported
820.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Trazadone

Administration Routes

UnknownOral

Species Affected

Dog 682
Cat 11
Human 3
Horse 1

Most Affected Breeds

Retriever - Labrador 84
Crossbred Canine/dog 55
Shepherd Dog - German 50
Retriever - Golden 34
Pit Bull 24
Shepherd Dog - Australian 21
Boxer (German Boxer) 18
Beagle 17
Shih Tzu 17
Siberian Husky 17

Most Reported Reactions

Vomiting 147
Diarrhoea 69
Lack of efficacy (endoparasite) - heartworm 55
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in Neurological) 52
Lack of efficacy - NOS 41
Death by euthanasia 40
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') 37
Other abnormal test result NOS 37
Seizure NOS 34
Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 34
Decreased appetite 33
Ataxia 32

Outcome Breakdown

Outcome Unknown
261 (37.4%)
Ongoing
208 (29.8%)
Recovered/Normal
171 (24.5%)
Euthanized
40 (5.7%)
Died
17 (2.4%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 697
Reports involving death 57
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 820.0%
Distinct species in reports 4
Distinct breeds in reports 20
Distinct reactions reported 20
Active ingredients on file 1

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reporting (CVM AER). Counts reflect voluntary reports only.

Trazadone Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 697 adverse event reports referencing Trazadone, including 57 reports in which the animal died — a 820.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Trazadone. Reported administration routes include Unknown, Oral. These numbers reflect voluntary submissions from pet owners, veterinarians, and manufacturers and therefore under-represent mild events and over-represent severe ones — a pattern the FDA has documented repeatedly for pharmacovigilance datasets.

The species most frequently named in Trazadone reports are Dog (682 reports), Cat (11 reports), Human (3 reports), with Dog accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Retriever - Labrador (84), Crossbred Canine/dog (55), Shepherd Dog - German (50) appear most often — though breed popularity and ownership density shape these counts as much as any drug-specific sensitivity. This distribution matters because the same active ingredient can behave very differently across body sizes, ages, and species physiology.

The most commonly reported clinical signs associated with Trazadone are Vomiting (147), Diarrhoea (69), Lack of efficacy (endoparasite) - heartworm (55), Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in Neurological) (52). Of the 697 reports with a coded outcome, Outcome Unknown is the leading category at 37.4%. Because FDA adverse event data describes correlation rather than causation, these figures are best used to frame informed questions with a veterinarian and to compare reporting patterns across related products — not as a standalone safety verdict on Trazadone.

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reports FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reports Data reflects voluntary submissions and may not represent actual incidence rates

Related

Data sourced from official AKC, AVMA, ACVO, and breed-club veterinary references. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBreed Editorial