German Shepherd Dog: adverse event reports for animal drugs
Breed of dog
The FDA breed label is "Shepherd Dog - German". The count has only the reports that give this one breed.
Read this first. FDA says this about the data:
An API dataset query result cannot be used to estimate the risk associated with the product or compare one drug or device product with another. When looking at the results, be aware that there is no certainty that the reported drug or device caused the adverse event. This dataset should not be the sole source of information for clinical decision-making or other assumptions about the safety or effectiveness of a product. The adverse event may have been related to an underlying disease, other drugs used at the same time or other non-drug related sources.
FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine publishes these words. Source: Adverse Event Reports for Animal Drugs and Devices, read on . The data have the reports that FDA received through .
This page is not veterinary advice. For an animal that is ill, speak to a veterinarian.
Contacting a veterinarianHow to report to FDAFrom February 1987 to June 2026, FDA received 33,078 reports that give the breed German Shepherd Dog. That is 3.3% of the reports about dogs. In the 12 months to June 2026, FDA received 1,719 reports for this breed.
The count has only the reports that give this one breed. Reports about crossbred animals are in the count for the species. The signs that appear in the largest number of the 33,078 reports are "Vomiting" and "Ineffective, heartworm larvae". A report is not proof that a drug caused a sign.
By number of reports in all years, this breed is number 3 of 167 breeds of dogs with a page. Reports that give this breed fell by 11.9% in the 12 months to June 2026, compared with the 12 months before. Reports about dogs fell by 2.3% in the same periods. The newest months can get more reports in a later update. The sign "Ineffective, heartworm larvae" is in 13.3% of the reports that give this breed, and in 6.9% of the reports about dogs.
Drug pages with reports for this breed
The table has every drug page with 5 or more reports that give this breed, in order of name. No count decides which drug is in the table. The table has 178 drug pages.
Show the 178 drug pages
The openFDA records give the value "MSK" for the brand name and for the manufacturer name of each drug. FDA says that MSK means "masked". So the site cannot count a report for a brand.
An API dataset query result cannot be used to estimate the risk associated with the product or compare one drug or device product with another.
Commonly used products may have a higher number of reported adverse events due to the higher total number of animals being given the product.
FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. Source: Adverse Event Reports for Animal Drugs and Devices
Signs that the reports list
A sign is a coded term from the report. The words in brackets are a plain gloss of the term. The percentage is the share of the 33,078 reports that list the sign.
The sign that is in the largest number of the reports comes first.
- Vomiting13.9%4,601 reports
- Ineffective, heartworm larvae[legacy FDA term: the product did not have the expected effect (heartworm larvae)]13.3%4,409 reports
- Lack of efficacy (endoparasite) - heartworm[the product did not have the expected effect: heartworm]11.3%3,728 reports
- Diarrhoea[diarrhea]8%2,630 reports
- Lethargy[unusually tired or inactive]5.7%1,882 reports
- Lack of efficacy - NOS[the product did not have the expected effect]4.7%1,558 reports
- Lack of efficacy (endoparasite) - hookworm[the product did not have the expected effect: hookworms]4.5%1,501 reports
- Emesis[vomiting]4.5%1,480 reports
- Anorexia[not eating]4.3%1,411 reports
- Lack of efficacy (ectoparasite) - flea[the product did not have the expected effect: fleas]3.8%1,272 reports
- Death3.4%1,109 reports
- Depression[dull, quiet or withdrawn]2.8%937 reports
- Death by euthanasia[the animal was euthanized]2.4%786 reports
- Ataxia[unsteady, uncoordinated movement]2.3%745 reports
Show the next 11 signs
- Seizure NOS[seizure, type not specified]2.1%709 reports
- Ineffective, ascarids NOS[legacy FDA term: the product did not have the expected effect (ascarids nos)]2.1%696 reports
- Lack of efficacy (ectoparasite) - tick NOS[the product did not have the expected effect: ticks]2%671 reports
- Cardiac disorder NOS[heart problem, type not specified]2%660 reports
- Pruritus[itching]1.9%645 reports
- Weight loss1.9%641 reports
- Digestive tract disorder NOS[digestive problem, type not specified]1.8%584 reports
- Lack of efficacy (bacteria) - Borrelia[the product did not have the expected effect: Borrelia (Lyme disease bacteria)]1.8%584 reports
- Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT)[a liver enzyme above the normal range]1.7%565 reports
- Fever1.6%535 reports
- Lack of efficacy (endoparasite) - roundworm NOS[the product did not have the expected effect: roundworms]1.6%523 reports
What the reports record
Age of the animal
- German Shepherd Dog reports
- All reports about dogs
- Under 1 year12.3%4,082, All reports about dogs: 10.3%
- 1 to 3 years33.6%11,117, All reports about dogs: 29.2%
- 4 to 7 years27.3%9,039, All reports about dogs: 24.5%
- 8 to 11 years18.2%6,009, All reports about dogs: 18.4%
- 12 years and over5.6%1,844, All reports about dogs: 10.1%
- Age not given3%987, All reports about dogs: 7.6%
Weight of the animal
- German Shepherd Dog reports
- All reports about dogs
- Under 5 kg (11 lb)0.7%227, All reports about dogs: 11.6%
- 5 to 9.9 kg (11 to 22 lb)1.6%524, All reports about dogs: 18.7%
- 10 to 24.9 kg (22 to 55 lb)11%3,626, All reports about dogs: 27.5%
- 25 to 44.9 kg (55 to 99 lb)70.7%23,395, All reports about dogs: 30.4%
- 45 kg and over (99 lb and over)11.8%3,889, All reports about dogs: 3.9%
- Weight not given4.3%1,417, All reports about dogs: 7.9%
Outcome at the time of the report
- Recovered/Normal18.1%6,002
- Recovered with Sequela[recovered, with a lasting effect]4.5%1,503
- Ongoing22.3%7,388
- Died4.6%1,524
- Euthanized1.5%489
- Outcome Unknown25.9%8,556
An outcome in a report is not proof that the drug caused it. The person who sends the report gives the outcome. Each share is of the 33,078 reports that give this breed.
Each share of age and weight is of the 33,078 reports that give this breed. The thin bar is the same share in the 1,001,350 reports about dogs.
Reports by month and by year
FDA says that a report can take 3 to 6 months to reach the public data. The newest months can get more reports in a later update.
| Year | Reports |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 827 |
| 2025 | 1,866 |
| 2024 | 1,982 |
| 2023 | 1,583 |
| 2022 | 1,466 |
| 2021 | 1,657 |
| 2020 | 1,761 |
| 2019 | 1,820 |
| 2018 | 1,820 |
| 2017 | 1,892 |
| 2016 | 1,820 |
| 2015 | 1,638 |
| 2014 | 1,505 |
| 2013 | 1,338 |
| 2012 | 1,362 |
| 2011 | 1,136 |
| 2010 | 1,006 |
| 2009 | 954 |
| 2008 | 867 |
| 2007 | 750 |
| 2006 | 618 |
| 2005 | 491 |
| 2004 | 486 |
| 2003 | 360 |
| 2002 | 319 |
| 2001 | 327 |
| 2000 | 418 |
| 1999 | 357 |
| 1998 | 246 |
| 1997 | 136 |
| 1996 | 75 |
| 1995 | 36 |
| 1994 | 33 |
| 1993 | 19 |
| 1992 | 19 |
| 1991 | 18 |
| 1990 | 9 |
| 1989 | 14 |
| 1988 | 24 |
| 1987 | 23 |
Next in the A to Z list of breeds
Cite this page
Pet Drug Reports. German Shepherd Dog: adverse event reports for animal drugs. https://petdrugreports.com/breed/dog/german-shepherd-dog/ Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, openFDA Animal and Veterinary adverse event reports, export of . Reports received through .
Where the data come from
The counts come from the openFDA Animal and Veterinary adverse event files, export of 30 Oct 2026. The files have the reports that the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine received through 26 Jun 2026. The files mask brand and manufacturer names. The site counts a drug by the active ingredients that each record gives, and gives no count to a brand, an application or a company. Ingredient names and the lists of approved products follow the FDA Green Book of 2 Nov 2026. The site puts the FDA breed label in the usual order of the words.
The site does not publish report text, lot numbers or details of a reporter. FDA's record is the authority. See how the site counts reports, the data sources and the corrections page.
Questions about these reports
- What ages are the animals in the reports?
The figures are shares of the 33,078 reports about this breed received from February 1987 to June 2026. 33.6% give an age of 1 to 3 years. 27.3% give an age of 4 to 7 years. 3% give no age.
- How does the count of the latest 12 months compare with the 12 months before?
FDA received 1,719 reports in the 12 months to June 2026. It received 1,951 reports in the 12 months before. FDA says that a report can take 3 to 6 months to reach the public data. The newest months can get more reports in a later update.
- Why are crossbred animals not in the count?
The site counts a report for a breed only when the report gives one breed. A report for a crossbred animal can give more than one breed, and a count for each breed would count the report more than once. The reports about crossbred animals are in the count for dogs.
- Do the reports show that this breed reacts more to a drug?
No. The reports do not give the number of animals of the breed. FDA states this about the data.
An API dataset query result cannot be used to estimate the risk associated with the product or compare one drug or device product with another.
FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. Source: Adverse Event Reports for Animal Drugs and Devices