Pet Drug Reports

Reported signs

Reported sign · VeDDRA term

Growling: reports listing this term

284reports listing the term, 2020–20260% of all reports
71reports, 12 months to March 202664 in the 12 months before
49.3%classed serious, as reportedall reports: 38.6%
66.5%of these reports concern dogscat 33.1%

"Growling" is a coded term listed in 284 adverse event reports received by FDA, 0% of the database. Terms come from VeDDRA, the veterinary dictionary that FDA and drug companies use to code what a reporter describes.

71 reports listed it in the 12 months to March 2026, up 11% from 64 in the 12 months before. FDA posts reports quarterly with a delay of three to six months, so the newest months are incomplete and usually grow in later releases.

By active ingredient, the drugs named most often in those reports are pyrantel pamoate + sarolaner, fluralaner and buprenorphine. That order mostly follows how many reports each has overall; the table gives the term's share within each drug's own reports as well.

66.5% of the reports concern dogs, 33.1% of the reports concern cats and 0.4% of the reports concern other. Of reports listing this term that state seriousness, 49.3% were classed as serious; 11.3% record a death or euthanasia among the outcomes.

Drugs named most often in these reports, by active ingredient

Active ingredients recorded for the drugReports listing the termShare of that drug's own reports
Pyrantel Pamoate + Sarolaner380.1%
Fluralaner330%
Buprenorphine320.4%
Gabapentin170.2%
Oclacitinib160.1%
Afoxolaner + Moxidectin + Pyrantel Pamoate150.2%
Cefovecin sodium140.1%
Bedinvetmab130.1%
Afoxolaner120%
Isoflurane120.2%
Maropitant100.1%
Frunevetmab90.1%
Carprofen80%
Lotilaner80.1%
Robenacoxib80.2%
Acepromazine Maleate70.3%
Ketamine Hydrochloride70.1%
Milbemycin Oxime + Praziquantel70%
Cyclosporine60%
Diphenhydramine60.1%
Ivermectin + Pyrantel Pamoate60%
Propofol60.1%
Sarolaner60%
Alfaxalone50.5%
Fluoxetine hydrochloride50.2%

Ordered by number of reports, which mostly tracks how many reports a drug has overall. Across the whole database the term appears in 0% of reports. A drug's presence in a report means the animal received it, not that it produced the sign; FDA states that these data cannot be used to compare one product with another. openFDA masks brand and manufacturer names in adverse event records, so the reports counted here cannot be attributed to a particular brand.

Single ingredients, pooled across combinations

Active ingredientReports listing the termShare of the ingredient's own reports
Pyrantel Pamoate730%
Sarolaner510.1%
Fluralaner380%
Buprenorphine320.4%
Moxidectin310%
Afoxolaner270%
Praziquantel230%
Gabapentin170.2%
Milbemycin Oxime160%
Oclacitinib160.1%
Cefovecin sodium140.1%
Bedinvetmab130.1%
Isoflurane120.2%
Ketamine Hydrochloride110.1%
Lotilaner110.1%
Maropitant100.1%
Frunevetmab90.1%
Butorphanol Tartrate80.1%
Carprofen80%
Ivermectin80%
Robenacoxib80.2%
Acepromazine Maleate70.3%
Dexmedetomidine70.2%
Cyclosporine60%
Diphenhydramine60.1%

Species split

Dog66.5%189
Cat33.1%94
Other0.4%1

Coloured bar: share of reports listing this term. Grey bar: the species' share of all reports. The term appears in 0% of all dog reports; The term appears in 0.1% of all cat reports.

Trend

0612Apr 2021: 5May 2021: 3Jun 2021: 3Jul 2021: 1Aug 2021: 2Sep 2021: 2Oct 2021: 4Nov 2021: 1Dec 2021: 0Jan 2022: 42022Feb 2022: 3Mar 2022: 4Apr 2022: 4May 2022: 3Jun 2022: 4Jul 2022: 2Aug 2022: 6Sep 2022: 6Oct 2022: 10Nov 2022: 3Dec 2022: 5Jan 2023: 82023Feb 2023: 4Mar 2023: 2Apr 2023: 7May 2023: 1Jun 2023: 5Jul 2023: 4Aug 2023: 7Sep 2023: 7Oct 2023: 4Nov 2023: 5Dec 2023: 6Jan 2024: 52024Feb 2024: 2Mar 2024: 5Apr 2024: 2May 2024: 10Jun 2024: 4Jul 2024: 8Aug 2024: 9Sep 2024: 1Oct 2024: 6Nov 2024: 4Dec 2024: 4Jan 2025: 92025Feb 2025: 3Mar 2025: 4Apr 2025: 5May 2025: 8Jun 2025: 3Jul 2025: 12Aug 2025: 7Sep 2025: 4Oct 2025: 7Nov 2025: 4Dec 2025: 6Jan 2026: 112026Feb 2026: 1Mar 2026: 3

Reports by month FDA received them, five years to March 2026. The newest months are incomplete because FDA posts reports with a delay of three to six months.

036722020: 120202021: 2220212022: 5420222023: 6020232024: 6020242025: 7220252026: 152026

Outcomes and ages in these reports

Outcome recorded in the report

Recovered/Normal27.5%78
Recovered with Sequela1.1%3
Ongoing31.7%90
Died6%17
Euthanized5.3%15
Outcome Unknown28.5%81

Age of the animal

Under 1 year12.3%35
1 to 3 years29.6%84
4 to 7 years28.9%82
8 to 11 years14.4%41
12 years and over11.6%33
Age not given3.2%9
MeasureReports listing this termAll reports
Reports2841,357,245
Classed serious, of reports stating it49.3%38.6%
Death or euthanasia recorded, per 1,000 reports112.763.8

Grey bars and the right-hand column are the whole database. Outcomes are as stated by the reporter and describe the report as a whole, not this term alone.

Questions about "Growling"

What does "Growling" mean in an adverse event report?

It is a VeDDRA dictionary term picked to code what the reporter described. The report's free-text description is not published by FDA and is not shown here.

How many reports list growling?

284 reports through March 2026 (0% of all reports), 71 of them in the latest 12 months.

Which drugs are named most often alongside this term?

By active ingredient: pyrantel pamoate + sarolaner (38), fluralaner (33), buprenorphine (32), gabapentin (17) and oclacitinib (16). Drugs with many reports overall lead almost every term's list. Brands cannot be identified: openFDA masks them.

Which species are involved?

dog (66.5%), cat (33.1%) and other (0.4%).

Does a drug appearing here mean it produced this sign?

No such conclusion can be drawn. FDA states that "there is no certainty that the reported drug or device caused the adverse event" and that the event "may have been related to an underlying disease, other drugs used at the same time or other non-drug related sources."

My animal shows this sign. What now?

This site cannot assess an animal. A veterinarian can; for an emergency, contact a veterinary emergency clinic. See the guide on when to call a vet.

Where this comes from. Counts are built from the openFDA Animal & Veterinary adverse event bulk files released 28 Sep 2026, which hold reports FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine received through 31 Mar 2026. openFDA masks brand and manufacturer names in these files, so drugs are counted by the active ingredients each record discloses and no figure is attributed to a brand, application or company. Ingredient names, and the separate reference lists of approved products, follow the FDA Green Book as of 1 Oct 2026. Spelling variants of the same VeDDRA term (for example with and without a cross-reference note) are pooled. No report text, lot numbers or reporter details are published. See the methodology and sources; FDA's record is authoritative, and corrections are handled within five working days.