How to Tell if a Dog Has Been Poisoned
Your dog can’t tell you if he’s eaten something poisonous but by observing his symptoms and inspecting his environment, you may find that your dog has ingested a dangerous substance. Many pet owners don’t realize that some foods that are healthy for people are poisonous to their dogs. Depending upon the substance your dog ate, he may exhibit mild symptoms of poisoning or he may have a full-blown emergency reaction.
Instructions
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Observe symptoms that are unusual for your pet, especially those that come on quickly. Mild cases of poisoning may result in drooling or anxiety, depending upon the substance ingested. Severe symptoms include dizziness, difficulty walking or standing, panting louder and faster than is normal for your dog, vomiting and seizures. Transport a dog who exhibits the symptoms of poisoning to an emergency veterinarian clinic.
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Inspect your dog’s yard or the area where he was last playing for evidence of a toxic substance. Even common food items can poison a dog. Tomatoes, grapes and garlic are toxic to dogs. If you have a garden, check to see if your dog chewed up some of your fruits and vegetables. Call your vet immediately to tell him what you think your dog ate.
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Suspect poisoning if you’ve treated your dog within the last 12 hours for ticks and fleas by using an over-the-counter product. Many dogs have an allergic reaction to these products and may exhibit extreme anxiety, drooling and uncontrollable itching. Check the dog’s skin in the area where you applied the product. If the skin is red or welted, immediately wash the dog’s skin with cool water and dish soap and contact your veterinarian.
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Inspect the legs of old painted chairs and wood trim in a house built before 1978 if your dog becomes increasingly lethargic and shows signs of diarrhea and vomiting (in some cases). Lead poisoning from chewing on old painted wood leads to anemia in dogs. The symptoms may not appear for a few days so think back to what your dog has been chewing on.
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Take your dog to the vet quickly if he has seizures or tremors, even if you can’t think of a possible poison. Because there are so many kinds of plants, household products, fruits and human medicines that can poison a dog, it’s imperative to seek help immediately when your dog shows these symptoms. The veterinarian will probably treat your dog with a charcoal-based product designed to bind any residual poison in his digestive tract before it makes the condition worse.
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Tips & Warnings
Educate yourself and your family about common sources of poisoning in a dog. Remove dangerous plants from a dog’s reach and never leave household chemicals where a dog can reach them.
Err on the side of caution when deciding whether your dog ate something toxic. Many cases of poisoning are treatable if a veterinarian sees the dog in time.
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Comments
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to vet tell me how I would teat the sickness if ever happened to my dog.
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some of these symptoms my dog had it but we found out to late.
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bettythegreat
Jun 01, 2010
CONT...let them know how she is and if there is anything more to do. After racking my brain trying to figure out what had poisoned her I can only think of a couple possibilities; we use no pesticides/slug bait anywhere on our property, we use non-toxic house cleaners and we keep those in a closed cupboard, she did not have access to any veggie gardens, my other dogs are just fine so it I think it is OK to rule out bad dog food, and the only scraps she had yesterday were a little brown rice and boiled egg (which I ingested as well, and I am fine). My biggest worry is it could have been a neighbor that threw something poisonous over the fence, but we are not on bad terms with anyone. Another possibility is a poisonous fungus may have blown into our yard. We will continue investigating and ask all our neighbors if they use slug bait; which I know a couple of them don't since they have... -
bettythegreat
Jun 01, 2010
CONT... We will continue investigating and ask all our neighbors if they use slug bait; which I know a couple of them don't since they have dogs, but I'm not sure about everyone.
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bettythegreat
Jun 01, 2010
CONT... vomited a little bit of what appeared to be mucas and had diarrhea. An hour later I asked her "wanna go inside...lay on your couch?" she got up slowly, I stood too, she leaned on me a bit from dizziness and slowly we walked inside, pausing at the doorway briefly, we went to her couch in my bedroom; 30 minutes later she was no longer shivering. This morning at 5am she was awake, still no more shaking, I offered her water but she didn't want it; she soon wanted out, I followed her outside she went potty and had more diarrhea, she walked around a bit with more energy to her step, drooled a little bit at something she sniffed (probably her vomit residue) then came inside and had about one cup of water from her bowl, then layed down on the futon in the living room. Looks like she's going to be OK (thank you God!), going to call the vet as soon as they're open, let them know how...
