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If you have dogs or are considering adding one to the family, this article is sure to be helpful. This is a very important topic that we need to know about in order to preserve our dog's health and, in case of an accident, save his life. Poisoning is more common than it may seem, as the puppy can come into contact with a substance that is toxic to him.
We know that dogs are, in general, very curious, careless and clumsy, especially puppies. Therefore, you must be careful and watch them whenever you can, as well as being informed about dog poisoning - symptoms and first aid. We hope that you never need to act on what we're going to explain, but if you don't have a choice, try to remain calm in order to be effective. Read this article by PeritoAnimal carefully.
Poisoned Dog: Causes and Prevention
We can avoid situations where our faithful friend may be hurt or poisoned by accident. To do this, it is important to keep potentially dangerous objects out of your reach safely, storing them on tall cabinet shelves or in lockable cabinets. Preventing you from eating anything on the street, not allowing you to drink pool water or swim in it when it has been treated with chemicals such as chlorine is also essential. The same goes for garden pesticides, which dogs should never come into contact with until they are dry, and many other preventive measures.
As we talk about poisoned dog, here we explain three forms of canine intoxication:
- Dermal route: When the poison comes into contact with the animal's skin, being absorbed and entering the body.
- Airway: When the toxic substance is inhaled by our puppy and enters your body through the absorption of the airways and lungs.
- Orally: When the dog ingests something inappropriate, causing intoxication.
Then we indicate the most common poisons and toxics that cause dog poisoning:
- Chewing gum with xylitol, avocado, grapes, macadamia nuts, onions, garlic, etc.
- Medicines for people (paracetamol, cough syrup, etc.)
- Insecticides, pesticides, poisons, herbicides and fertilizers (carbamate, amitraz, pyrethrin, arsenic, warfarin, strychnine, etc.)
- Car paints and batteries (lead)
- Poisonous fungi (different types of mushrooms)
- Insects and other venomous animals (Spanish flies, snakes, frogs)
- Poisonous plants (cyanide)
- Cleaning products (solvents, chlorine, softeners, detergents, etc.)
- Dewormers (some products sprayed on animals and their environment to ward off and remove external parasites)
- Alcohol (in beverages and other formats)
- Tobacco (nicotine)
These products and substances are toxic chemicals and enzymes for dogs and other pets, causing the poisoning of dogs because their bodies are unable to metabolize them. metabolize.
Symptoms of Poisoning in Dogs
In the case of a poisoned dog, symptoms can appear quickly or take hours to manifest. Furthermore, they vary greatly depending on the substance that caused the intoxication, as well as the amount. Some of poisoned dog symptoms include:
- Vomiting and diarrhea, including with blood
- Intense pain with moans
- depression and weakness
- cough and sneezes
- Dilated pupils
- Tremors, involuntary muscle spasms and convulsions
- nervousness
- Dizziness
- muscle stiffness
- disorientation
- Paralysis of any affected area or the entire body
- Severe drowsiness or lethargy
- Sudden excitability and hyperactivity
- Collapse and unconsciousness
- Weakness and fever
- excessive salivation
- Bleeding from multiple holes
- Respiratory and heart problems
- Difficulty in coordinating limbs caused by neurological problems (ataxia)
- Apathy
- Darkening of the mucous membranes, in some cases
- Excessive thirst (polydipsia)
- Very frequent urination (polyuria)
- gastric irritation
- Swelling, irritation, rash and skin tags
- Loss of appetite and anorexia
If you detect any of these symptoms of poisoning in a dog, immediately contact the veterinary emergencies.
Poisoned Dog: First Aid
When dog poisoning or intoxication occurs, you should go or call your veterinarian immediately or to a veterinary emergency clinic. Did you know, however, that there are some things you can do like first aid while the vet is on the way? We must, however, do it according to the type of poison and only if the vet agrees. Fast acting can save your faithful companion's life.
After detecting the symptoms of a poisoned dog described above, if possible with someone's help, inform the veterinarian of all the signs observed, such as the dog's condition, symptoms, possible poisons that caused the problem, its composition, packaging , labels and everything else possible. Also, pay attention to your intoxicated pet's symptoms to identify the source of the poisoning. keep calm and act quickly.
these are the most common steps to follow in case of dog poisoning symptoms:
- If your dog is very weak, almost passed out or unconscious, or if you know that the intoxication happened through inhalation of some substance, the first thing to do is to take him to a open, ventilated and lighted area. This way, you will be able to observe the symptoms better and offer your dog fresh air. To lift it, be careful and try to lift it so that it grips the whole body firmly. If you don't have an outdoor area, areas such as the bathroom or kitchen are generally well-lit places. Also, have water nearby, which may be needed.
- On the other hand, we have to carefully remove visible poison to prevent other animals or people nearby from becoming intoxicated as well. It is necessary to keep a sample so that the veterinarian can make the diagnosis.
- While you do the previous step, someone else can talk to the veterinarian. If you're alone, remove the poison and keep a sample after you've stabilized the dog a bit. The professional will help you stay calm and focus. The sooner you call the vet, the better chance your dog will have for survival.
- If you were able to identify the poison, you should give as much information about him as possible to the veterinarian.. This includes the name of the product, its actives, potency, an estimate of how much the animal has ingested, and the time that has passed since you suspect it has ingested it. The more indications, depending on the type of toxic that caused the dog's poisoning, the more chances of survival your pet will have.
- The veterinarian will indicate which first aid should you administer and which should not, according to the identified poison. For example, one of the first things we should do when ingesting poison is to induce vomiting, but you need to know that you should never do this if the dog is unconscious or unconscious or if the poison is corrosive. If you do this when the dog is unconscious, it can cause an aspiration of vomit, taking it to the respiratory system and causing pneumonia. Also, in case the poison is a corrosive substance, the only thing you will do is cause a second caustic burn in the animal's digestive tract, pharynx and mouth, making the situation worse. If the toxin was ingested up to two or more hours ago, inducing vomiting will be useless as digestion is already too advanced or over. Thus, you should only induce vomiting if the animal is not unconscious, if we know for certain that the substance is not corrosive like an acid or alkaline, and if digestion started less than two hours ago.
- Do not offer water, food, milk, oils or any other home remedies until you know for sure what poison was ingested and how to proceed. That way, it's best to wait for the vet to give directions while we give him as much information as possible. This is the right option, as it is impossible to know what will happen when administering home remedies and can have an opposite effect, worsening your best friend's condition.
- If the veterinarian decides that, due to the circumstances, the best option for the poisoned dog is to induce vomiting, follow the appropriate guidelines for this, in order to avoid unnecessary damage during the process. These guidelines are covered in the article on how to treat a poisoned dog.
- Once vomiting was induced, he probably managed to expel some of the poison from his poisoned dog's body. Even so, some of the substance must have been absorbed by the intestine, so you must try to reduce toxic absorption. This can be done with activated charcoal.
- If the contamination has not occurred by ingestion, but via topical or cutaneous, poisoning by dust or an oily substance that has adhered to your dog's skin, you should remove such dust with an intense brush and give a bath in warm water using an effective soap to remove the oily substance. If you still can't remove the toxic coating, cut off that piece of hair. It is better to remove some fur than let the dog get worse or re-infect itself.
- If the dog has been poisoned by contact with mucous membranes, skin and eyes, you should wash the area with plenty of water to remove as much of the harmful substance as possible.
- If the veterinarian allows it and if the poisoned dog is awake and less stunned, it's good offer him some fresh water, since many poisons ingested by dogs affect the kidneys and liver. Offering some water helps to reduce the impact on these organs. If the dog is not drinking alone, it can slowly administer the water using a syringe in its mouth.
Now that you know the symptoms of dog poisoning, you know what to do in case of a dog poisoned, it might be important to know 10 things that can kill your dog.
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.