boss' blog

Toxic Emergencies
  • Wednesday, February 10, 2010
  • Anita
Knowing what foods are toxic for dogs and keeping all chemical solutions secure is only half the battle.  No matter how diligent you may be as a dog owner, sometimes a dog's natural curiosity gets them into trouble.  It's important to know what to do in case your dog ingests something that it shouldn't. In some circumstances, you should make a dog vomit and in others you want to rush your dog to the veterinarian.
 
If your dog has ingested a caustic solution, you don't want to induce vomiting.  That would cause further damage and may cause internal burns.  You should rush your pet to the veterinarian.
 
If your dog has consumed a toxic substance or food (such as those discussed in Hidden Dangers), contact your veterinarian to confirm if you should induce vomiting.  If your attempt to make them vomit fails or is only minimally successful, you should proceed to the veterinarian.
 
In the circumstance where your dog has consumed a large quantity of a toxic substance, whether a food or chemical, they may develop seizures.  This will be an indication that the toxins will be impacting their nervous system.  If this happens, you should rush your dog to the veterinarian immediately.  A seizure will display itself as one or more of the following symptoms: leg paddling, muscle tremors, loss of bowel or bladder control. 
 
One way to induce vomiting is to keep Syrup of Ipecac on hand.  It can be purchased at more pharmacies.  One calculation is 1/4tsp per each 2kg or body weight (please verify with your veterinarian that this is appropriate for your pet).  Another alternate is to place a few drops (no more) of dish soap (Not anti-bacterial) on the back of your dog's tongue.
 
Again, which ever of these methods you chose, if it fails to make your dog vomit, rush your pet to the veterinarian. 


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