Sunday, September 22, 2013

5 steps to take when your dog eats something bad

Lulu LOVES her Heartgard meds.


She loves them SO MUCH that a few months ago... she ate all of them.

I had given her one, and put the rest of the new pack on the breakfast nook, exactly where I'd put the last pack. I came home that night, and all of them were gone. I don't know how she got them, I don't know why she decided to go after these and not the last pack, I didn't really care at the time.

I was FREAKING OUT.

I went to PetMD. I went to the Heartgard page. Nothing about what to do when your pet eats all the pills.

So I looked up an emergency vet and called.

I was practically laughed at.

Turns out Lulu would be totally fine. Heartgard is very safe. Lulu would have to eat two or three packs before we needed to get concerned.

But there was a moment when I didn't know what to do, and it was tough to figure out what to do. I revisited this feeling a week ago when a Facebook follower was scared because her dog had eaten something in the trash that was old. It was tough to find an answer for her, besides inducing vomiting.

So, here are five things you can do when your dog eats something they shouldn't:

1. Don't panic. You aren't helping anyone, and there is nothing you can do until you have more info.

2. Observe your dog. If your dog is acting normally, there may not be a problem. Dogs are incredibly resilient when it comes to their stomachs. They may also be able to vomit up their problems on their own. Offer them a small meal. If they take it no problem, you may have nothing to worry about.

3. Call your vet. If it's at night or a weekend and your vet doesn't have an answering service or an on-call service, call an emergency vet. Some emergency vets will offer advice without needing to come in.

You can also call the poison control line offered by ASPCA. That costs money though, so be aware. ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center is 888-426-4435.

4. Induce vomiting. With a little hydrogen peroxide, you can induce vomiting. Don't do this without doing the first three.

PetMD explains how to do that well. Also, be sure to measure properly. And this is just for your dog. Don't do this with your cat.

5. Take your dog to a vet. If nothing works -- if the dog is still not well, if he hasn't vomited, if you can't induce, if you are told to -- take your dog to a vet.

Every dog eats something they shouldn't -- what's the worst, grossest thing your dog's ever eaten? Tell me below!

20 comments :

  1. Mom says the grossest thing I eat is poop, and I eat it every chance I get! But mom tries her best to keep me from having an opportunity to eat poop. My black lab brother Jake swallowed a 3 feet long piece of rawhide that had softened from being buried in the yard - he was quickly taken to the emergency vet to induce vomiting and that was the last piece of rawhide we ever had in the house.

    Very helpful post, btw.

    Garth.

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    1. Oh my gosh! That is a long piece of rawhide, Garth! Holy moses. Glad he was ok.

      Thanks for the vote of approval. I always get nervous about these types of posts. I want to sound like I know what I'm doing.

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  2. Glad your pup ended up doing just fine!

    Thanks for turning the experience into a great article with fantastic information for other folks who might find themselves in your shoes.

    We had a scare when I came home one day to find my husband had given our dog raisins. Luckily he turned out okay too. The grossest thing he ever ate was other dog's poop. :P

    Strangest thing a patient of mine ever ate was a jingle bell - right around Christmas.

    As a vet I wanted to add that I feel the relatively small fee for the ASPCA pet poison helpline is worth it's weight in gold.

    1) It may be cheaper than an emergency room visit.

    2) There is only one charge per incident - so you could call 20 times with questions about the fact that your pet ate chocolate on Tuesday and there is no additional charge. PLUS any vets treating your pet can call and get their expert advice too at no additional charge. PLUS they have toxicologists there 24 hours a day. So if you have a question in the middle of the night, they are there for you.

    3) They have the latest, greatest, and most complete information about pet toxins. This helps make sure your pet gets the best possible treatment. As a bonus, information on your pet will anonymously go toward their database, helping the next panicked pet parent.

    And definitely want to echo your point that folks shouldn't induce vomiting unless they have spoken with a vet.

    Anyway, glad things turned out for the best and thanks for the great post!

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    1. Thank you for coming by and adding your comments! I didn't know that about the ASPCA hotline. That's great info.

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  3. Hehe glad it was just Heartgard. Sucks that you're probably out some cash since she ate it, but at least it was only Heartgard. Shiner threw up some strange things a few weeks ago... I found a hamburger meat roll plastic wrapper (from the trash), at least one baby wipe, a clod of human hair mixed with a bunch of grass... Just glad she threw it up. But, I've seen dogs eat all kinds of things.

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    1. Yeah, the vet told me I could have found easier ways to lose my money. I had to go and buy another pack. She doesn't get six months of treatment by eating it at once!

      I've heard of dogs eating weird things. Lulu has eaten part of the wrapper from a Natural Balance food roll -- including the metal closure. I don't think what Shiner ate wasn't too bad. At least she threw it up.

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  4. So glad that you had a good outcome. We had something similar happen with squeakers - Rodrigo like to swallow them and we noticed it. We learned about the HP method and when he finally released the squeaker, 4 more joined it on the floor - we now monitor his play time with toys.

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  5. Oh gosh! I'm so glad she is ok! I would have definitely freaked out. Sounds like you stayed calm enough to find the answers you needed. How is she now? Still good?

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    1. Lulu? Oh yeah. The Heartgard episode was months ago.

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  6. well glad to hear something like heartgard is so safe. Also glad to know I can induce vomiting if needed. Although Charlie can be picky with his dog food, everything else is another story!

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    1. I have seen that with so many beagles. The canine world's garbage can, and THAT'S saying something.

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    2. I have seen that with so many beagles. The canine world's garbage can, and THAT'S saying something.

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  7. Pepper doesn't tend to eat non-edibles. BUT - she does have a fondness for other species of poop, not dog poop. Rabbit and Deer poop seem to be her favorites. To my knowledge, she hasn't gotten a "kitty toostsie roll" since she was a puppy. The thing that grosses me out is when she eats a dead bug or worm jerky. ewwwwww. Anytime I see that, she gets her teeth brushed no matter how much she fights it. I also feed her a crunchy cookie, just to be sure all the bug parts are gone. BOL!! I REALLY hate bugs. LOL!!
    Hugs,
    Pepper & Mom

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    1. I'm kind of the same way. And she can't lick me either.

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    2. I'm kind of the same way. And she can't lick me either.

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  8. These things are always scary. When Cookie found outside and ate something that might have been a brownie, I felt quite confident that the amount of chocolate should not make her sick at her size.

    I did want to confirm that with a vet, just to sleep better. And then I was asked, "could it have been a pot brownie?" Ha. I wasn't worried about that ... until then. So yes, out came the peroxide ... better safe than sorry. I was "quite" sure it wasn't a pot brownie ... but would I bet Cookie's life on it? Nope.

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  9. I sure would have panicked. Geez. Thanks for the list. :)

    Don't know if you got my text, but Natural Dog Treat Shop has monthly coupon deals. I think you have to sign up for the emailing list to get them. And they have sales. They carry everything Jones makes.

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  10. Ah, beagles. Our beagle Kala managed to sneak out the front door and found something in the yard to eat. Her breath smelled like death, and my heart sank - I had put down rat poison for a rat living in our utility room. I'd heard of using hydrogen peroxide but didn't have any on hand, so a squirt of watered-down yellow mustard sufficed to make her vomit. Sure enough, it was a small dead rat. Now imagine a rat dead for a day or so in FL weather, plus bile, plus mustard. Euuurgh, that was gross! Luckily Kala was fine and had no ill effects whatsoever.

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  11. Wow, I am very lucky. I have never had a dog eat anything they were not allowed to. I have left my shopping bags on the kitchen floor at times (and something would happen that needs me) and they wont touch it. Just this week I was sitting on the floor watching T.V. and eating dinner, and needed to use the restroom. 20 mins later and it is still there. I just never had these issue's with any dog I've had. I just teach them as pups.

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