My Dog Has Eaten Something Toxic. Now What?

Induce Vomiting

While it's not a fun thing to do, we could save our pup's life if we know how.

As a family, we are extremely cautious in our home about keeping dangerous items away from our pups, but even we just had a scary event with our precious Judea. A bag of chocolates got left on the sofa by accident, and before we realized it, Judea had gobbled done the sweet treats. We had to take immediate, fast action to ensure her well being.

Getting our dogs to vomit isn't a pleasant thought but it might be a life-saving procedure.  And, there are three potentially life-saving steps we should all follow.

First Step: Get our dog to vomit

1. As soon as it's discovered that our pup has eaten something harmful, administer 3% hydrogen peroxide. Give one teaspoon for every ten pounds of weight. Administer with a medicinal syringe, measuring carefully. Use an eye dropper if necessary.
2. Place the syringe or eye dropper in the corner of the cheek and slowly release the liquid into the cheek pocket.
3. DO NOT INDUCE VOMITING IF THE OBTAIN IS SHARP, BLEACH, DRAIN CLEANER, OR PETROLEUM PRODUCTS SUCH AS GASOLINE.
4. Call the veterinarian.
5. Walk our dog around which will help the stomach feel more like vomiting.
6. Move our pup to an area that is easy to clean up., get veterinary care, and follow general guidelines on inducing vomiting.
7. Sometimes giving a little bit of canned dog food will help bring on vomiting with the peroxide.
8. If there is no vomiting after ten minutes or so, give another dose. Most veterinarians don't recommend a third dose.

Second Step:

1. Take our precious pup to the veterinarian or emergency clinic.
2. Let them examine and do a thorough assessment.
3. Follow their directions carefully.
4. Do not hesitate in getting to the vet's office, especially if the dog did not vomit.
5. Take some of the vomit with you. If you can't get the vomit, take a picture of it with your cell phone or camera to show the doctor.

Third Step:

1. Food moves from the dog's stomach and into the intestines after approximately two hours. Do not induce vomiting if two hours have passed since the ingestion of things such as chocolate, raisins, grapes, Tylenol, aspirin, antifreeze.
2. DO NOT use ipecac or salt to induce vomiting. 
3. Be aware of the medical condition of our pup.
4. If our pup looks extremely ill or doesn't respond, DO NOT induce vomiting. Get the dog to the emergency clinic or veterinarian as fast as possible. Symptoms can include looking depressed, having seizures, slow heart rate, hard time breathing, and worst of all being unconscious. 

Summertime brings out all sorts of treats and sweets along with garden supplies and potentially dangerous chemicals, fertilizers, and liquids. Be sure to take extra precautions to keep our wonderful, furry family members safe—just like we would with our 2-legged toddlers.

Our Dogs Amaze us with their "intuitive" Powers

How many times does your special pup let you know that a thunderstorm is coming long before you ever hear or sense it coming? How many times has your dog gone running to the door without you hearing anyone approaching, or even see them coming up the long driveway? 

Science hasn't figured out a way to actually figure out some of these things for certain. But... we do know that our dogs' senses are, in most cases, much greater than our own.  For instance, our dogs' ears hear things a minimum of four times more than we do. Their sense of smell is thousands of times better than ours! Whoo!  And it's very evident that our precious, smart four-legged companions are extremely aware of everything around them. Hence, our special dog is the smartest dog EVER! Sometimes, it seems as if they might even be smarter, or at least more aware of things than we are.

Dogs have the ability to smell the change in a person with diabetes whose blood sugar reaches dangerous levels. Cancer-sniffing dogs detect the specific scent that cancer cells emit. A person about to have a seizure is suspected, as well, to have a change in their personal scent, and even pregnant women have hormonal changes that change the way they smell. Dogs are known to recognize and give an alert to an episode with PTSD or extreme anxiety. I imagine the list is longer than we humans fully realize.

I have witnessed several times when a dog who shares a tight bond with their human is able to know when death is approaching and takes amazing steps to comfort and make certain that their person is not alone. 

Some dog parents have reported situations when their pup has warned them of impending dangerous people. Again, aggressive people give off pheromones that dogs' noses can smell and then react with protectiveness of their special human. Their instincts are to keep their family safe from harm.

Our wonderful canine companions are quite in-tune with the forecast or weather. They easily undoubtedly detect “the drop in barometric pressure and the shift in the static electric field that comes prior to climate changes.” This may occur long before we see changes in the clouds or the rain begins to fall. Dogs who seek a dark, safe corner because of their fear of thunder are especially alert sounders for us as they exhibit anxiety through whining, whimpering, shaking, panting, salivating, or hunting out their sheltered spot to hide.  

For me, what's most intriguing is my pups' ability to tell time. Well, maybe not literally read the clock but definitely have set schedules that I can set my watch! Judea comes to me when it's time for our walk - 11:00 AM. She seeks me out exactly at noon for her lunch snack and pesters me for dinner on the dot of 5:00 PM. And, Clarence used to let me know when it was time to wake up in the morning by giving me lots of wet, puppy kisses or go to bed at night by barking at the bedroom door. 

Our question for you today is: What kinds of things does your precious dog or dogs sense before you do? What do they alert you to happening?  Please let us know by writing to us in the boxes below! We look forward to hearing from you! Tell us about it in the comments below!