Recognizing the Signs of Poisoning in Dogs

There’s nothing scarier than realizing your dog has eaten something they shouldn’t, but the truth is that as pet parents, we don’t always know what is safe and what isn’t or what might be toxic to dogs in specific quantities. And as much as we try to keep a close eye on our dogs, they can be sneaky and get into things without us knowing.
That’s why it’s important to recognize signs of poisoning in dogs so you know when to seek help from an AAHA Accredited veterinary practice. This article is going to help you recognize the signs of poisoning in your own pets as well as equip you with information to avoid toxin exposure in the first place.

Common Dog Poisons

When you think about common poisons, you can split them into two categories – risks inside your home and risks outside of it. Inside our homes, we can make smart decisions to eliminate or minimize poisoning risks to our dogs, but outside of it, we need to be on the lookout for possible dangers anywhere we bring our dogs along. In both cases, staying educated and vigilant is important.

Common Household Poisons for Dogs

When examining possible poison dangers to our dogs inside our homes, we can explore these four main categories:

• Household Supplies / Chemicals
• Medications
• Plants & Flowers
• Food

Household supplies that pose a potential danger to our dogs include cleaning supplies like bleach, ammonia, soaps, and detergents, pesticides like rodenticides and insecticides, fertilizers, and antifreeze. These supplies are generally chemically derived and would also be toxic if ingested by humans. A general guideline is to keep any chemical-based products inaccessible to our dogs and our kids.

The same is true for our medications — both over-the-counter and prescription. While some medications we take can also be utilized by dogs, our dogs are always going to have different dosage requirements. You should never give your dog a human medication without first consulting your veterinarian. On top of that, there are many medications that dogs simply shouldn’t have because their bodies process them differently than ours do. For example, pain relievers we commonly rely on, including ibuprofen and naproxen, are highly toxic to dogs, so while these medications would help reduce pain in our bodies, they can create serious problems for our pups.

Plants and flowers are a wonderful way to bring some extra life and color into our homes, but did you know that many houseplants and cut flowers we decorate our homes with are actually toxic to dogs? While there are too many plants and flowers for us to list here, you can reference the ASPCA’s list of Toxic & Non-Toxic Plants to see if the plants in your home might be dangerous. When in doubt, avoid flowering plants that grow from a bulb, like tulips, lilies, daffodils, amaryllis, hyacinths, gladiolus, and peonies. Other houseplants to avoid include philodendron, English ivy, jade plant, and aloe vera.

And finally, we arrive at our last category: food. Just like with medications, our dogs process food ingredients differently than we do. Xyliltol, a popular sugar substitute in human foods and sugar-free gum, is extremely toxic to dogs. Unfortunately it is sometimes added to food items like peanut butter that are commonly offered to dogs. For this reason, it’s important to read the labels on any human foods before offering them to your dog and keep any gum or candies sweetened with xylitol out of their reach. In other cases, it’s not an additive that’s the problem, but the food item itself. According to the Pet Poison Helpline, the number one reason people call (17.2%) is because their pet ate chocolate. Other common toxic foods include onions (which just so happen to also grow from bulbs), grapes, and raisins.

Common Environmental Poisons for Dogs

When it comes to risks outside of our homes, those same four categories apply — chemicals, medications, plants & flowers, and food. Whenever we’re outside of the safety of our own four walls, we unfortunately have less control over whether our dogs get access to these dangers. While we can’t control what cleaning supplies the doggy day care center uses or what plants are in our neighborhood parks, we can ask and educate ourselves on what is safe and what isn’t.

While out with your dog, watch for plants you don’t recognize, food trash, puddles of unknown chemicals, and wild mushrooms. If you live in an area that sees snow and ice, keep your dogs away from road salt or ice melt.

Many of the same rules apply to environmental poisons as to household ones, but it requires us to pay closer attention and act fast if something toxic or unknown crosses our path.

Recognizing the Signs of Poisoning in Dogs

Different toxins yield different reactions from our dogs. The quantity of toxin ingested can also affect the severity of the poisoning. Depending on the toxin your dog has encountered, they may exhibit gastrointestinal, neurological, cardiovascular, or other physical symptoms.

Common signs a dog ate something toxic include:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Drowsiness or lethargy
• Impaired balance or coordination
• Excessive salivation or drooling
• Agitated or irritable mood
• Confusion or disorientation
• Weakness
• Shakiness or trembling
• Seizures or tremors
• Irregular heartbeat
• Excessive panting
• Change of gum color
• Increased thirst
• Loss of appetite

Understanding your dog’s healthy state can create a solid foundation to help recognize the signs that something is wrong. This requires being familiar with your dog’s normal demeanor, behavior, and body so that you can recognize when something has changed. While some signs may be obvious, others may be more subtle, and early detection may rely on your knowledge of your pet’s “normal”.

First Aid Treatment for Dog Poisoning

If you suspect that your dog might have ingested something toxic, it’s important to act quickly.

Other online resources about how to treat a poisoned dog might encourage you to induce vomiting, but this can cause more harm than good if not done under the care of a veterinarian. For this reason, we suggest doing the following:

1. Try to identify the toxin and how much of it was consumed by your dog. This information will be helpful when discussing treatment and care options with your vet.
2. Observe your dog and their symptoms. What has changed? How are they acting?
3. Call your AAHA-accredited veterinarian or the Pet Poison Hotline at 855-764-7661

Julie Buzby, DVM, CAVCA, CVA, shared that she does this as a veterinarian herself. “When I get a call from someone concerned about their pet possibly (or definitely) being exposed to a toxin, whether it’s a client, family member, or friend, my answer is always the same—call pet poison control. In fact, when my own dog ingested a bowl of onions on the counter from our family’s taco bar, I called animal poison control myself,” said Dr. Buzby.

When it comes to a possible poisoning situation, it is important to act quickly, stay calm, and seek advice from experts.

Dr. Buzby continued by sharing her two reasons for reaching out for help herself, “First, they are run by veterinarians and veterinary toxicologists who have advanced training and skills for these scenarios. Second, with toxin exposure/ingestion, time is of the essence. I know I’m going to get a game plan I can trust right away. So if you are concerned about your pet being exposed to something poisonous, do not panic. Take a deep breath and immediately call your veterinarian or pet poison control for further instructions.”

If the ingestion of the toxin occurs during regular business hours or your regular veterinary clinic offers emergency services, give them a call to notify them of a possible poisoning. They will be able to provide you with the next steps you should take, whether that involves care at home or requires you to bring your dog into the office. In the event that you are unable to reach your veterinarian, reach out to the Pet Poison Helpline right away.

Veterinary Treatment and Care for Dog Poisoning

Once you make contact with your veterinarian or the Pet Poison Helpline, they will start by asking detailed questions to get a better understanding of the possible risk to your dog. Answer these questions with as much detail as possible, and be honest! We all make mistakes, and these experts are here to help you and your dog, not judge.

Once your veterinarian has had the opportunity to fully assess the situation, they will put together a treatment plan. There is no one-size-fits-all treatment. Instead, this plan will vary based on what the toxin was, how much was consumed, and how long ago it was ingested.

In general, treatment plans focus on preventing the absorption of the poison, administering antidotes if available, and providing supportive care. There are several different methods veterinarians can leverage to provide proper care. If the consumption of the poison is recent, your dog is still conscious, and the poisons won’t cause further damage on the way back up, your veterinarian may elect to induce vomiting or use activated charcoal to stop further absorption. If your dog is already showing signs that the toxin has been absorbed into their body, your veterinary team may need to hospitalize them, give IV fluids, and in some cases give medications that can bind the toxin in your dog’s blood to reduce its effects on your dog’s health.

Having an AAHA-accredited veterinarian in your corner during a situation as scary as poisoning is invaluable because they can customize your dog’s care plan based on their past history and current condition to provide supportive care when necessary. This includes treatments for controlling seizures, heart problems, breathing, shock, and pain.

Prevention Tips: Protecting Your Dog From Poisoning

The best way to prevent poisoning for your dog is to remove your dog’s access to potential poisons.

You can start by limiting which poisons are in your house altogether. If you don’t need it and it might pose a danger to your dog, don’t bring it in. This is especially true with house plants and cut flowers because there are so many equally beautiful pet-safe options available.

For household supplies you need, you can substitute chemical-derived products with those that are pet-safe. Look for companies that specifically create products with our pets in mind.

For medications, food, and supplies that you do need in your home, keep what’s not safe for dogs locked up and/or out of their reach.

And when you aren’t inside your own home, stay aware of what your dog might have access to. Look a few steps ahead of their nose and mouth on walks, do a walkthrough of any place you might be visiting together, and have conversations with whoever makes the purchasing decisions for places your dog spends time, including doggy day care facilities and even your local HOA.

Our dogs often explore the world with their mouths, which means they might eat a few things that they shouldn’t. Poisoning or potential poisoning is one of the scariest experiences we might have as pet parents. Staying educated on potential toxins and limiting our dogs’ access to those toxins can help prevent this unenjoyable experience. Having an AAHA-accredited veterinary practice who we can turn to when time is of the absolute essence can help ensure we’re providing the best care to our dog in the event that poisoning happens.