When do you notice poisoning?
If your dog suffers from poisoning, sooner or later he will show symptoms. Unfortunately, these are not always immediately associated with an emergency, as they can also occur with less serious conditions. These include, for example:
- apathy
- Restless behavior, balance problems, staggering
- The dog begins to shake violently
- Increased heart and breathing rate
- nausea
- Diarrhea
- The animal suddenly begins to eat a lot of dirt or grass
- Sudden small bleeding or bloody discharge
- Increased or sharply falling body temperature
- Mucous membranes are dry and/or turn light, blue or red in color
- Dog loses consciousness
- The four-legged friend suddenly produces a lot of saliva.
If you see such signs, you should always think about poisoning: many toxins are absorbed by us unnoticed, and we cannot always determine a connection.
Often after a short time noticeable
The majority of poisons have an effect quite quickly: occasionally the dog will show symptoms almost immediately, otherwise they will appear usually within a few hours on. Then you should act quickly and inform the vet, because the sooner poisoning is treated, the better the four-legged friend's chances of survival.
Some toxins only have an aftereffect longer time
However, there are some poisons that only take a long time to work. Some plants are known to slowly but steadily release toxic substances.
The dog can tolerate this for a long time, but at some point it becomes too much for the body. Then symptoms appear, often these are rather mild and do not include internal bleeding, for example. However, such poisoning is still dangerous.
At Suspicion the dog observe for days
If you think your dog may have consumed something poisonous, you must on guard for a long time Unfortunately, many dog owners feel safe too early and are then surprised when the animal only becomes unwell much later.
In general, if you suspect anything, you should remove the animal observe for several days. In the meantime, to be on the safe side, it can be helpful to show the dog to the vet. He is able to interpret symptoms well and, if in doubt, can also check whether blood clotting is disturbed.
Treacherous special case Rat poison
A very tricky special case rat poison, which unfortunately costs the lives of many dogs. These remedies are deliberately designed to only take effect days after ingestion.
Rodenticides almost always work coumarins, Vitamin K antagonists, which disrupt blood clotting to such an extent that the pests ultimately succumb to internal bleeding. Rodents have a very high level of intelligence and would immediately notice if a member of their species dies after eating bait. This is why the effect occurs time-shifted a.
This also applies to dogs that have eaten poison bait or rodents that have been hunted down by such bait: they only show symptoms after a clear distance; if left untreated, such poisoning leads to the four-legged friend bleeding painfully internally within a few days.
Length of time poisoning in dogs
There is no “one” type of poisoning in dogs. The duration and possible rescue measures depend on many different factors.
Depends on Quantity & type of the poison
What plays a particularly important role is how much of which poison was ingested:
- For example, if a dog has eaten a very small amount of chocolate, poisoning is often only noticeable through digestive problems and is overcome within a few hours.
- Larger portions with a high theobromine content, on the other hand, are life-threatening and only eliminated completely after a few days, although medical help is actually always necessary.
Occasionally the body is only after days or weeks detoxified again
However, in more severe cases it can significantly longer take time until the dog is completely detoxified. The latest generation of rat poisons, for example, must be treated with vitamin K and other agents for weeks before the all-clear can be given.
Consequential damage poisoning are often lifelong
In some cases, the consequences of poisoning last a lifetime: many toxins cause chronic organ damage, in particular Liver, kidneys and pancreas are affected.