At times, the environment can be very dangerous for the beloved dog.
Dog haters can have poisoned bait with rat poison or slug pellets and the dog unfortunately nibbles on it.
Even everyday medicines such as aspirin or foods such as chocolate or grapes are pure poison for your dog.
Find out everything about dog poisoning and the symptoms here.
Poisoning symptoms in dogs: what are the typical signs?
In the case of poisoning in dogs, the main symptoms are apathy, vomiting, diarrhea and excessive salivation.
These symptoms are unfortunately very unspecific.
The poisoning becomes clearer with signs of tremors, symptoms of paralysis, circulatory problems/collapse, hyperthermia, breathing problems, organ damage and blood in the urine, feces and vomit.
Important
The symptoms of poisoning in dogs can vary greatly depending on the poison and the dose.
Apathy, vomiting, diarrhea, salivation
Symptoms of poisoning often appear first and that usually within the first 2 hours.
The exception is the rat poison, here these symptoms usually only show up days later. The effect should only occur late, so that as many rats as possible eat it.
It is difficult for the owner and veterinarian to recognize the poisoning only from these symptoms if you do not know whether your darling has eaten something poisonous.
Apathy and withdrawal from your presence speak for a general malaise due to possible poisoning.
Vomiting, diarrhea and excessive salivation then manifest themselves as the gastrointestinal tract recognizes that there is something in it that it cannot use.
At this point in time, treatment of the poisoning is still very good and can be done quickly.
Neurological symptoms: tremors, paralysis, hyperthermia
There are toxins like slug pellets that cross the blood-brain barrier within a few hours.
Symptoms such as tremors and paralysis quickly appear here, since the nerve stimuli are no longer transmitted correctly.
In addition, there is a kind short circuit in body temperature regulation, of hyperthermia. This suddenly rises to 41 degrees.
Important body cells are destroyed here, which result in multi-organ failure.
respiratory and circulatory problems
Many toxins, such as theobromine – the chocolate poison – affect the heart and lungs.
This is where the heart races, which can end in heart failure.
Breathing problems up to and including shortness of breath are also common symptoms of poisoning with theobromine, hydrocyanic acid in fruit stones or alcohol.
Some poisons prevent that oxygen transport in the blood and thus cause a circulatory collapse and your dog can lose consciousness.
blood in urine feces and vomit
These symptoms primarily indicate poisoning caused by rat poison.
Rat poison is often used in agriculture or unfortunately also for poisoned bait, just like slug pellets.
Rat poison prevents blood from clotting by interfering with the body’s production of vitamin K.
This causes bleeding in the stomach, intestines, lungs or abdominal cavity.
You really have to act fast here!
Interesting
In the case of poisoning by rat poison, colored evidence appears on the teeth.
organ damage
In addition to hyperthermia, toxins from chocolate or grapes cause damage to important internal organs.
The liver suffers particularly with theobromine from chocolate. It accumulates here because the dog’s body cannot break it down.
This alien substance provides Functional damage to the liver – acute liver failure follows.
Grapes, on the other hand, cause acute kidney failure within 24 hours.
When should I go to the vet and what are the treatment options for poisoning?
If your dog is poisoned with symptoms, you always have to go to the vet! The faster the better.
Treating poisoning early improves your dog’s chances of surviving the poisoning.
Even if the poisoning shows no signs but you know that your dog ate a piece of chocolate or a grape, or nibbled on the lily of the valley, you should contact your vet urgently.
Medical charcoal can always bring first aid. This binds a large part of the poison and allows the dog to excrete the poison in the faeces.
diagnosis
It helps if you bring some of the poison your dog ingested – please put on gloves and place in a plastic bag.
Then your vet will know how to treat it.
So the diagnosis is made either about youwho knows what your dog has ingested or across multiple investigations (Blood, faeces, urine, etc.).
Unfortunately, symptoms are not clear, especially in the early stages of poisoning in dogs.
Always pay attention to what your dog ingests, in an emergency this is life-saving.
Treatment
Treatment can begin within the first 2 to 4 hours with induced vomiting and gastric lavage under anesthesia.
This will get rid of most of the poison from the dog.
An infusion with sufficient liquid, antispasmodic medication and painkillers will help your dog against the symptoms and flush out the remains of the poison.
The dog has recovered from the poisoning if no symptoms of poisoning appear within 24 hours.
Have you ever experienced poisoning in a dog with symptoms? Which Experiences did you do? Feel free to share them with us.