One of the greatest fears a dog owner has is the risk of having your dog poisoned, especially in the most unexpected ways like eating food. When this happens, first aid knowledge is essential and may very well be the tipping point between life and death for your pet.
What do you do when your dog gets poisoned? Alex Molldrem, DVM of PetMD.com gives four simple steps on how to handle this.
Evaluate
The first thing to do is to identify what toxin your pet was exposed to or what he had ingested. Find the label and take note of the active ingredients and the quantity he ingested or was exposed to. Remove any additional toxin out of reach. Evaluate your pet’s symptoms. Even if your pet is acting normal, toxin exposure may still have occurred.
Call the Pet Poison Helpline
Once you have gathered the necessary information, contact the Pet Poison Helpline at 1-855-213-6680. They can determine if the exposure is considered toxic and if additional treatment is necessary. For ingested toxins, induction of vomiting is commonly performed. In some cases, this can be contraindicated in some toxins. For contact toxins, bathing with liquid dish soap is often necessary.
Do NOT give anything unless instructed to
Dogs have different systems from humans and their bodies will react differently to human medicine or home remedies. Adverse reactions to these methods can sometimes be more harmful than the toxicity itself. Stay calm and do not give anything to your pet unless instructed to by a veterinarian.
Get help
If further treatment is required, transport your pet to your veterinarian or to the closest veterinary emergency facility. Have someone watch over your pet while you are driving in order to prevent distraction.
Read more on the full article here.