is your dog acting strange are you wondering what's wrong with them
have they eaten something that they shouldn't just what are the signs of
poisoning in dogs clearly it depends on the poison but many symptoms of
poisoning are the same hi I'm dr. Alex Avery from ourpetshealth.com
helping you and your dog to live a healthier happier life there are many
potential poisons out there that your dog may accidentally come into contact
with or eat this might be toxins in your house and around the garden or different
poisonous foods in the kitchen if you haven't seen my videos on the most
common of these then be sure to check out the links down below obviously different
poisons and toxins acts in different ways and so the symptoms will be
different despite this though many symptoms cross over and so we can make
some generalizations and break them down into those effecting different parts of
the body probably the most common group is intestinal signs now this might
include excessive salivation vomiting and diarrhea but these are pretty common
symptoms so when should you be worried that it is more than a simple tummy
upset if your dog has only vomited or had diarrhea a couple of times is
otherwise bright and happy well then severe poisoning is unlikely
unless of course you've seen them eat something nasty if however they are
otherwise unwell if there is blood in their vomit or if you see anything
unusual in their vomit or stools then poisoning can definitely potentially be
the cause and you should get your dog checked over by your vet our next big
group of common problems is neurological signs or problems with the
body's nervous system and these are again a relatively common feature becoming
more common if a higher dose of poison is given or if treatment is delayed
these signs might involve twitching tremors wobbliness also known as ataxia
in-coordination seizures and fitting now any of these signs regardless of
cause should prompt a visit to your vet as soon as possible problems with the
blood is our number three symptom group with several toxins causing issues here
bleeding is a result of rat bait poisoning one of the most common
poisonings seen this bleeding could be anywhere and so it may not be obvious
but bloody vomiting or coughing up blood are symptoms you would certainly notice
bleeding evidence can also be seen by looking at your dog's gums if they are
pale or even white them blood loss is one potential cause looking at your
dog's gums can show other signs of concern as well anything other than a
normal healthy pink generally indicates that something's not quite right and
should prompt and visit to your vet blue tinge gums suggest the lungs may not be
working properly if they are yellow then the liver might be having problems or
the red blood cells might have been broken down within the blood other colors to watch
out for include a muddy brown and a bright brick red take a look at your
pet's gums now when they are healthy this will give you something to compare
with in the future if you're concerned about your dog and think that they might
be unwell for any reason the heart and lungs are other areas commonly affected
by poisons many toxins will cause the heart to become much more rapid than
normal and this might be because the body is generally under a greater strain
or because the toxin is directly affecting the heart causing it to beat
more quickly and tied to this is the potential for the heart rhythm to also
become erratic and for an arrhythmia to develop an arrhythmia in itself can be
fatal but can also lead to less blood travelling around the body which may
result in damage to other body organs such as the kidneys now placing your
hand on the left side of your dog's chest just behind their front leg should
allow you to feel their heart beating a normal rate really depends on the
size and the fitness of your dog with the bigger and fitter they are then the
lower their normal heart rate will be a rate of over a hundred and sixty beats a
minute in a dog who's resting in their home environment would generally be
abnormal but for your dog this abnormal rate might actually be much lower you
may also be able to feel if the heart is beating regularly or if it's becoming
erratic although this can be quite difficult to determine just by feel if
your pet is overweight as well then you may also struggle to feel their heart in
this way at all but this is another thing that you can practice at home so
that you know what is normal for your pet and what might be abnormal if
they're unwell now if the lungs are affected then the most common symptom
would be a fast breathing rate in some cases this can be accompanied by an
increase in efforts needed to take each breath in those animals that are really
struggling to breathe their neck may be stretched forward and their elbows held
away from the body an attempt to make breathing easier if
this is the case then the gums are also likely to be blue rather than a healthy
pink again knowing your own pets breathing rate when they are resting at
home will allow you to know if they are breathing much faster than normal
a normal rate would be around less than 30 breaths a minute next up is the
kidneys and liver both of these organs can be involved in processing and
removing toxins from the blood both can be affected or irreparably damaged by some
toxins with kidney damage especially symptoms may be very vague and just
consist of your pets appearing lethargic going off their food and being generally
very unwell this is because damage can happen very quickly if it takes place
over a longer period of time then you may notice that your dog starts to drink
or urinate a lot more than they normally do the urine itself may also
appear abnormal in some cases turning bloody the situation is generally the same
with liver damage although another sign of any liver disease can also be that
the gums turn yellow especially if the damage has taken place over a longer
period of time our final group of potential poisoning symptoms in dogs
are those that do not fit into the other categories and these include pain or
discomfort restlessness hyperactivity abdominal bloating a raised body
temperature coma and finally death so you can see from everything discussed
here that there are many different symptoms that might indicate your pet
has come across something poisonous and this list might not include some of the
more unusual things that your dog might have access to or come across in their
lives if you are ever worried that your pet is suffering from the effects of
poisoning then your vet should really always be the first person you call time is
critical in the treatment of poisoning Rapid Intervention might be enough to
avert a potentially life-threatening situation as with most things prevention
is by far the best strategy learn about the most common toxins and
dangerous food in your house and garden as well as any other poisons that your
pet might come across in their local environment if you know what is
potentially dangerous then you can take steps to shut them away from your pet so
they never have access to them in the future in the first place now if you
have any questions or stories about your own pet coming across something nasty
then I'd really love to hear from you in the comments down below also if it's
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to continue to help you and your pet to live a healthier happier life so until
next time i'm dr. alex from ourpetshealth.com because they're family