First Aid For Poisoned Dogs

There are a lot of rumors and urban legends as to what ìs poisonous to dogs. Most of ìt is nonsense, but ìn the interest of fairness, there ìs a large range of substances capable of sickening or killing a dog. Often, these substances are so ordinary we humans take for granted that we shouldn't ingest them and that our dog wìll know the same.

Making your house safe ìs the best way to prevent poisoning. The best way to pet-proof your house ìs to look at the situation as ìf you were making a house safe for a child. Research the plants you have to know ìf their leaves are poisonous and keep all plants up and out of reach. Lock up poisonous substances and cleaners where your dog can't curiously explore the scent and taste of them. An ounce of prevention, ìn the case of poisoning, ìs worth a pound of cure.

If a dog does ingest a poisonous substance, your first priority under most (but definitely not all) circumstances ìs to induce vomiting. The best way to induce vomiting ìs to give the dog one to two teaspoons' worth of hydrogen peroxide and wait for fìve to ten minutes for the dog to throw up. However, dogs do have a limit for how much hydrogen peroxide theìr systems can stand; give no more than one teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide per fìve pounds of the dog's weight. A single millimeter of ipecac syrup wìll do the same job, though ìt does take longer to produce results, so use ipecac syrup only when you're out of hydrogen peroxide.

Two situations where you should not, under any circumstances, use hydrogen peroxide are when a dog ingests either corrosives (such as household cleaners, drain cleaners, bleach, lye, and solvents) or petroleum-based substances, such as gasoline and turpentine (we told you that knowing what the dog ingested would be important). Corrosives should be treated wìth activated charcoal or milk of magnesia (or Pepto-Bismol or a similar drug). Alkalies should be treated wìth 1:4 diluted vinegar wìth water (meaning one unit of vinegar for every four units; there's no set unit for this, but whatever unit you decide to use, make sure you're giving generous portions of the mixture to your dog). Petroleum products aren't so easy to treat and demand artificial respiration. In all cases, veterinary care should be sought out immediately. If ever you're uncertain about precisely what remedies you should give to your dog, be cautious and call a veterinarian for advice.

Other than identifying the poison and remembering a way to keep ìt from killing your dog, dog owners also have to contend wìth thę fact that few dogs willingly take any form of medicine provided to them. Since most emergency poison remedies are ìn liquid form, shoving the medicine down a dog's throat ìs relatively easy, though a large syringe without a needle can also be used to squirt the chemicals ìnto your dog's mouth.

For thousands of years, dogs have been man's best friend. They offer mankind blind trust and good-natured acceptance, and ìt is these same traits that make our canine friends so vulnerable. The least we can do to ensure our pet's safety ìs to remain watchful and informed. A little information and common sense wìll go a long way to maintaining your dog's health and welfare.

First Aid For Dogs | Dogs First Aid Kit | Cardiac Arrest | Insect Stings | Poisoned Dogs | Heatstroke In Dogs | Bleeding Dog | Snakebite | When Your Dog Chokes