Household Poisons You May not have realized Can Harm Your Dog
Can Dogs be Poisoned by Household Products?
One might ask how safe their home is for their pets and family members. We want to provide a safe place to live for our dogs and cats as well as keep them safe from harm.
Unquestionably, we can protect our pets against common household poisons to which they are exposed too even when we do not know. Obviously, household items like medications, cleaning products told the list of poisonous things at home that can affect our dogs.
As much as we try to keep the home safe we can have various poisonous things around like some plants and flowers. Particularly, some poisonous plants, for instance, tulips can kill pets hence it is good to know which plants to keep near dogs.
Without a doubt, if you are starting to notice any signs of illness, call your veterinarian immediately if you suspect your dog has ingested a poisonous plant.
Here is a list of plants that can be toxic to dogs. This includes plants like belladonna, English ivy, daffodils, tulips, foxglove, holly, rhubarb, yew, azalea, and caladium.
We want to beautify our homes with beautiful plants although many pet owners are unaware of the risks in their homes that put their pet’s life at risk every single day.
Household Poisons That Can Harm Pets
So many things we use at home that are good for cleaning are not harmful to us but are harmful to our dogs.
It is good to keep all chemicals, medicine, detergents anything harmful to our furry friend under lock and key. Alternatively, keep them in a locked room or somewhere high where the dog can’t reach.
The household poisons may include:
- Over-the-counter medications
- Laundry detergent
- Toxic Plants and flowers
- Fabric softener
- Lawn fertilizers
- Prescription medications
- Cleaning products and bleach
- Poison for rats
- Pesticides and herbicides
- Dryer sheets
- Gasoline and engine oil
- Deodorizers
- Antifreeze
- Rock salt
How to Handle a Poisoned Dog
No need to panic when your dog has ingested something that is toxic or poisonous. Firstly, you should determine what your furry friend ingested and how much. Next, call your veterinarian or pet emergency service.
Even with the knowledge of first aid and having a canine first aid kit may not do much if you do not know how much poison your dog has taken?
We keep a lot of harmful substances in our homes from household chemicals which are a danger to everyone.
Family members are able to stay away from them due to reading capabilities. Unfortunately, pets cannot read warning labels, and many chemicals are in containers that can be played with or chewed.
Nevertheless, your pet can make you rush at the vet with panic with just a few lick of something that is potentially deadly.
I know our dogs are curious and we find them at the kitchen counter or dustbins eating some leftovers. Subsequently, keeping our dog away from people’s food is not always easy. Just a bite can be toxic as many human foods are poisonous to animals.
Care needs to be considered when feeding our pets. Just feed the dog her dry or wet food, as you may be poisoning your pet without knowing it by giving her a bite of your food.
Steps to Ensure a Poison Free Environment for your Dog
According to the ASPCA (American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), household cleaners rank sixth among the causes of toxicity in dogs.
Regular use of chemicals at home can cause poisoning to pets. Even so, many pet owners give priority to cleanliness first.
Clearly it is not enough to keep cleaning products away from your dog unless it is done safely preferable under lock and key where your dog cannot reach.
Your dog health is important and a lot of home chemicals can cause harm to your dog health. For example, bleach, arsenic, ammonia, hydrofluoric acid, glycolethers, phthalates, formaldehyde.
Most importantly, when buying cleaning products read the labels and look for words like toxic, danger, hazard, caution, flammable, corrosive, warning, caution. This tells you these are products that need to be handled with care and hence properly stored. These are products that can burn your dog or cause carcinogenic effects on your pets.
Research and know which cleaning products are harmful to your dog. Dogs love laying on the floor when not on their beds. As you clean the house using a cleaning product that is safe for your dog as this may help you minimize continuous exposure to hazardous chemicals.
Have home solutions on how to deal with your dog in case of poisoning. On the other hand learn more about the products that can cause your dog harm and some simple, dog-friendly solutions that work just as well.
Symptoms of a Poisoned Dog
Some chemicals have shown even carcinogenic to pets. Besides, the main symptoms that your dog may exhibit after coming into contact with a poisonous product are listed below:
- Vomiting
- Disorientation
- Skin irritation
- Lethargy, Seizures, Coma or death(Ingested poison)
- Kidney damage or organ failure
- Asthma or breathing problems(Due to strong fumes)
- Diarrhea
- Eye irritation.
- Fainting
The size of the dog matters when suffering from poisoning. Subsequently, dogs small in size are more susceptible to toxicity. The smaller your dog is, the greater is the danger of toxic reaction.
Human Food That is Poisonous to Dogs
We have much human food that are dangerous for dogs namely:
Chocolate
Dog Eating Chocolate is Bad
As much as we love chocolate it is dangerous to our dog. The sweet taste can lead to illnesses.
If ingested in large amounts it can lead to serious problems like seizures, poisoning, irregular heartbeat, internal bleeding, and heart attack due to the presence of theobromine.
Not only do different chocolate have different theobromine percentages but also the darker the chocolate the higher the theobromine and dangerous it is to your dog.
Importantly, you can induce vomiting to reduce the effects but if severe call the vet immediately.
Alcohol
Alcohol contains ethanol which causes the dog to be intoxicated when he drinks it. When having parties or celebrations at home ensure you do not live your alcohol unattended as the dog can lick.
Different alcoholic drinks have different percentages and depending on how much your dog has taken, some percentages are dangerous and can cause alcohol poisoning. The dog might become restless, panting a lot, disoriented, and vomit.
Furthermore, alcohol if taken a lot can cause organ failure leading to your pet death.
Raisins and Grapes
These can cause kidney failure in your dog. Also, grapes hence do not give when eating. This can cause vomiting in your dog. Grapes and raisin are a potential threat to our dogs as with time can lead to kidney failure.
Milk
Water is the best option to give your dog even during summer. Avoid giving cold milk or soft drinks to keep her cool. Some dogs are intolerant to dairy products and can suffer from diarrhea, or allergies.
Onions and Garlic
The way we love putting onion and garlic in our food makes them always around in our homes. And dogs love visiting the kitchen a lot and will eat any leftovers they find laying around.
Garlic belongs in the allium family together with the onion and is poisonous to our pets as it contains thiosulfate, which is toxic to dogs but not to humans.
Garlic toxicity also causes symptoms of gastrointestinal upset, including, diarrhea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, depression, vomiting, and dehydration.
