National Poison Prevention Week is March 16th through the 22nd!

We all have that small worry in our minds of our pets being poisoned and long hours spent at the clinic. Do we know what is considered toxic to pets though? More things are toxic to pets that we may think. Continue reading to find what can be harmful to your pet in you household and how to prevent the danger. 

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Household Dangers and Prevention

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The Living Room

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Danger

Preventing the Danger

• Plants - common household plants can be toxic to dogs and cats, before bringing plants into your home research to see if they are toxic. Some toxic plants include; lilies, Crocus plants, Daffodils, Azaleas, and Oldeander.
• Home fragrance products (simmer pots and liquid potpourri) can cause chemical burns if ingested. 
• Nicotine - even small amounts of nicotine from a cigarette butt can be poisoning to pets. Keep ashtrays and smoking cessation products away from pets. 
• Batteries and phones - they are powerful little devices. If batteries and phones are chewed on or ingested (devices containing batteries as well) it could cause serious chemical burns.

• Plants - If you enjoy having plants in your household, keep toxic plants out of reach from your pets. Even artificial plants can be a choking hazard for pets. Keep plants off the floor and away from your pet's if you are unsure if they will eat them. 
• Home fragrance products - keep simmer pots and liquid potpourri's away from areas your pets go. You can convert to plug in air fresheners as well to keep the potential of chemical burns to a minimum. 
• Nicotine - keep any nicotine devices and cigarerattes away from animals. Clean up any cigarette butts in or outside of your home to prevent your pet from consuming them. 
• Batteries and phones - keep batteries  and phones away from the floor where pets typically get their mouths on them. Avoid letting pets play with toys with batteries in them. Store unused batteries in drawer or container where your pet cannot get to them. Any trash cans containing used batteries ensure the trash can has a lid or your pet cannot get into the trash. 

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The Bathroom

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Danger

Preventing the Danger

• Medications - Over-the-counter medications and prescription pills, inhalers, and dietary supplements can be harmful to pets. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil) are extremely poisonous to pets! 
• Cleaners - bathroom cleaning products can be harmful to pets. 

• Medications - keep over-the-counter medications and prescription pills, inhalers, and dietary supplements  locked away from animals. Medicine cabinets and drawers with locks are a great way to keep medications away. 
  
• Cleaners - keep bathroom cleaning products away from pets in a cabinets and closets where pets cannot reach the products. Close toilet lids to keep pets from drinking water containing cleaners.​

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The Kitchen

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Danger

Preventing the Danger

• Food - Some human foods are toxic to pets and can cause damage to your pet's organs. 
• Garbage - if your pet can get into the trash they may ingest objects that can be harmful or cause intestinal blockages.
• Alcohol - Alcohol can cause low blood sugar for cats, dogs, and horses.

• Foods - Know what foods are toxic to dogs and cats. A post from earlier this month lists foods toxic to pets.
• ​Garbage - Keep lids on the garbage or behind closed doors as garages can have a plethora of toxins. 
• Alcohol - Keep alcohol locked away in a cabinet or in the fridge and away from areas where your pets can ingest it. 

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The Utility Room 

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The Danger

Preventing the Danger

• Rodenticides (rat and mouse poison) - are extremely toxic to pets. Rodenticidies can cause internal bleeding, attack platelets, cause brain swelling, and hypercalcemia (high calcium). 
• Insecticides - If insecticides for pets such as flea, tick, and mite killer are not used correctly they can cause drooling, diarrhea, excessive urination, vomiting, and difficulty breathing. 
• Glue and Instillation - Glues that expand in the stomach, such as Gorilla Glue, can cause major complications if ingested. Expanding foam installation also has this effect. The glue and instillation requires surgical removal.  

•  Rodenticides - Keep all rat and mouse poison traps in areas where your pet cannot reach them and possibly ingest the product. Place rat and mouse trap containers inside a box with a entrance door on the side so that its another wall between danger and your pet.
• Insecticides - Read labels carefully before using any flea/tick/mite treatments and preventatives to ensure they are safe for your pet, the dosage is correct, and the product is applied correctly. DO NOT put dog flea and tick insecticides on your cat as it will cause tremors and seizures. ​
• Glue and Instillation - Keep these products locked in containers where animals cannot reach them and ingest them. 

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The Garage, Yard, and Garden

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The Danger

Preventing the Danger

• Ethylene Glycol (antifreeze) - is extremly toxic to pets! If enough is ingested, it will kill your pet quickly. It does have a sweet taste so pets are often drawn to it. 
• Fertilizers - can be toxic to pets. Examples that are toxic: bone meal or blood meal. 
• Grub and snail killers - can be harmful to pets.
• Yard insecticides - Some insecticides include organophosphates or carbonates can be toxic if ingested in large amounts. 

• Ethylene Glycol - Propylene Gycol based antifreeze is an alternative that is safe around pets. Otherwise keep your pets away from any Ethylene Glycol antifreeze in your garage. 
• Fertilizers - Keep bags out of reach and stored in a plastic container. 
• Grub and Snail Killers - Keep the products out of reach and locked away in containers. 
• Yard Insecticides - Keep products out of animal areas and kept in containers. 

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Toxins and Poisons can cause kidney failure, heart murmurs and failure, trouble breathing bladder issues, seizures, neurological issues, vomiting, drooling, pale gums (signifying blood loss), weakness, and death.  

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What if They Ingested a Toxin? 

If your pet ingests something toxic induce vomiting as soon as possible. If time of ingestion is within 3 to 4 hours you can induce vomiting to get the toxic food out of your dogs stomach. The sooner the better as most chemicals listed above are fast acting and can cause damage to your pet within minutes. A way to induce vomiting at home is to give hydrogen peroxide. The dosage is 1 milliliters per 5 pounds. So a 50 pound dog could have 25 millimeters of hydrogen peroxide. If after 5 minutes the dog does not vomit, you can re-dose the hydrogen peroxide. 
Otherwise we recommend calling us we can induce vomiting medically, or give insight to the situation dependent on what your pet ingested.

There are lots of dangers out there. Now that we know the dangers, we can avoid those dangers. Keep your pet's safe to prevent costly visits to the emergency clinic both for you and your pet.
If you have any questions or concerns, give us a call at (605) 695-5252.