Toxic Household items
First, think of what is toxic to a dog is the same as a child. If you wouldn’t want your child to eat it then keep it out of reach of your dog. Additional items that are toxic to dogs include:
- alcoholic beverages
- avocados (leaves, seeds, skin, stem)
- chocolate
- coffee
- cola drinks
- hops (used in home beer brewing)
- macadamia nuts
- moldy foods
- onions
- onion powder
- potato (leaves, stems sprouted potatoes, other green parts)
- rhubarb leaves
- salt
- sugar free gum
- tea
- tomato (leaves, stems, other green parts)
- walnuts
- yeast dough
- If you use a tank insert toilet bowl cleaner be sure to keep the lid down.
- Clean up spills of any chemical or household cleaner.
- Dogs commonly lick their feet, which can cause ingestion and/or mouth burns.
- Common articles that are toxic are:
- Mothballs
- Pennies
- Cosmetics
- Perfumes
- Potpourri
- lead fishing weight
- medications even OTC’s
- Plug-in air fresheners can be removed by a curious pet and ingested.
Toxic Yard and Garden Products
Fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides are used routinely on lawns and gardens. You may not use them in your yard but some your neighbors or park district probably do. Professional lawn services are required to post signs when they treat an area. Neighbors generally do not. Ask your neighbor to alert you if they are treating their lawn or garden. Your pets should be kept indoors during application and not be let out until the application would be dry. Inhaling the fumes can cause toxicity.
Rodenticides although not a yard or garden product are sometimes placed around houses, sheds and garages. Many mouse/rat poisons use an anti-coagulant. It interferes with Vitamin K prevents blood from clotting and internal bleeding. Others use toxins that cause neurological damage. It can sometimes take 3-5 days to see signs of poisoning.
Toxic Automobile Products
As with household cleaners, any product used for cleaning can cause toxicity, but the number one automobile product that kills is anti-freeze, ethylene gylcol. It takes only about 1/2 teaspoon per pound for a dog to get a toxic dose of ethylene glycol. There is currently a new product on the market (one trade name is “Sierra”) which claims to be safer than other brands of antifreeze. This product contains propylene glycol as its active ingredient. If ingested, it can still cause the nervous system injury resulting in incoordination and possibly seizures but does not cause the more frequently fatal kidney damage.
Poison Control Emergency Numbers
(900) 680-0000 costs $20 for the first five minutes and $2.95 for each additional minute billed to your telephone.(800) 548-2423 and (888) ANI-HELP [(888) 426-4435 – These are credit- card-only numbers for $30 per case. (Only Master Card, Visa, American Express, and Discover cards are accepted.)
originally published in the August 2009 newsletter
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