Ever heard of Poison Prevention Awareness Month for your furry pooch? Well… now you have – and it’s this month! It may not be as exciting as Adopt a Senior Pet Month or National Dog Day, but it’s equally as important.
The ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) reports that nearly one-fifth of the calls it receives are for pets that score a mouthful from mom and dads’ medicine cabinets… among other things. This includes over-the-counter and prescription meds for humans, food that is toxic to dogs, like chocolate, as well as the misuse of veterinary products.
As with any baby or young child you may have, pets also need “baby-proofing” in the form of pet-proofing. This will, hopefully, prevent the furry-pawed household member of yours from sticking their wet nose where it doesn’t belong.
The best things you can do to prevent them from getting ahold of these things would be to use child-proof latches on all of your cabinets, store all of the aforementioned products at a high level where they cannot access them, and keep all trash cans covered or tucked away.
Even with near-perfect prevention measures in place, we know mistakes happen. Some signs/symptoms to look out for that may indicate that your dog has been poisoned are:
- Vomiting/diarrhea (especially tarry stools)
- Loss of appetite
- Dry-heaving/nausea
- Extreme salivation
- Pale or yellow gums
- Racing heart
- Weakness/extreme lethargy
- Collapsing
- Vomiting/coughing/pooping blood
- Abnormal changes to bathroom habits
In the event that you are unsuccessful with puppy-proofing your home and your curious doggo finds their boopy-snoot where it doesn’t belong – whether confirmed or not – you should immediately call your local animal hospital or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Line at (888) 426-4435. Please note that while this list of symptoms can point to a variety of conclusions, it is better safe than sorry.