Dogs that a person keeps at home are not just pets. More often than not, they become true family members, whom they also love and worry about. Therefore, any of their ailments are taken as seriously as human ones. A fairly common painful condition is poisoning in dogs. Symptoms, treatment, and care in such situations will be discussed in this article.
Possible causes of poisoning
The disappointing statistics are staggering that for one hundred cases of poisoning of domestic animals, there are eighty-seven, the culprit of which is the owner himself.
This happens for the most common reasons:
- The owner is not able to ensure proper supervision of the pet, allowing him to pick up food waste from the ground during a walk. This can happen in the game, or the dog is hungry and rummages through the waste in search of food. Feeling of hunger can also cause elementary malnutrition, low-calorie food with a lack of essential vitamins or nutrients. Another reason may be the time for not receiving the necessary training and education.
- Feed storage rules are violated. This leads to the fact that the animal consumes poor-quality or missing food, expired food.
- In free accessibility are household items, medicines, fertilizers.
- Too loving the owner feeds the dog a large amount of meat, thereby violating the conditions of feeding the animal.
Pet owners should be aware of the symptoms of poisoning in the dog and what to do to help them.
Types of intoxication in animals
Specialists distinguish two types of poisoning in pets, differing in the way the poisonous ingredients enter the dog's body.
- Food - toxic components penetrate the body of the animal through the esophagus. This includes the use of spoiled food, chemicals, drugs and more. Not only the direct ingestion of the substance, but also the licking of the toxin from the paws or coat will also show symptoms of food poisoning in the dog. The treatment is usually similar.
- Non-food - toxins penetrate through respiration or through the skin. This type of poisoning includes inhalation of dangerous fumes or gases, bites of poisonous snakes or insects.
For first aid to a pet, the main condition is the timely detection of symptoms of poisoning in a dog. Obvious signs of poisoning can be observed after three to seven hours, depending on the type of toxin. Gradual intoxication, slowly poisoning the dog’s body, can manifest itself only after a few weeks and even months.
The general condition of the dog with intoxication
With intoxication, involuntary acts of urination can occur, or, conversely, the opposite situation is the absence of urine - anuria. The last symptom usually indicates kidney failure.
Severe forms of poisoning, accompanied by a violation of metabolic processes, can cause hypothermia - a sharp decrease in body temperature.
Poisoning caused by certain specific substances is accompanied by special conditions. This is rat poison, isoniazid and others.
Chronic intoxication causes the appearance of itching, leads to hair loss, exfoliation of the skin and discoloration of the skin and mucous membranes. Such symptoms and treatment of poisoning a dog with a poison require a diagnostic examination in a hospital setting.
Signs of poisoning from the digestive tract and breathing
The respiratory system and the gastrointestinal tract are the first to respond to the ingestion of the toxin in the animal's body.
We list what symptoms in a dog with poisoning arise from these organs:
- tormented by frequent vomiting and diarrhea with mucous and bloody impurities;
- copious salivation, called hypersalivation;
- rapid breathing is observed;
- paroxysmal cough and wheezing periodically occurs;
- foam is released from the nasal passages;
- late stage of intoxication can lead to pulmonary edema.
Symptoms of intoxication from the cardiac and nervous system
Poisoning affects not only the organs that are the first to encounter toxins, but the entire body as a whole.
On the part of the cardiac and nervous system, the following signs and symptoms of poisoning in dogs are possible:
- increased heart rate and arrhythmia;
- possible cardiac arrest in a state of shock and the death of a pet;
- there are signs of hypertension - blood pressure rises;
- sinus rhythm disturbance - bradycardia - occurs in case of intoxication that has occurred due to the ingestion of narcotic or sedative drugs into the body of the animal;
- the dog begins to lick frequently;
- the coordination of movement is disturbed in the animal - walking and standing in place is accompanied by staggering and throwing the head back;
- trembling, tremors, convulsions can be observed in the body;
- there is a high probability of loss of consciousness, therefore it is important that there are no sharp objects nearby;
- the pet can moan and show sudden aggression.
First aid for general animal poisoning
In case of any (severe or not very) poisoning of the animal, first aid is very important, since the toxic substance begins to poison and act in turn on all body systems. This should be done quickly, but remember that incorrect actions can do much harm instead of help.
If you notice symptoms of poisoning in a dog, you need to do the following:
- An important action during intoxication through food intake is the removal of toxic elements from the body. To do this, it is necessary to provoke vomiting in the animal - pour violently or drink, if possible, the pet with a solution of edible salt (completely dissolve one tablespoon in a glass of warm boiled water) or hydrogen peroxide with water in equal proportions.
- After insect bites, damaged tissues are cooled with a cold compress (towel moistened with water) or a piece of ice is applied to the bite site.
- If the poisonous substance has got on the skin of the animal, it is necessary to thoroughly wash them with soap and water.
- In case of poisoning by poisonous vapors or gases, the dog must be removed from the place where the toxin spreads to fresh air. Vapors of gasoline or turpentine can cause vomiting and cramps. With this poisoning, one or two tablespoons of any vegetable oil is poured into the jaws of the animal, and after twenty minutes they give a laxative.
- To stop the condition, you can give the dog adsorbents.
Specific Therapy
For the correct actions to save the animal, it is necessary to accurately determine the cause of intoxication and analyze the symptoms of poisoning in the dog.
Some specific cases require such actions and the presence of certain skills:
- Isoniazid poisoning. If the pet ate this anti-TB drug, then the first symptoms of poisoning will appear very quickly - within half an hour. The coordination of movements is sharply disturbed in the dog, convulsions shake the body. In this case, an intravenous injection of a one percent solution of pyridoxine is an effective help (depending on the weight of the animal, thirty to fifty milliliters of the drug will be required). If it is not possible to inject the drug into a vein, then an injection is given intramuscularly.
- Acid ingestion in the digestive tract. When penetrating into the digestive tract, acid can not provoke vomiting in order to avoid burns of the laryngeal mucosa. In such a situation, the nasal passages are immediately washed, the mouth falls in plain water, the tongue is cleaned with a special scraper and also treated with water. Then the animal is given adsorbents and the stomach is washed.
- Arsenic poisoning. After first aid, you can treat with a solution of magnesium oxide with ferric sulfate. Fifty milliliters of liquid must be soldered to the pet every fifteen minutes for an hour.
Also, for treatment and alleviation of the condition, a dog can be given raw egg white diluted with water, starch paste, and Glauber or Karlovy Vary salt as a laxative.
Clinical treatment of poisoning
If the general condition of the animal is severe and there are obvious symptoms of poisoning in the dog, a specialist should urgently treat the pet. In the clinic, the pet will be examined, the necessary tests will be done to identify the toxic substance, and treatment procedures and drugs will be prescribed.
Specialized treatment, as a rule, is as follows:
- gastric lavage is performed;
- enemas are used to cleanse the intestines, and then - therapeutic ones;
- Based on the results of the tests, a suitable antidote is introduced;
- diuretics are used to speed up the removal of toxins from the body;
- medical procedures and drugs are prescribed to maintain the work of vital organs and systems - the kidneys, liver, heart muscle;
- manipulations are carried out to normalize breathing in case of violation;
- with the help of anticonvulsants, convulsions are stopped;
- if it is established that intoxication is of an infectious nature, then appropriate antibiotics are prescribed.
Protein intoxication
Not all dog owners know that the cause of intoxication may be the animal’s improper diet. An improperly organized diet also gives symptoms of dog poisoning. Treatment at home of such intoxication is possible by adjusting the pet's menu.
The caring owner, because of his ignorance, feeds the pet with meat products in large quantities, believing that the dog needs to be fed. Meanwhile, meat contains a large amount of animal protein. And since feeding is systematic, then supersaturation with this element does not occur immediately, but over time. It is important to notice the dangerous symptoms of poisoning in the dog in time.
Signs of protein intoxication are as follows:
- weight gain slows down;
- the wool coarsens, becomes tougher and loses its brightness;
- flaky skin;
- wool may fall out by the foci, more often on the tail, ridge and muzzle;
- urine starts to smell unpleasant and changes color.
Symptoms of protein poisoning can be noticed after a few weeks. They do not deliver any serious discomfort to the dog, but nevertheless require intervention.
For treatment, it is necessary to adjust the diet of the animal, which should include more tripe, containing the necessary carbohydrates, and vegetables. Also, the animal needs to undergo a course of vitamin therapy.
Caution - Rat Poison!
Rat poison is called all poisons designed to destroy rodents, this is a collective name.
An animal can be poisoned with such a toxin in two ways:
- just eat a poisonous substance intended for rodents;
- eat rodent meat poisoned by this poison.
This toxin enters the stomach, and then into the intestines of the pet, after which it is absorbed into the blood. As a result of the action of the poison, blood loses its coagulability property.
The first symptoms of food poisoning in a dog become noticeable after three to four days. They are expressed in fever, active vomiting with an admixture of blood, general malaise, cough, diarrhea. The dog becomes passive and refuses food.
When intoxicated with rodenticides or zinc phosphide - a variety of rodent poisons - the animal has difficulty breathing, thirst, bleeding from the gums and nose, convulsions and loss of consciousness are possible.
If the cause of the poisoning is reliably known and from that moment up to four hours have passed, before the doctor arrives, it is necessary to induce vomiting in the pet and then give an adsorbent. After this, an enema should be made into a pink solution of potassium permanganate and then the animal should be plentifully watered.
Menu after intoxication
After treatment, the symptoms of poisoning in the dog disappear, but the pet needs some recovery. At this time, it is important to monitor his diet.
The menu must contain the following products:
- hard boiled eggs;
- low-fat cottage cheese;
- boiled liver and lean meat.
If the dog refuses food, then it is not necessary to force it. The main thing is to provide the pet with enough fresh water. Feeding begins in small portions, gradually increasing them to the usual amount.
Poison Prevention
To minimize the risk of possible poisoning, you must follow the basic rules:
- It is necessary to educate a dog and train it to order from childhood;
- the animal must understand that it is necessary to eat from a bowl, not to lift anything from the ground and not to eat from the wrong hands;
- when bathing a dog you need to use special products for animals;
- household chemicals should not be available;
- you can feed the animal only with quality food;
- Walk your pet away from the trash.
A disease can overtake anyone. But you need to understand that a person is responsible for a tamed animal, so you need to be careful about him, trying to avoid potentially dangerous situations.