The goal is for your house and your dog to peacefully co-exist. After all, they both bring you joy. The trouble is that some of the things in your home can pose a health hazard to your pooch. For real life examples, read on. Hopefully, these crowdsourced accounts will help you puppy-proof your home so that your pet can stay healthy and happy.
Dr. Leslie Brooks, DVM, a veterinary advisor for betterpet.
- Rat poison/rodent bait
- Anti-freeze
- Pennies
- A variety of foods:
- Socks
- Rat poison, chocolate and marijuana
- Wires and gadgets
- Rope toy
- Bathroom trash
- Food Items
- Furniture
Rat poison/rodent bait
These are toxic to dogs, and dogs love to find them and eat them, even if they are still in the packaging. If a dog eats them, even any amount, most owners know they need to rush into the vet to get the dog to vomit and then be given treatment to prevent their bodies from absorbing any remnants of it. Depending on the type of poison, they may need to be on vitamin K or other medicine for weeks as well. If an owner didn’t know their pet ate it, or they found out too late, their pet may end up needing to be hospitalized, and may even die.
Anti-freeze
This is very toxic to dogs but tastes sweet, so dogs love to lap it up. It is very toxic and can cause seizures, kidney failure, and liver failure. It will definitely require a vet visit, most likely hospitalization, and has the potential to cause death.
Pennies
Pennies made after 1982 are composed mostly of zinc, which can cause toxicity in dogs. Once in a dog’s stomach, the stomach acids cause the penny to corrode, expelling the zinc. The zinc gets into the dog’s bloodstream and causes a condition called immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. So, if a dog eats a penny made mostly of zinc, they actually have to have surgery to have the penny removed for the condition to be treated.
A variety of foods:
Namely chocolate (especially baker’s chocolate), grapes, sugar-free gum that contains xylitol, and anything with edible marijuana mixed in. Chocolate can cause seizures and GI upset, grapes can cause kidney failure, xylitol in sugar-free gum can cause seizures and liver failure, and marijuana can cause extreme sedation, a slow heart rate, slow respiratory rate, and possibly death.
From my experience, here are 2-3 incidents where I witnessed this at my place of practice
1. A young Labrador Retriever was brought in to me once in the middle of a seizure. We checked blood sugar, and it was extremely low, which was the cause of the seizure. The owners said the dog had eaten a piece of their sugar-free gum that was lying around, which was the culprit. Sugar-free gum contains xylitol (an artificial sweetener). Xylitol causes dogs’ insulin to jump very high, which causes their blood sugar to drop very low, which leads to seizures.
2. When I worked at a specialty clinic, I saw a Bassett Hound who had developed extreme anemia due to immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. An x-ray was taken of the dog, revealing a penny in his stomach. He had to have a blood transfusion and then surgery to remove the penny, as the zinc from the penny was causing the anemia.
3. A small mixed-breed dog in a coma-like state was brought in to me. After much discussion with the owners, they admitted that the dog got into some of their marijuana brownies. We kept the dog on supportive IV fluids for 24 hours, and it recovered.
Jeff Carbridge, Trainer/Expert at Dog Owner and qualified animal behaviourist with a specialisation in canines.
Socks
Yes, socks are one of the leading dangers to dogs, and I see it far too often. The dog is unsupervised, finds a sock, chews it, and then all of a sudden it has been swallowed. Much of the time, the sock will pass through their system naturally or with the help of medication.
However, there are other times when the sock becomes lodged in the digestive tract or even gets twisted around. In these situations, surgery is required to remove the blockage and avoid it becoming fatal. It’s a huge issue, so keep your socks tucked away and out of reach.
Dr. Sarah Wooten, DVM, CVJ is the vet expert at Pumpkin Pet Insurance and has been featured as a subject matter expert across many industry conferences and publications.
Rat poison, chocolate and marijuana
Accidental ingestion of rat poison is a big one! Rat poison is delicious to dogs, and if it is put down where it can be accessed by a dog, they will likely consume it. Rat poison causes bleeding and neurological problems in dogs and can be fatal.
Accidental ingestion of chocolate is another one because theobromine, a compound present in chocolate, can cause fatal liver problems in dogs if ingested in sufficient quantities.
Accidental ingestion of marijuana can also be quite harmful. The THC in marijuana can cause severe intoxication in dogs because they metabolize it differently than humans. Edible forms of marijuana are the most attractive to dogs.
Richard Waters, Founder & Managing Director of Row.
Wires and gadgets
Appliances and gadgets with their wires dangling can definitely cause some dangers to dogs (or the other way around. Either way, it’s still a problem for the owners); they might get electrically shocked or choke or even swallow some of them. So it is important to make sure that our appliances and gadgets are out of our dogs’ reach (as much as possible).
Wendie Patrick, Owner of Dogs of Pride & Finnessiam Health.
Rope toy
Commonly, there is compaction in the stomach or intestine from otherwise harmless items once the dog has decided to ingest them. I have had a client that had to have surgery performed on their eight-month-old pup that had chewed and swallowed part of a rope toy. Another had swallowed a pair of the new baby’s socks, and although a vet visit was looming, the dog thankfully passed them in one piece, albeit gross!
Sadly, I also had a client whose dog passed shortly after surgery after having stolen corn on the cob off the counter.
Meg Marrs is the founder of the dog care website K9 of Mine, dedicated to helping owners take the very best care of their four-legged friends.
Bathroom trash
Most owners are no strangers to catching their dog digging through the bathroom trash. While there are plenty of things you don’t want your dog getting into, tampons have to be one of the worst. Because tampons are designed to be absorbent and expand, they can easily cause serious intestinal blockages that require an emergency trip to the vet.
Interestingly, while the idea of your dog ingesting a used tampon is more disgusting than an unused one, it’s unused tampons that pose the biggest risk. This is because the cotton in a fresh tampon will swell in your dog’s stomach rather than simply distending with a used tampon (since the tampon has already soaked up something else).
Sara Ochoa, DVM, Veterinary Consultant for doglab.com.
Food Items
Oven and Stoves: I have treated dogs and cats that have touched a hot oven or jumped on top of a hot stove.
Socks: I have removed socks from many dogs. For one dog, I have removed a sock 3 different times from its intestines.
Food Items: human food can cause GI issues in dogs. This includes vomiting and diarrhea. Human foods that are not safe for dogs are onions, grapes, garlic, and chocolate.
Daniel Caughill is a professional journalist, marketer, and one of the co-founders of The Dog Tale.
Furniture
Believe it or not, regular, old furniture can pose a danger to small dogs. Max, our in-house Yorkie, broke his leg at just a few months old after overestimating how high he could jump from. If you have a puppy or small pet, consider getting a ramp or pet stairs so they can mount and dismount your furniture without risk.
