What to Do If You Think Your Dog Has Been Poisoned

Mouse ate something near the waterway. It looked and smelled suspiciously like tinned dog food.

That was all it took to turn an ordinary walk into the fear that I might lose her.

One moment she was nosing around in the grass. The next, I was trying to work out what she had swallowed, how much had gone down and whether it could hurt her. Had someone dropped it? Left it for an animal? Was there something mixed into it that I couldn’t see?

I couldn’t answer any of those questions. What she had eaten was already inside her.

Mouse was fine in the end. I am hugely grateful for that. But those words can make the experience sound much smaller than it was, as though the happy outcome somehow cancels out the terror.

It doesn’t.

I didn’t know whether I was looking at harmless discarded food or the beginning of a veterinary emergency. I knew that if it contained something toxic, waiting for her to look ill could cost us time she needed.

If your dog may have swallowed something poisonous, call your vet immediately. Do not wait for symptoms.

You can be watching and still not stop it

A dog can swallow something in seconds. By the time you recognise what is happening, there may be nothing left to take away.

Being careful matters. So do supervision, a reliable “leave it” and keeping dogs away from known hazards. But even a closely watched dog can find something before their owner does. Suspected poisoning is not automatically evidence that somebody wasn’t paying attention.

Sometimes there is no witnessed incident at all. You don’t see anything being eaten. Your dog simply becomes unwell later, leaving you trying to piece together where they have been and what they might have encountered.

Poisons can include rodenticides, some slug treatments, antifreeze, medicines and certain plants. Discarded food can also be dangerous, whether it contains ingredients toxic to dogs or has developed harmful mould. Something that smells appetising to a dog can still cause serious harm.

I cannot say that the food Mouse found was poisoned. Looking suspicious is not proof of contamination or deliberate intent. But I could not establish that it was safe, either.

That uncertainty was frightening because the possible consequences were real.

Looking well does not mean the danger has passed

One of the hardest things about suspected poisoning is that there may be nothing obvious to see at first.

Your dog may still be walking normally, looking at you normally and behaving as though nothing has happened. That is reassuring to watch, but it cannot tell you whether a substance is toxic.

Some poisons cause signs quickly. Others can take hours or days. Certain rat poisons interfere with blood clotting, allowing internal bleeding to develop before an owner understands what is wrong. Other rodenticides act differently, so identifying the product matters.

Do not use the absence of symptoms as a reason to wait after a suspected toxic exposure.

Call while your dog still looks well. Tell the vet what happened and let them assess the risk.

Signs that need urgent attention

Possible signs of poisoning include:

• Vomiting or diarrhoea.

• Excessive drooling.

• Unusual tiredness, weakness or behaviour.

• Stumbling or loss of coordination.

• Tremors or seizures.

• Breathing difficulties.

• Unexplained bleeding or bruising.

• Pale gums or collapse.

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These signs can have other causes, but they need veterinary attention. You do not have to diagnose poisoning before asking for help.

Seizures, difficulty breathing, collapse, marked weakness or pale gums are emergencies. Contact an emergency vet immediately.

If your dog becomes unwell days after eating something suspicious, mention that earlier incident. Do not dismiss it because they seemed fine afterwards.

What to do if you suspect poisoning

Call your vet straight away

If your usual practice is closed, use its out-of-hours service or contact an emergency veterinary practice.

Explain what your dog may have eaten, when it happened and whether they have any symptoms. Say clearly if you do not know what the substance was.

You are asking for an assessment of a possible emergency. You do not need certainty before making that call.

Gather information without delaying help

If it is safe, photograph the substance, packaging and location. Keep other dogs away.

Tell the vet roughly how much may have been eaten, your dog’s weight and any relevant medical conditions or medication. Ask whether they want you to bring packaging or a safely contained sample.

Do not spend precious time searching for evidence while your dog needs treatment.

Do not try home remedies

Do not make your dog vomit unless a veterinary professional specifically tells you to. Do not give salt, milk, oil or other supposed antidotes.

The right response depends on the substance, the timing and your dog’s condition. An attempted remedy can cause additional harm or delay treatment.

Ask the vet what to do about food and water, and follow their instructions.

Know about Animal PoisonLine

Animal PoisonLine: 01202 509000

This is a UK service available 24 hours a day for owners concerned about possible poisoning. Run by the Veterinary Poisons Information Service, it assesses the exposure and advises whether veterinary treatment is needed. A consultation fee applies.

If your dog is already seriously unwell, contact an emergency vet immediately rather than delaying urgent care to make another call.

Prepare while you are not frightened

Save your vet’s number and its out-of-hours details in your phone. Save Animal PoisonLine alongside them.

Keep your dog’s current weight and medication details somewhere easy to find. When you are frightened, even familiar information can become difficult to recall.

On walks, move away from suspicious food or substances and keep your dog close while passing them. At home, secure medicines, chemicals, pest-control products, food waste and compost.

These precautions reduce risk. They cannot give any of us complete control over what a dog might encounter.

Mouse was fine. I could not know that at the time.

I can write that sentence now because I know the outcome.

Standing beside the waterway, I didn’t.

I had Mouse in front of me and something unknown inside her. I couldn’t undo what she had swallowed. I couldn’t tell by looking at her whether it was harmless. And I couldn’t stop thinking about how quickly an ordinary walk might become something I would remember for the worst possible reason.

The possibility of losing her was unbearable.

Her being fine matters enormously. It does not make the fear foolish or the situation trivial.

A suspected exposure deserves to be taken seriously before anyone knows how it will end.

If this happens to your dog, you do not need to wait until you can prove something is wrong.

Call your vet. Tell them what you know. Let them help you decide what happens next.