All About Pet Toxins with Dr. Bradley Kneeland at Pawsitive Pet Care
Hi. I'm Dr. Bradley Kneeland. Today, we are going to discuss something that's incredibly important for pet owners, something that you might use or see every day around your animals and not think twice about. We all want to keep our pets safe and healthy, but many common everyday items, food, or cleaning products can be very dangerous if our pets are exposed to them.
In this video, I'll walk you through some of the common household toxins and what you should do if your pet is exposed to them. Let's start with something easy that's near and dear to all of our hearts: chocolate!
The Dangers of Chocolate for Pets
Out of everything I deal with on emergencies, this is probably the number one call I get. Chocolate, depending on the concentration of the cocoa, can be something that's not too bad or dangerous, leading to the death of the animal. So it's nothing to think twice about; this is one you make a phone call about.
Grapes and Raisins
These seem harmless enough, but they can lead to kidney damage and then kidney failure. Be careful with these. I've heard a lot of people who like to give them frozen to their dogs—they're not an acceptable treat.
The Dangerous Sugar Substitute: Xylitol
This is a sugar substitute, and it can be tricky to find. Quite often, it's a kind of hidden ingredient. You can find it in gum and certain candies. Why it's so dangerous is that even a little amount of xylitol can lead to a massive drop in blood sugar.
Garlic and Onions
Garlic and onions—we use these in cooking all of the time. What you don't realize is that these little things can cause anemia, your red blood cells being destroyed in the dog. It doesn't take a whole lot; it's a bad thing. So stay away from onions, stay away from garlic.
Human Medications and Pets
You know, we all think that medicines are all created equal: dog takes human medicines, and humans take dog medicine, but that's not true. Doses are different, and certainly, what seems to be, "Well, I take a pain pill; for a dog, I'll take a pain pill for a human." It doesn't work that way; the bodies work differently. One of the things we see a lot, anti-depressants, can have profound effects on your dogs. Things that we think should be harmless, like acetaminophen and ibuprofen, can be deadly. We need to stay away from human medicines. The only medicine you should be giving your pet is the one prescribed by your doctor.
Vitamins and Human Supplements
They're just medications in a different name. Be careful with those; a little bit of those can cause a lot of problems in your pet.
Household Cleaning Products
A lot of these can contain ammonia or bleach. They can cause anything from stomach and mouth irritation to chemical burns to, in the right doses, bad things. Again, so these keep stored in a locked cabinet away from your pets. A lot of pets will be drawn to them, and they will lick right there, and that's how they get exposed.
Antifreeze and Its Dangers
Car mechanics know what this is. This is that neon yellow liquid that we see all the time. Antifreeze is huge. Very, very little of this—it doesn't take much, folks, and that will cause some devastating effects to the kidney and the liver of your pets. So we've got to be careful with this. They're drawn to it, drink it readily without even thinking twice. There's an old saying that I think works very well: if you wouldn't let your kids play with it or drink it or eat it, don't let your pets.
Toxic Plants for Pets
We see this quite often as well. A lot of plants are fine, but a lot of them can have some pretty significant consequences. Lilies are notorious for it. Poinsettias around Christmas time—notorious toxins. A lot of the plants outside are bad toxins. They can cause anything from irritation, local irritation in the mouth and the intestinal tract, to organ failure. Be careful with these. It seems like it should be a harmless thing if your kid goes up here and starts chewing a plant because it seems like a natural thing for them, but it's not.
The Effects of Alcohol on Pets
Sure, your dog's probably not going to drink a nice cold beer anytime it wants it, but when you're done with whatever you're drinking, if we set that down and they come over, lick the top of it, it spills out, or there are some of those fruity drink mixes that will draw them to them as well. It doesn't take much, and I think that's something to remember. Alcohol can cause anywhere from drowsiness to sedation to seizures. It's bad; stay away from it.
Energy Drinks and Caffeine
Here we come over the top, bring it in. Oh yeah, energy drinks—can you see it? It's there. Okay, energy drinks are bad. Caffeine is bad. Caffeine causes all kinds of problems. I'm sure most of you, or many of you at least, know what happens if you've had one too many of these nice little energy drinks or one too many cups of coffee in the morning: agitation, irritation, excitability, and seizures, and you know what comes after that. Stay away again. They are sweet; sweet stuff draws animals, and it doesn't take a lot, so let's stay away from those.
Rat Poison and Bait
This stuff is bad. Animals are drawn to it. Cats and dogs—we see this all the time, and it takes very little to cause devastating effects. A lot of people will say, "Well, it's a small block, and I will put it in an area where the animals will never get to." It is amazing how these animals will find a way to get in there, and even if they knock off a corner of it, that's all it takes. We've had people come in and say, "I have bait boxes. I make sure they're locked into the bait boxes." They've brought me in destroyed bait boxes. This stuff goes into them, and what's bad about it is that quite often, you don't see the devastating response and effect until several days later. Sometimes, people will say the dog's throwing up something that's green in color or passing green stool. You see any of this and there's any possible exposure, you have to let your doctor know immediately. This stuff does not play; it is devastating, but if you get in soon enough, it is possible to save your pet.
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