Thread: Why Did Someone Poison My Dogs??

It is a good idea to always have on hand activated charcoal ('Carbon' in Thai pharmacies), which is the number one protocol for poisonings in human and vet emergency rooms worldwide, and is given to most poisoned patients with some exceptions (see below) . Giving it to the dog orally, the activated charcoal will adsorb the poisons. A common method of dog ‘control’ in Thailand is to poison the dogs. Plus some Thais just plain hate dogs, and don't think twice about killing them.

Activated charcoal
Activated charcoal should not be given to animals that have ingested caustic materials (I’ve never seen a dog ingest caustic materials!). These materials are not absorbed systemically, and the charcoal may make it more difficult to see oral and esophageal burns. Other chemicals that are not effectively adsorbed by activated charcoal include ethanol, methanol, fertilizer, fluoride, petroleum distillates, most heavy metals, iodides, nitrate, nitrites, sodium chloride, and chlorate.

But since the 'favorite' poison in Thailand is insecticides such as organophosphates and carbamates, the charcoal works great with this.

Emesis is contraindicated (in other words, don’t make them vomit) with ingestion of alkalis, acids, corrosive agents, or hydrocarbons due to the risk of chemical burns or aspiration. The pre-existing condition of the animal also determines the indication for using an emetic. Emesis should not be induced at home in an animal that has a history of epilepsy, cardiovascular disease, or is debilitated. Veterinary supervision is recommended in these situations. Recent histories of abdominal surgery or potential for a gastric torsion are other factors that could make emesis a contraindication. It may be safest, depending on the situation, to induce vomiting in brachycephalic (short-nosed) breeds at the veterinary hospital versus at home due to aspiration risk. Emesis should not be attempted if the animal has already vomited or is exhibiting clinical signs.

So, basically, forget making the dog vomit, unless you know the exposure to the poison was very recent. Just empty a bunch of charcoal capsules into some milk or, better yet, chicken soup and let the dog drink it. If you can ‘pill’ the dog (manually put the charcoal caps/tabs down his throat) then ‘pill’ him with many charcoal capsules, one after another. Easier to use chicken soup, though. Plus the liquid of the soup helps.

Emetic (to make vomit) Agents
You can use hydrogen peroxide before giving charcoal. Only use this if you know the dog recently swallowed the poison and if the dog is 100% conscious.

Three-percent hydrogen peroxide is an effective emetic for the dog, pig, ferret, and cat. Do not induce emesis in rodents, rabbits, birds, horses, or ruminants. The dosage is 1 teaspoon per 5 lbs., not to exceed 3 tablespoons. It should be administered undiluted – not mixed into water or food. However it is helpful to feed a small, moist meal of either canned food or a slice of bread before inducing vomiting, as it makes emesis more productive by giving the toxicant something to adhere to. Bulb syringes, feeding syringes, or turkey basters aid in administration. Put the syringe (with no needle) or bulb/etc with Hydrogen Peroxide far back in his throat and squirt. Or, have some plastic tubing--or a straw-- handy and ‘push’ the tubing far back in his mouth and then squirt the hydrogen peroxide, using your mouth if necessary, down the tube into the back of his throat. He will probably vomit instantly. Hydrogen peroxide causes vomiting through mild gastric irritation. Vomiting usually occurs within minutes and can be repeated once if not initially successful at causing emesis. Important to get the hydrogen peroxide in the back of his throat to insure he swallows it. If you just squirt it into front of mouth he may just spit it out.

But vomiting is not usually enough to save the dog since vomiting never removes all the poison, so giving activated charcoal is essential. Also, in emergency room for people, inducing vomiting is rarely done now because of the ineffectiveness of it and the danger of aspirating the vomit. Instead, activated charcoal is given.

You can crush activated charcoal tablets (or open capsules) and pour many of them into water, chicken soup, milk, etc and then let them drink from bowl or you administer the blackened charcoal liquid into the dogs mouth using large plastic syringe without the needle. That is, if they are conscious. Don’t put anything in the mouth of an unconscious dog. But note, however, that even an unconscious dog will sometimes wake up if you put chicken soup drops on his lips. He will then drink the activated charcoal chicken soup in the bowl you have under his nose.

If I even suspect a dog has eaten poison —say, if he is just laying around looking sick, then I give him 5 or 10 activated charcoal capsules. It is non-toxic and cannot hurt them so always better to give it to them just in case. (Same goes for humans, as most food poisoning does not involved diarrhea and vomiting---rather it involves 'malaise' and feeling unwell. A couple caps of activated charcoal will 'solve' most mild food poisoning problems).

Signs that suggest poisoning: mouth irritation, skin rash, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, drooling, staggering, hallucination causing over-reaction to sound or light, breathing difficulty, bleeding disorders (check gums for bleeding), muscle tremor and rigidity, seizure, heart failure, kidney or liver problems, coma and death. For rat poison (warfarin), depression and anorexia occur in all species even before bleeding occurs.

Always at first hint of poisoning, open many capsules of activated charcoal, and put them in milk or, better yet, chicken soup made with salt and a little sugar. Get the dog to drink this. It should only taste as salty as tears, no more. The sugar is essential to help the salt get absorbed, which is why sports drinks like Gatorade have both salt and sugar in them.

If you can determine the poison he ate then you can give the antidote. Usually they will have eaten an organophosphorous or carbamate pesticide in which case you give them atropine intravenously (IV). If you see bleeding gums, or blood coming from other places, then the dog may have eaten warfarin type poisons (rat poison) in which case you give them Vitamin K1 intravenously (IV) if they are unconscious or oral if they are conscious (mix with salt/sugar chicken soup).

By giving IV atropine you will be covering most bases for the likely poisons a dog may have eaten. “Atropinization is adequate when the pupils are dilated, salivation ceases, and the animal appears more alert”. (Merck Vet Manual)

But if you don't have access to Atropine, then you may very well still save the dog's life with Activated Charcoal alone and fluids, preferably chicken soup with salt and sugar.

If you don’t have IV fluids to administer then it is very important that you make the chicken soup, and add a bit of sugar and some salt. (Or use milk, sugar and salt if no chicken soup available). The sugar is absolutely necessary in order that the salt can be absorbed once it is eaten/drunk. If you don’t have sugar, then white rice gruel—mashed—will serve as a carbohydrate that readily turns into sugar once eaten.

Remember that the first thing the ambulance driver does for most accident victims is put a saline IV in. But since you aren’t doing it IV (unless you’ve taken dog to a vet), then you MUST add sugar to the lightly salted water (chicken soup), otherwise your Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) will fail. The salty chicken soup should be no more salty than tears or sweat---LIGHTLY salted (with sugar added!) Let the dog drink as much as he wants. Keep adding the charcoal to the salt/sugar chicken soup. The correct dose for activated charcoal for humans or dogs is 1 g/kg, that is 1 gram of activated charcoal for each kilogram body weight. So if the dog is 10 kg you would give 10 grams of activated charcoal every 4 hours or so. The capsules are usually 500 mg (half a gram each, or two makes a gram) so to give 10 grams for a 10 kg dog you would give 20 capsules every four hours for 2 or 3 times.

Vitamin K1 is rarely needed as Thais don't use rat poison--it takes too long, days of eating little bits of it, to take effect. Instead, Thais usually use a pesticide whose antidote is atropine (just like in a detox kit--"Mark 1 Kit"--issued to soldiers): atropine and pralidoxime--antidotes for sarin gas attack).

After you’ve given the charcoal and the IV atropine then give them some or all of the following to counteract the toxicity to the liver:

NAC (n-acetyl cysteine, an amino acid which replenishes glutathione, extremely important!, available in pharmacies, groceries, health food stores--NAC is also THE antidote to acetominaphen/paracetamol/'Tylenol' poisoning. , Silymarin(the active ingredient in the herb 'milk thistle'—or you can just give the milk thistle), Carnitine (another amino acid), and Vitamins K, E, A. And give more fluids, chicken soup with salt/sugar as outlined above.

One poisoning incident that bears telling is 50 or so dogs ate a bad batch of dried dog food at Samui Dog Rescue in Koh Samui, Thailand and they all fell ill, and most died. The food was grain based and had aflatoxin, a toxin produced by a mold, on it. If you suspect this kind of poisoning then the antidote is always activated charcoal and, specifically for aflatoxin: NAC, carnitine, Silymarin (milk thistle), Vitamin A, E, K and salt/sugar/chicken soup rehydration.

If you’re not sure of the poison you can start with a little atropine IV and observe. If you know for sure it is the very commonly used carbamate or organophosphate (Organophosphorus) pesticides then definitely give atropine.

But in all cases, give the activated charcoal as soon as possible if the dog is fully conscious, and put activated charcoal in chicken soup made with a little salt and sugar if you have it. Don't delay giving the activated charcoal. Give it, THEN drive to the vet if there is one available.

(In countries where antifreeze is common, cats and dogs are known to drink it especially in the summer when they may not have access to water, they find it in a puddle in a driveway. Ethylene glycol. Antidote: ethanol (alcohol). So take them to the vet if one is nearby or, if not, get the animal drunk for a day or two).

the thing is, Rick, some people get really angry about dogs barking and it can get to the point of them deciding to poison them, if the owner does not control the noise

barking dogs are a serious nuisance and the owner is responsible

in your case, you have said that your dogs did not bark incessantly, so maybe the theory that they may have been in the way of a planned robbery is correct

Our local pub had a seriously big Great Dane; some customer fed it drugs and the pub was robbed that night; the dog was just sedated though so no real harm done