Tips to avoid emergency visits to the vets with your pets!

Every year in March there is a poison awareness week, it was established to help raise awareness of some of the day to day things that can be excessively poisonous to your dog. We are actually written a previous article on household detergents etc that can prove fatal if ingested.

Pets may become very ill very quickly when ingesting many common day to day foods and household products.

Here is a list to help you be more aware.

• Alcohol

• Bone

• Caffeine

• Chocolate

• Citrus oil extracts

• Grapes and raisins

• Mouldy foods

• Medicine/ supplements

Common house plants that are known to be toxic include:

• Azalea

• Cactus

• Creeping Charlies

• Lilies

• Ivy

• Mistletoe

• Philodendron

• Poinsettia

Spring and Summer can be a complete nightmare when gardeners are fumigating and areas and putting chemicals out. Be cautious and ask your Gardner the ingredients of the products and it may be advisable to keep your pets in for a few hours after an application to be on the safe side.

Symptoms of accidental poisoning.

Some poisons will result in an immediate reaction for your pet while others may take several days to manifest symptoms.

General things to look out for:

• Drooling, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhoea

• Lethargy, weakness

• Pale or yellowish gums

• Excessive thirst or urination

• Nervousness, hyperactivity, muscle tremors, seizures, coma

If you see your pet ingest anything that you are unsure of, make sure that you contact your vet immediately or take a trip to the surgery to be sure.

Please bring the bottle of the product of you are aware of what they have had or make sure that you retrace in your mind the areas the pet has been to give the vet a clear understanding of the possible poison that may have been ingested.

IF IN DOUBT AT ALL POP TO THE CLINIC FOR AN OPINION, We are always here to advise you, even if you think it is no an urgent matter. we are happy to put your mind at rest.