Thursday, July 30, 2009

My Jack Russel Ate Rat Poison!!??

She is 2 years old, she ate rat poison 3 days ago I gave her milk immediately afterwards it was only 2 small pieces. Then I took her to the PDSA's vet they where very busy and the nurse gave her a shot that the vet recommended, I am not sure what it was though! She hasn't shown any symptoms of poisoning yet and is still eating well and is very much alive. What should I do? I'm still worried!!!
Answers:
Rat poison is actually made of a drug that is given to people with heart problems. It is called Warafin and is a blood thinner. In small doses it reduces high blood pressure by decreasing the viscosity of blood. In high doses the blood becomes so "thin" that it acutally leaks out of our blood vessels into the kidneys and the lungs and eventually leads to death. Taken in lethal doses it works fairly quickly so if your dog took it 3 days ago I would say she is completely fine. If she had labored breathing or blood in the urine and stool I'd say she would need a checkup. Death by rat poisoning involves alot of suffering. Perhaps you might think of another more humane way to get rid of the mice and rats. They might be a nusiance but they shouldn't have to suffer a painful death anymore than your dog should. BTW Jack Russels are the cutest and smartest dogs I've ever seen. You're lucky to have one.
She is fine now.
WHAT did you vet tell you??? Regardless of them being "very busy" the nurse should have conveyed something to you. Call them up.
give it more rat poison.
I am sure that she will be alright, after this amount of time.
http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com
call the vet and ask what it was he was given. i wouldn't worry if he is eating ok. the jab obviously did its job.
What are you doing giving your dog milk?? It would have passed through her system now anyway so she will be fine. If she starts bleeding in the poo then you should contact the vets.
Well if its been 3 days, she's fine as the poison would have kicked in by now. They probably gave her an antidote for the poison - they have them at all hospitals and vets nowadays for accidents like this.
I am sure she is ok. Believe me, she would have surly showed signs by now. You were lucky to act as quickly as you did, you saved your doggies life!
Stop worrying, she will be fine now. I understand how scared this would be, but she would of shown some sort of sign by now If she were sick. Give her a big kiss n cuddle and be thankful It wasn't worse.
it may have been an anti poison or something to help flush the poison from her system. keep giving her lots of water and monitor her over the next few days. if she is eating well, its likely the amount of poison was not enough to cause her harm. take care, hope all goes well
it was already through her system 2 days ago they have a very fast metabolic rate, its fine.
she will be fine now honestly

my jack russel millie eat some when she was a pup and she is still here now and that was 8 years ago
Your dog will be fine. You did what was needed. You said she is eating and acting fine. I think that she is out of the woods. 3 days have already gone by and she is ok, so stop upsetting yourself. Your dog has forgotten about it, so should you. But keep all posions away from your pets, they don't mix. Good Luck!
Jack Russel's are by far and away the best rat catchers pet .

Rats eat poison and become immune to it - Jack Russel eats poisoned rat and steals the rats immunity .

Salt kills slugs but it doesn't harm us !

He is absolutely fine !
I think she should be OK now but still keep an eye on her. I think the vet should have explained more to you...being busy doesn't excuse them!!

I found this info on the web:
Your puppy can become poisoned by eating rat/mouse poison or even by eating one of these animals if the animal had previously ingested the poison. The symptoms a puppy that has ingested it will have are: convulsions, stiffness, hemorrhage, and collapse. One of the most common toxins used in the manufacture of rat poison is warfarin, which stop blood from clotting. The best treatment for it is different for each type of rodent poison and it depends on the active toxin in the ingested rodent poison as to what the veterinarian will prescribe as the best treatment. You should immediately seek medical attention taking with you the original packaging of the poison if at all possible.

It also says to wash the dogs mouth out if they have been poisoned. I presume with water!

Good Luck...maybe you need to find a more considerate vet.
Since she is acting okay and doesn't seem sick, there is probably nothing to worry about. The shot they gave was probably potassium. I would call the vet back and check to see if he needs to see her again.
This dog would be dead or dying by now since it's been 3 days. Rat poison works quickly. If she is eating and drinking, then the vet did his job. She will be fine. Dogs that eat rat poison get very sick, weak, lethargic, throw up, won't eat or drink. This doesn't should like your dog is experiencing any of these symptoms. Thank you for taking her to the vet right away. You did the right thing. Keep her away from the rat poison or put it on the roof where she can't get at it.
Rat poisons are usually anticoagulants.

That means the dog dies from internal bleeding sometimes within hours but up to 2 weeks after ingestion of the lethal dose, depending on what type of antocoagulant was used.

Second generation agents are far more toxic than first generation, they are generally lethal after single ingestion of bait.

Vitamin K1 has been suggested, and successfully used, as antidote for pets or humans accidentally. This was probably the injection your dog got.

If it were me, I would make an urgent appointment with the vet, and discuss if further follow up is required, and what to watch out for.

Then do keep an eye out for the next two weeks.

++++
They should use Vitamin K... that is what we use
If you got the dog there well before the dog got it in its system %26 he has had the vets treatment (even though it was administrated by someone else) %26 the dog is showing no signs of illness the dog is fine.

If the dog goes off its food, stops drinking water or becomes thirsty that is drinking in excess take back to the vets or PDSA.

If your dog is whining it could be because the dog has still got a little in its system if that is the case get to the vets ASAP but as you say the dog is showing no signs of anything, that the dog is healthy in itself I would say the dog is fine %26 it is good to see that you took it straight for treatment %26 not like some others who wait till it is too late.
Even though your dog may look fine the problem is internally. The poison causes dogs to bleed inside and this still is a concern. You should take the dog to another vet if you feel brushed off by this one vet. This is serious even if it was only a small amount. My dog ate rat poison 4 days before I realized there was a problem and by then it was to late . Blood work should let thed vet know and maybe a xray to see if fluid is building up internally
You should call or stop by and talk to your vet to make sure of the treatment and make sure there is no further treatment needed.

We had 2 pet rabbits get into some rat poisoning. I took them to the vet. He gave them a shot, and prescribed a prescription which I had to fill at our pharmacy (something that has to do with blood thinning and heart conditions). He also told me that if they made it 18 days, then they would be fine. One made it 18 days. The other died on the 16th day.

There was some kind of time line with the rabbits, the rat poisoning and the medication. That's why I think you should check with your vet and make sure what he gave your dog and if there is anything you have to follow up with or watch for.

Hopefully the shot took care of everything, but with my experience with our rabbits, I would be for checking back with the vet.

1 comment:

  1. My caught my dog with a mouth full of rat poison. I had been told the way rat poison works, when it mixes with water, it swells and starts being absorbed into their blood stream. I put up the water dish while I got dressed and rushed him to the vet. They kept him for 2 hours, pumped his stomache and gave him a Vitamin K shot. They gave me Vitamin K pills to give him every day for 2 weeks, and told me to watch for blood in his urine or poop. If that happened, I was to bring him back in as soon as possible. That was 6 months ago, and he is fine, still killing rats and squirrels.

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