Household SafetyDogs learn a lot about their environment by smelling and tasting things, but there are items you do not want your dog to taste. Within your house you may have chemical cleaners or batteries and all of these can be toxic to your animal (figure A).
Other items are more surprising. Raisins are poisonous to dogs. Some will get kidney failure from them. Chocolate is also a very serious poison. Over-the-counter medications can be dangerous.
If your dog gets into a chemical, the first thing you should do is find out...should you make them vomit, or not? If they have consumed irritating substances like bleach or acids, then you do not want to. Other items like chocolate, raisins or over-the-counter medications you do want to cause them to vomit (figure B). You can do this by giving them peroxide. Then, you can use a coating agent to protect their intestines (figure C).
If you know what kind of medication or what kind of material they've swallowed, you can use something more specific. Vinegar can be used for alkaline products such as ammonia, and baking soda can be used for acids like bleach. Most importantly, try to keep these things away from your pet, and if you do have problems, contact your veterinarian immediately.
Barkitecture Tidbit:
- One female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 dogs in six years. Spaying or neutering your animal will help keep an exploding pet population under control.
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