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The best in health, wellness, and positive training from America’s leading dog experts
Tired of having a loose dog food bag rolling around your pantry or garage? Grab one of the best dog food storage containers to keep your dog’s food fresh and the dog food bag out of sight.
Dogs get bumps and growths on their skin. Not all are cancer, but interestingly, two physiologically very different bumps—mast cell tumors (cancerous) and histiocytomas (benign)—look so much alike that growth may cause you concern.
Because of this, if your dog develops a skin growth that looks like a mast cell tumor (MCT) or histiocytoma, it is best to have a fine needle aspirate done to look at the cells within the growth. This procedure is quick and easy; no sedation is required. Your veterinarian may look at the cells right at the clinic. If there are questions, slides will be sent for a veterinary pathologist’s evaluation.
Before that, thought, let’s discuss the differences between the lookalike MCT and histiocytoma so you know what you may be up against.
Histiocytomas, also called “button tumors,” are small, raised, red lumps. They are almost always circular and most often found on the head, ears, or legs. My Labrador Retriever, Gus, had one on one of her ears many years ago. The growth is smooth-surfaced and not itchy. They are almost always found on dogs under 3 years of age. Histiocytomas seem to appear more in short-haired dogs although Flat Coat Retrievers have a high incidence.
If you are patient, a histiocytoma will usually fade away on its own, although it may take a couple months. They do not metastasize.
I admit, though, that I was the typical neurotic veterinarian owner and removed the one on Gus, even though histopathology said histiocytoma. (I frequently tell my dogs they should never have any problems or act sick as I will pursue even minor things fully.) In my practice, clients with a dog with a histiocytoma ran about 50/50 as to watch and wait or remove. All of them did fine.
Mast cell tumors are a different thing altogether. They tend to appear in older dogs. They may be subcutaneous or on the surface of the skin. Some will spread internally. Appearance can vary from benign-looking lumps to inflamed, irritated red growths or ulcers. If you rub on the lump, it may swell right before your eyes with the skin getting red and warm. These growths are generally quite itchy. High-risk breeds include Boxers, Boston Terriers, Bulldogs, and Golden Retrievers, but any dog can develop mast cell tumors.
Mast cell tumors get graded according to size, location, and risk of metastasis (cancer spreading). Prognosis is good for low-grade mast cell tumors with worse results for higher grade masses. Because mast cells contain histamines, they may cause reactions such as vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach irritation. A fine needle aspirate can help with both diagnosis and grading.
Surgery is the mainstay of treatment. A low-grade mast cell tumor may be “cured” by surgery and never recur. Unfortunately, dogs who have developed one are prone to recurrence, so you need to remain vigilant.
You may be dismayed when you pick up your dog after surgery for a mast cell tumor. The growth was probably small. The incision, however, will be big. It is crucial with mast cell tumors to go as wide as possible so that you have clean margins, which means no sign of cancer cells around the edges of the surgery site.
This is not something you can eyeball, making histopathology (sending samples out to a lab) is important. Follow-up radiation and/or chemotherapy may be recommended for aggressive mast cell tumors.
Have you ever come home to discover your dog has shredded your favorite cushion, piece of furniture or pair of shoes? Your dog slinks towards you with the head lowered, ears back and their eyes averted, looking guilty and as if they know they’ve done the wrong thing. But do they?
The question of whether or not dogs feel guilt is one of the most hotly debated topics in animal behavior science. And the answer might surprise you. Understanding what the “guilty look” means can fundamentally change the way you respond and ultimately lead to a happier, less anxious dog.
There’s no denying that dogs are emotional animals and research has confirmed this. Dogs feel emotions including joy, fear, love and anger (Panksepp, 2011). While dogs live rich emotional lives, their ability to feel guilt in the same way that humans do is a different matter altogether.
Guilt, in the psychological sense, is a self-conscious emotion. It requires the ability to reflect on one’s own actions, recognize that a rule has been broken, and feel remorse about it. This kind of moral self-awareness is a cognitively complex process tied to higher order thinking.
A landmark study on this very topic by cognitive scientist Alexandra Horowitz at Barnard College. In her 2009 study published in Behavioural Processes, Horowitz set up a series of trials in which dog owners either correctly or incorrectly believed their dog had eaten a forbidden treat. She found that dogs displayed guilty behaviors (e.g. lowered heads, flattened ears, averted gazes) based on how the owners behaved, not on whether the dog had actually eaten the treat. Dogs who were innocent but scolded showed just as much “guilty” behavior as dogs who had done the wrong thing (Horowitz, 2009).
The results of this study suggest that what we interpret as guilt in our dogs probably isn’t at all.
What about shame? Guilt and shame are separate emotions in humans. Shame is about the self (“I am bad”) while guilt is about the act (“I did something bad”). Neither are supported by current evidence as an experience dogs consciously have. What they do experience, researchers suggest, is something more immediate and reactive: a response to social cues in their environment (Hecht et al., 2012).
If your dog isn’t actually feeling guilt then what’s going on? It turns out there’s a well-documented explanation based on dog communication and stress behavior.
The classic “guilty look” involves a combination of behaviors: flattened or pinned back ears, lowered body posture and head, a tucked tail, lip licking, yawning, whale eye (where the whites of the eyes are visible) and deliberate avoidance of eye contact. To a dog owner these behaviors are often read as remorse. To an animal behaviorist they are read quite differently: as appeasement behavior.
Appeasement behaviors are a dog’s way of communicating they don’t pose a threat and are seeking conflict de-escalation. They are deeply ingrained social behaviors inherited from wolves used to help manage relationships and reduce social tension (Rugaas, 2005). When a dog senses their owner is stressed, angry, or tense the dog uses these signals in an attempt to calm the situation.
Dogs are incredibly skilled at reading human body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. Indeed, research has found they are better at it than our closest primate relatives (Hare & Tomasello, 2005). When you walk into a room and your body language shifts—your shoulders tense, your brow furrows, and your tone of voice deepens—your dog notices straight away. The guilty look is their response to you, not what they did.
So if the guilty look is an appeasement behavior, why does it develop in the first place? The answer lies in classical and operant conditioning; the same learning mechanisms that underpin most dog behavior.
Dogs are pattern-recognition experts and over time they learn to associate certain events with specific outcomes. A dog who’s been scolded after their owner came home to discover something chewed to pieces will begin to associate their owner coming home and something destroyed with a negative reaction. The dog isn’t connecting their earlier behavior with the punishment, they’re connecting the current environmental context with what typically follows.
This is supported by our current understanding of dogs’ capacity for deferred learning. Studies on canine cognition suggest that dogs have a limited ability to connect a consequence with an action that occurred more than a few seconds earlier. The scold that happens two hours after the cushion was chewed is not linked to the behavior of chewing in the dog’s mind. Rather, what the dog does learn is that when the owner comes home and certain conditions are present (i.e. a chewed cushion), an unpleasant interaction often follows.
Over time and with repetition a reliable conditioned response: the guilty look develops and is used pre-emptively when the dog sees the conditions that historically predict the owner’s displeasure regardless of whether the dog has actually done anything wrong.
The answer is: probably not in the way we tend to assume they do.
Dogs live in the present moment. Although they can have impressive memories for certain things like people, places, and trained behaviors, their ability to consciously reflect on past actions and apply a moral framework to them is not supported by current evidence. A dog who chewed a shoe two hours ago isn’t sitting in the corner feeling bad about it.
This has important practical implications. When an owner scolds their dog long after an incident has occurred, the dog has no way of understanding what the scolding is for. Research on dog training outcomes has shown that punishment-based methods are associated with increased anxiety, fear, and aggression without resulting in reliable improvement in the unwanted behavior (Herron et al., 2009).
The scolding doesn’t teach the dog not to chew shoes. It teaches the dog that their owner is sometimes unpredictably scary, which is the opposite of what most people what from their relationship with their pet.
When you understand that your dog is cowering due to a stress response rather than an admission of guilt, you can respond in a way that actually helps.
If your dog is getting into things they shouldn’t, try to prevent access to those things. Crate training, baby gates, and removing temptations from reach can help address the problem at the source. Dogs can’t destroy things they can’t access.
The two-second rule is a helpful guide: if you see it happen and you can’t interrupt it in the moment, let it go. Redirecting a dog mid-behavior by offering an appropriate toy to chew and rewarding chewing on the toy is far more effective than after-the-fact correction.
Positive reinforcement (rewarding desired behavior with treats, praise, or play) is the most effective and least harmful method of shaping dog behavior. Rather than focusing on what your dog did wrong, focus on building the habits you want them to have.
It can be difficult to suppress frustration when you come home to destruction. Try to remember that your emotional response is what your dog is responding to. A calm, neutral response prevents the appeasement cycle from reinforcing itself and avoids adding anxiety to the situation.
Persistent destructive behavior can be a symptom of separation distress; a treatable condition that benefits from professional guidance. A certified applied animal behaviorist or veterinary behaviorist can provide a tailored management and treatment plan.
So, do dogs feel guilt? Based on the best currently available science the answer is: not in the way we experience it. What looks like guilt and remorse is actually a learned social response—your dog reading your emotional cues and doing everything in their power to de-escalate the situation. Dogs are not weighing right and wrong. They are highly social creatures deeply attuned to us and motivated to maintain harmony.
Next time you walk into a room to find that guilt face looking up at you, take a breath and try to respond in a way that nurtures your relationship.
References
Hare, B., & Tomasello, M. (2005). Human-like social skills in dogs?. Trends in cognitive sciences, 9(9), 439-444.
Hecht, J., Miklósi, Á., & Gácsi, M. (2012). Behavioral assessment and owner perceptions of behaviors associated with guilt in dogs. Applied animal behaviour science, 139(1-2), 134-142.
Herron, M. E., Shofer, F. S., & Reisner, I. R. (2009). Survey of the use and outcome of confrontational and non-confrontational training methods in client-owned dogs showing undesired behaviors. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 117(1-2), 47-54.
Horowitz, A. (2009). Disambiguating the “guilty look”: Salient prompts to a familiar dog behaviour. Behavioural processes, 81(3), 447-452.
Panksepp, J. (2011). The basic emotional circuits of mammalian brains: do animals have affective lives?. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 35(9), 1791-1804.
Rugaas, T. (2005). On talking terms with dogs: Calming signals (2nd ed.). Dogwise Publishing.
It’s a common, but heart-wrenching, moment for dog owners. A thunderstorm hits and your canine companion is cowering in the corner, hiding in your bathroom, or lying under a bed.
Hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD) and panosteitis (pano) are classic developmental lamenesses of young dogs and puppies. Both problems tend to occur in large- to giant-breed puppies.
German Shepherd Dogs have a high risk for pano. Often, the biggest pup in a litter will be affected, especially if a male. Strangely, there is a higher incidence in the fall and in the northeastern United States.
Weimaraners are the poster breed for HOD, with puppies of this breed often more severely affected than the average case. Great Danes are also at high risk.
While these developmental bone diseases are both very painful, most puppies can outgrow them, with appropriate care and support. These conditions usually resolve when the growth plates close, generally between 14 and 16 months of age for large-breed dogs. Giant-breed dogs may continue to grow up to 24 months of age. The only way to know for certain that the growth plates have closed is through an X-ray.
In both HOD and pano, puppies tend to be quite painful. Dogs with panosteitis often drive owners slightly crazy as the lameness tends to shift from leg to leg. For example, on Monday, your pup hurts his right front leg. On Wednesday, his left front leg is clearly sore while the right front is better. Most dogs with panosteitis recover and grow to be normal. A few will suffer recurrences but eventually clear the problem.
Dogs with hypertrophic osteodystrophy are often even more painful and may be ill as well. Affected dogs often lose their appetite, have a fever, and are lethargic, basically not bright-eyed on top of hurting and not wanting to move. This condition is generally bilateral. While most dogs with HOD recover and lead normal lives, some end up with growth deformities. Very severe cases can be fatal due to the associated illness.
With pano, palpation of the long bones is usually painful. Front legs are affected more often than rear. Treatment generally consists of pain medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and exercise restriction.
Dogs with HOD have intense pain and often swelling around the metaphysis of their long bones (near the joints). The front legs are affected more commonly than the rear ones.
A definitive diagnosis of both conditions requires X-rays. It is important to recognize the radiologic signs take a while to show up. If you just notice lameness on Monday and take your dog in for X-rays and an exam on Tuesday, the X-rays may be normal. Your veterinarian will generally be able to make a suggestive diagnosis based on physical exam and history if you bring your pup in early on.
X-rays can be important to rule out two much less common, but extremely serious, young dog orthopedic problems: osteosarcoma and osteomyelitis. The prognosis for those conditions is much worse than for pano or HOD.
Since both pano and HOD are likely due to genetic factors, prevention is unlikely. However, you can lower your individual dog’s risk. Feed a puppy food designed for large- to giant-breed dogs if your puppy fits those categories (look for the American Association of Feed Control Officials, or AAFCO, label stating that the food meets the requirements for the growth of large-breed dogs). Overfeeding, particularly of protein, has been associated with pano, but it is not clearly causative. There are undoubtedly genetic factors involved as well.
When choosing a large-breed puppy, considering passing by the biggest boy. Ask about any history of pano or HOD in parents and other relatives. A responsible breeder will know the answer. By 12 to 18 months of age, the dog should be past the risk of these two conditions.
Many of us have had the thought: After you’ve scooped up your pup’s latest poop, you eye your lawn or vegetable garden, which look like they need a little help.
It’s a natural thought. Poop is organic, you think. Wouldn’t it be the same as cow and chicken manure? And it’s free!
Nope. Adding dog feces into your garden is a hazardous problem waiting to sprout. In short, your dog’s poop should never go near edible crops and won’t help your lawn flourish.
“Even though dog feces do have nutrients, it contains harmful bacteria, parasites, and pathogens that pose risks to people and other pets,” according to Gene Caballero, co-founder of GreenPal, with over 25 years of experience in general landscaping maintenance. “Dog waste does not break down into a safe balanced fertilizer for lawns. It, in fact, does the opposite and can burn grass and create dead spots due to its excess in nitrogen.”
To understand why dog waste is a fertilizer failure, you first must look at what goes into the animal producing the fertilizer. Traditional fertilizers come from herbivores, such as cows, horses, and sheep. Their digestive systems process cellulose, producing manure rich in organic matter, moderate in nitrogen, and highly beneficial for soil structure.
“Since dogs are carnivores, their diet is high in protein, making their poop high in nitrogen and salts,” says Angelika Zaber, a lawn-care specialist.
“On top of this,” she adds, “dog poop can be loaded with harmful bacteria and parasites, such as E. coli, salmonella, roundworms, hookworms, and more. These can survive in the soil for months after the waste breaks down. To make matters worse, heavy rain can wash these into rivers or lakes, potentially contaminating water sources. “
Veterinary research compiled by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concurs, its research indicating that dog feces are loaded with Salmonella, E. coli, and Campylobacter. A dog’s acidic digestive tract can handle these types of bacteria without showing symptoms of illness, according to NIH.
When you use animal waste on edible crops, anything on or in the soil can potentially contaminate your food, especially low-growing or root vegetables like lettuce, radishes, and strawberries. With dog feces, the list of potential contaminants is particularly dangerous.
Perhaps the biggest deterrent to dog-waste composting is the canine roundworm. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Toxocara canis eggs can survive in soil for months or even years. If you ingest these microscopic eggs —for example, through unwashed garden vegetables or dirt under your fingernails—it can cause toxocariasis, a condition where the larvae migrate through human tissue, potentially causing organ damage and, in severe cases, permanent blindness.
If health concerns aren’t enough to persuade you to not attempt to use dog poop as fertilizer, legal consequences might. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies dog waste as a “nonpoint source pollutant,” which is the same technical category as motor oil, chemical runoff, and acid drainage from abandoned mines.
According to EPA-backed watershed studies, two to three days of waste from 100 dogs can introduce enough fecal coliform bacteria into a local water ecosystem to temporarily shut it down.
You may wonder if you can compost the risk away given that a compost pile naturally heats up as organic matter breaks down.
Unfortunately, according to studies at the University of Florida UF/IFAS Extension and the University of Connecticut Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory, backyard compost piles rarely reach or sustain the high temperatures required to neutralize heavy pathogens.
A compost pile must maintain a consistent temperature of 140°F (60°C) to eliminate most parasites and bacteria. The typical home compost bin simply doesn’t get that hot, according to the Florida and UConn studies. The university extensions are skeptical that even a hot pile can completely kill heat-resistant Toxocara canis maintain a ban on using any pet waste in compost destined for food crops.
When it comes to the health of your soil and your family, some things are better left out of the loop. Keep the commercial steer manure or backyard vegetable compost for your food crops and leave your dog’s daily deposits where they belong: bagged and placed in the trash. Your tomatoes —and your family — will thank you.
Scritch, scritch, scritch. Your dog is scratching at himself—again. You thought you found and killed all those fleas and ticks that were biting him. But his scratching tells you otherwise.
Dog treats play an important role in the lives of pets and pet parents. Treats are used for training, rewarding good behavior, providing enrichment, and strengthening the bond between dogs and their owners.
Human eye drops contain ingredients that may harm dogs. For example, Visine can cause life-threatening cardiovascular and neurologic issues. The only type of “eye drops” you can safely use on your dog without a prescription are saline drops, artificial tears, and warm tap water. The wrong choice can worsen your dog’s problem or harm him.
It’s not difficult to flush out your dog’s eyes. Grab clean cotton balls or a clean washcloth and soak it with warm water to dribble into your dog’s eyes. Warm tap water can do a great job flushing out a crusty discharge in the corner of your dog’s eye.
But, even then, it’s extremely important that you know why your dog’s eye is irritated. If you flush out your dog’s eye and it’s no better—or worse!—make a veterinary visit immediately.
Of course, there are some brands of eye flushes for dogs you can use if you prefer them over saline solution. These include:
Just remember that a wrong move “treating” a dog’s eye could result in a far worse condition. Only an exam by a qualified veterinarian can get to the root cause of your dog’s eye issues, and your dog’s vision may depend on this.
If your dog has a swollen eye, call your veterinarian.
Some of the most common eye concerns on dogs include:
Conjunctivitis (“pink eye”): The form called dry eye or serous conjunctivitis is the most frequent type of pink eye seen in dogs. It can cause puffy and wet-appearing eyes, which causes the dog suffering from such to squint and paw at the eye, along with potentially seeing yellow or green discharge.
Eye Infections: These can be caused by many things including irritation from long hair near the eyes that needs trimmed, environmental allergies that have gone unchecked, health conditions such as immune responses as well as eye injuries such as a scratch.
Allergies: Allergies cause the same type of irritation in a dog’s eye as we humans often must deal with such as inflammation, reddening and watery discharge. Most eye irritations from allergies are environmental although a food allergy causing such is not out of the question. Learn more about dog eye allergies vs eye infections.
If your veterinarian determines your dog needs treatment for an eye problem, the choice of a medication will be based on his or her diagnosis.
Note: Since using eye drops will seem like an intrusive procedure to most dogs, ideally you will train for this with cooperative care or low stress handling.
When shopping for a nail trimmer for dogs, you may want to consider whether a traditional nail clipper or a dog nail grinder is a better fit. Dog nail grinders often get closer to the quick (the blood vessels and nerves at the core of your dog’s nail) than clippers without as much risk of making them bleed. This makes grinders a great option for regular nail maintenance if you want to keep your dog’s nails short.
Nail grinders and nail clippers don’t work for every dog. While any nail-trimming method requires training, the noise and vibration can be too much for some dogs to ever get used to. If your dog isn’t a good candidate for a nail grinder, consider one of the best dog scratch pads for fear free nail trims. A scratch pad is a great alternative to grinding down your dog’s nails manually and helps them have agency in their care which can help build confidence.
Here’s everything you need to know about shopping for one of the best dog nail grinders:
Cordless: The best dog nail grinders should be cordless, so you’re not tethered to a wall outlet. Having more flexibility to move around while you do your dog’s nails is more comfortable for you and your dog.
Rechargeable: Batteries are expensive, so we prioritized options that have rechargeable batteries. Now, when your grinder dies, you won’t have to run to the store if you’ve run out of batteries.
Performance: We tested each of the dog nail trimmers on this list with a variety of different dogs, including dogs with thick, strong nails, and dogs who are still building their confidence around nail grinders. We noted how effective each grinder was at trimming the nails down quickly and how often it needed to be recharged. We also noted options that were comfortable to hold in hand and that had easy-to-adjust settings.
Sound level: Some dog nail grinders are louder than others and the sound level that’s best for you will depend on your dog’s comfort level. Sensitive dogs who find loud noises aversive or who are still learning to tolerate the grinder may do better with a quieter option. However, the more powerful picks that are better for strong nails are often on the louder side.
| Whole Dog Journal Rating | Product and Maker | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Dremel PawControl 7760-PET Dog Nail Grinder and Trimmer | $64 | The Dremel PawControl 7760 is a great dog nail grinder for both newbies and experienced groomers. It’s powerful enough for most dogs while not being overly loud or cumbersome to handle. It also features a wide variety of different sanding tool options that are easy to swap out. |
| Ryobi USB Lithium Rotary Tool | $60 | Though it’s not technically made for dogs, this Ryobi rotary tool is seriously heavy-duty and a good pick for large dogs with strong nails. It’s rechargeable, and though not the quietest, gets the job done ridiculously quickly. |
| Casfuy Dog Nail Grinder | $20 | If your dog is sensitive to noise, this 2-speed Casufy Dog Nail Grinder is the quietest option on this list, though it lacks the power of the other two picks. It’s a great choice for puppies and dogs who still need to build positive associations with their nail grinder. |
The Dremel PawControl 7760-PET Dog Nail Grinder and Trimmer has it all: it’s powerful, has multiple speed settings, isn’t too loud, and has a safety guard for those who aren’t comfortable using a dog nail grinder without one. The safety guard on this grinder is unique in that it guides pet parents to trim their dogs’ nails at a 45-degree angle using a sanding disc and collects the dust, too. It’s a little easier to manage for first-time nail grinder users than traditional options.
If you’re a more experienced groomer, it’s also simple to swap between the sanding disk and safety guard for the other tip options. You’ll get 9 different sanding options in this kit including sandpaper bands, smoothing tips, and more.
The Dremel PawControl 7760 also has four speed settings and is strong enough to grind down most dogs nails in a reasonable amount of time while still being easy to hold.
Despite the power, it’s not overly loud, so it’s a solid choice for most dogs unless they’re very noise sensitive. It’s also rechargeable, so you won’t have to worry about buying and replacing batteries when it dies.
The Ryobi USB Lithium Rotary Tool isn’t technically for dog nails, but it’s worth using as a dog nail grinder if you need something powerful and heavy-duty. It’s not the quietest option on this list, but it is the strongest. For dogs with strong, thick nails, this option makes nail trims quicker. The sandpaper bands it comes with work well, but adding a diamond bit to it increases the grinding speed by a significant amount.
It features a rechargeable lithium battery that charges via a USB-C port and the battery usually lasts a few months of weekly nail trims.
Note that this option doesn’t have a safety guard, so you should be comfortable using a grinder to trim your dog’s nails to use this one. Instead of set speeds, it has a dial to go faster or slower, so you can find your perfect speed.
For long-haired dogs, it’s possible to get their coat stuck in the grinder, but it does have an auto-safety shutoff if that happens.
Whether you have a young puppy, a dog who is noise sensitive, or a dog who’s never had their nails ground down before, a quiet option may help ease them into it. The Casfuy Dog Nail Grinder is easily the quietest option on this list and comes with two speed settings.
However, the quiet sound also pairs with less power. It’s strong enough for puppies and small dogs with nails that aren’t super thick and strong, but for large breeds, you’ll likely want a grinder with more power and additional speed settings.
This option is also rechargeable and lasts about 2 hours on a single charge. It has three different “ports” for different sized nails in a built-in safety guard. The grinder tip is a diamond bit, which is better quality and needs to be replaced far less often than sandpaper tips.
For an obvious possible poisoning, such as you know your dog scarfed up a chocolate bar or a got into a bottle of prescription medicine, immediately call a pet-poison help line. These animal poison-control centers do charge a fee (around $90 to $100), but if you think your dog ate something poisonous, there is no time to waste. Call:
If you know what the dog consumed, have all the information handy you can quickly gather:
Critical note on rat poison: If you think your dog ate rat poison, there is no time to waste. Grab the container, if you can. There are a few different types of rat poison, and it’s critical to know which kind your dog ate and, hopefully, approximately how much. Your veterinarians will use this information to formulate the best plan for saving your dog.
If you are encouraged to make your dog vomit (NOT every poisoning means you should make the dog vomit), follow directions exactly. Hydrogen peroxide is a standby for inducing vomiting, but it is not benign. In my experience, it helps to move your dog around after you dose it to stimulate throwing up. Your job is not done then either. You need to go through the vomited material and count pills if medication is involved.
According to Cornell DogWatch, the most common toxins ingested by dogs include:
Obvious cases, as scary as they are, are easier than when you notice your dog is simply acting odd and it crosses your mind that he might have been exposed to a toxic substance. But, poisoning is not something to ignore or to take a “wait and see” stand on.
Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine lists these signs of poisoning in dogs:
Many of the symptoms of poisoning in dogs—like lethargy, vomiting, and diarrhea—can fit many health conditions as well as poisoning. While your dog may or may not have ingested a poison, these signs warrant attention no matter what.
Heavy drool or foaming at the mouth: Your dog may have eaten something that irritated his mouth. Licking a poisonous toad can create waterfalls of saliva! While one family member dials the vet, another member should be rinsing out your dog’s mouth.
Elevated temperature: If you take your dog’s temperature and it is unusually high or low, poisoning is a possibility. High temperatures can result from muscle tremors or seizures or may cause seizures. Any temperature extreme justifies a vet visit.
Difficulty breathing: Problems with respiration can come from many causes. If your dog is struggling to breathe, breathing rapidly, and has bright red, pale or gray/blue gums, he is in trouble and needs immediate emergency care.
Swollen muzzle: You look at your dog and realize his muzzle is swollen to double normal size. Odds are this is an allergic reaction, but it could be from bee venom as well. Snake-bite reactions tend to be lower limbs, but facial swelling can occur with these too, especially if your dog was trying to grab the snake.
If you think your do was bit by a snake, grab a picture of the snake, if you can. Antivenom works for dogs, just like people.
In the case of a bee sting, most dogs will get some swelling and pain but nothing more serious. Other dogs may have an anaphylactic reaction just like some people, including respiratory trouble. That means a rush to the nearest veterinary clinic. If your dog falls in that group, you should discuss getting an EpiPen from your veterinarian along with instructions on how to use it.
Every dog owner experiences accidents at some point. Whether you are house-training a puppy, caring for a senior dog, or dealing with an upset stomach, finding dog poop on your carpet is never a pleasant surprise.
