Pet Poison Safety Tips
Please follow these guidelines to protect your companion animals from being exposed.
Some dogs don't have a problem, but some dogs die from eating even a little.
Chocolate 
When affected by an overdose of chocolate, a dog can become excited and hyperactive. Due to the diuretic effect, it may pass large volumes of urine and it will be unusually thirsty. Vomiting and diarrhoea are also common. Take him to a vet immediately. Different types of chocolate are more harmful than others, and the effects will vary, depending upon the size and weight of the dog. However, it is potentially lethal. The signs of sickness may not be seen for several hours, with death following within twenty-four hours.
Cocoa powder and cooking chocolate are the most toxic forms. A 10-kilogram dog can be seriously affected if it eats a quarter of a 250 gram packet of cocoa powder or half of a 250 gram block of cooking chocolate. These forms of chocolate contain ten times more theobromine than milk chocolate. Thus, a chocolate mud cake could be a real health risk for a small dog.
Semi-sweet chocolate and dark chocolate are the next most dangerous forms, with milk chocolate being the least dangerous. A dog needs to eat more than a 250 gram block of milk chocolate to be affected. Obviously, the smaller the dog, the less it needs to eat.
Antifreeze Poisoning
Antifreeze has a sweet taste that is attractive to animals. Even a small amount lapped up from the floor or driveway can cause kidney failure or death.
Every year, by some estimates, about 10,000 dogs and cats are victims of accidental poisoning by automobile antifreeze. A pet does not have to drink a lot of antifreeze to be poisoned. Most brands of commercial antifreeze consist of 95 percent ethylene glycol, an extremely toxic chemical. Even a few licks of this sweet-tasting liquid can be fatal to a cat or dog. (Ethylene- glycol-based antifreeze is also extremely hazardous to children. A few ounces are lethal.) For a medium sized dog, ingestion of about 3-4 tablespoons is toxic. For cats 1-2 teaspoons can be lethal.
Antifreeze poisoning occurs in two stages: In the first stage, the ethylene glycol in the antifreeze causes a drunken appearance in the animal within about 30 minutes which may continue for several hours. After passing through stage 1, the animal appears to recover. Stage 2 begins when the dog’s liver begins metabolizing the ethylene glycol, changing it into more toxic substances. Within 12 to 36 hours of ingestion, these metabolites have reached such a level that the dog’s kidneys stop functioning, and the animal slips into a coma.
Getting the dog to a veterinarian is critical within the first 9-12 hours following ingestion.
Symptoms of antifreeze poisoning include a drunken appearance including staggering, lack of coordination, and apparent disorientation and vomiting. The animal may appear listless and depressed. Because early signs of antifreeze poisoning often mimic signs of other illness, neither you or your veterinarian may suspect antifreeze poisoning until it is too late.
Common Dog and Cat Poisons
Many of the common over-the-counter medications can cause severe toxicity in both dogs and cats, even with just one tablet.
Aspirin. Two regular aspirin tablets can poison a small dog.
Ibuprofen. This over the counter for human use painkiller is extremely toxic to dogs and cats. As little as one sugar coated tablet can cause gastric ulceration, liver damage, kidney failure and death. It is the most common cause of poisoning in the pet.
Paracetamol. Acetaminophen is a major ingredient in numerous cold and flu medications- Tylenol, Panadol. This drug produces toxic by products as it is used by the body. Dogs and cats cannot break these toxins down and so they quickly become poisoned by them. As little as half a 500mg tablet can be enough to kill an adult cat.
Dog Poison
Metaldehyde. Slug bait. Dogs seem to find these small blue coloured slug pellets tasty. If they ingest enough of this poison they become overexcited, begin to have fits and eventually fall into a coma and die. Whenever you treat your garden with slug bait ensure that you fence off the treated areas to prevent the pet getting access to the poison.
Warfarin. Rat poison. Pets either eat the poison directly or they find and eat a rodent which was killed by warfarin. Ingestion of this poison will prevent an animal's blood from clotting and they can bleed to death.
Other potential dangers
- Onion and garlic
- Pear pips, the kernels of plums, peaches and apricots, apple core pips (arsenic)
- Potato peelings and green looking potatoes
- Rhubarb leaves
- Mouldy/spoiled foods
- Alcohol
- Yeast dough
- Coffee grounds, beans & tea (caffeine)
- Hops (used in home brewing)
- Tomato leaves & stems (green parts)
- Broccoli
- Raisins and grapes
- Cigarettes, tobacco, cigars
- Azaleas, rhododendron, and foxglove can all cause heart failure