What to Do If Your Dog Eats Rat Poison

1 Treating Rodenticide Poisoning in Dogs

I. General treatment for poisoning (if treatment can be given within 4 to 6 hours of ingestion)

1. Oral apomorphine (a powder applied to the corner of the eye) or hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting. Inducing vomiting clears undigested toxin from the stomach.

2. Activated charcoal to absorb toxins remaining in the stomach or intestines after induced vomiting or gastric lavage. After administering activated charcoal, the veterinarian usually gives a laxative to help speed movement and elimination through the digestive tract. Activated charcoal is generally fed to the animal via a stomach tube or syringe.

3. Gastric lavage. If your pet cannot be induced to vomit, gastric lavage may be performed. In this procedure, a large tube is passed through the dog’s mouth into the stomach. Water is then pumped in and out to remove anything in the stomach. This procedure requires substantial sedation.

4. Intravenous fluids to relieve dehydration caused by vomiting or diarrhea, help eliminate some toxins, and protect the kidneys from damage.

In addition to general poisoning treatment, each type of rodenticide requires a different treatment approach, because each poison affects the animal differently.

II. Treatment for anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning

1. If the toxin is successfully cleared from the stomach, no additional treatment may be needed.

2. Vitamin K supplementation is necessary. Because of rodenticide interference, the body cannot manufacture vitamin K. Vitamin K therapy usually begins in the hospital and continues at home for 3 to 5 weeks.

3. If the pet has lost too much blood from bleeding and is anemic, a blood transfusion is required.

4. When the pet’s bleeding time is greatly prolonged, plasma transfusion is usually used to replace missing clotting factors. This helps prevent further bleeding while waiting for vitamin K to take effect (usually 24 to 36 hours).

III. Treatment for bromethalin-containing rodenticide poisoning

1. Drugs such as mannitol or steroids are used to control cerebral edema. These drugs usually require repeated intravenous injection.

2. Anticonvulsant drugs such as diazepam, phenobarbital, and pentobarbital are used to control seizures and severe muscle tremors and to promote muscle relaxation.

IV. Treatment for cholecalciferol-containing rodenticide poisoning

1. Drugs such as furosemide, steroids, and calcitonin can be used together with IV fluids to lower serum calcium levels. Furosemide and steroids are the two main drugs used. Calcitonin may be used when other drugs alone are insufficient to control calcium levels.

2. Furosemide and dopamine can promote blood flow to the kidneys and increase urine output during kidney failure.

V. Treatment for strychnine- and metaldehyde-containing rodenticide poisoning

1. Muscle relaxants are necessary to relax the animal’s stiff muscles and legs.

2. Anticonvulsants such as diazepam, phenobarbital, and pentobarbital can relieve or prevent convulsions caused by strychnine poisoning.

For phosphate-containing rodenticide poisoning, there is currently no clearly defined treatment. However, treatment is generally similar to the ones above; the goal in all cases is to clear toxins from the digestive tract and provide general supportive hospitalization care.

VI. Follow-up care

First, preventing your dog from contacting toxic substances again is essential. Do not place any rodenticides where pets can reach them. If rodenticide poisoning is detected or suspected, take your pet to the veterinarian immediately. If you expect the trip to the veterinary clinic to take more than an hour, call ahead to ask about methods to induce vomiting at home.

You can bring the rodenticide container and label to your veterinarian for ingredient identification. This allows appropriate treatment to begin immediately and effectively.

You must give your dog any prescription medication, such as vitamin K1, strictly according to the veterinarian’s instructions. It is best to use only veterinarian-prescribed vitamin K. Vitamin K from health food stores is different and will have no therapeutic effect on your pet. The duration of vitamin K administration is determined by your veterinarian, typically 2 to 5 weeks. Follow-up mainly involves repeating blood tests. It is recommended to perform a coagulation test 48 hours after the last dose of vitamin K1 to ensure the toxin has been eliminated from the pet.