Dogs and Google!

Alright I got a new dog months ago, ever since she was new but ate up alot of different stuff. As a concerned owner, I would google things she would get into to see if it was toxic, well you know all the stuff I would google people would say get her to the vet, well guess what? She survived everyone of them, fine, with there advice i'd have over 10k dollars in medical bills to deal with, not that I don't love her, but people really need to lay off the get her to the vet unless it's actually important... Anything she gets into, idk if it's that bad anymore.. Or if it's just a waste of money...

Anyone been through the same thing? It's quite annoying I know people love animals, and there like is it worth your animal dieing, but I mean cmon, there almost always wrong, and this can be the case for ALL animals, I just learned to hate people like that... I guess, I mean I cannot take anyone seriously because everyone cares too much, and cannot give honest advice for the care/money situation...

This last one my dog ate gum... Supposidly toxic, but, idk, so was all the other stuff she got into. Advice please.

Just dont give her chocolate...

My dog ate a rotten raw chicken inside a plastic bag... he ate the plastic bag also, I was waiting for days for the plastic bag to "come out" lol... well... it didnt. Never did. And hes fine...

So my guess is dogs can eat pretty much everything lol

It really depends. I had a little dog once who loved it when she found chewing gum on the sidewalk. Jeez! You've heard of taking candy from a baby? Try taking gum from a mad little dog!

She also ate cigarette butts & screws and part of a cow patty once. One time she hid a whole beef rib bone from the other dogs for a WEEK, then went back for it. She weighed six damn pounds & kept the St Bernard at bay while she munched on it.

When she finally did die, it was a congenital heart defect, nothing she had eaten. The only thing that ever made her sick was the cow patty - she threw that up in my car. (Nice.)

Things like chocolate can make their heart race, can be deadly over time just like cigarettes or drugs are for people. I think dog kibble is probably worse for dogs than most anything they'll find on their own. If they have access to grass, they'll eat a little & throw up on their own if they get sick.

If yours is a puppy, just look around at what plants she has access to, make sure it's nothing like poinsettia that is truly poisonous (there are a few types of house plants that will kill a dog). Otherwise I think you're fine.

Our extended family has spent tens of thousands of dollars keeping alive dogs that were bred badly (all rescues) and were born with terrible problems that didn't surface until later. After going through this heartbreak many times, I have completely changed my tune and will not take an undocumented rescue. Rescues are the way to go, absolutely, but I would seek a properly & responsibly bred dog that needed re-homed, not another puppy mill reject that ended up in the county pound & will just break my heart along with my bank account.

It has made me think twice, too, about what we put dogs through. One of my dogs developed an auto-immune disease in response to vaccinations and almost bankrupted us. I had a friend who put her dog through 9 months of debilitating cancer treatments (it boggles the mind). Better to let them be healthy while they are healthy, and let them go when their quality of life is compromised. They don't understand it anyway, they just suffer.

And think twice about all that crap your vet wants to inject them with. Beyond the rabies vaccination, I'm not sure any of it does them any good - and I've seen a dog be seriously harmed by it.

reply to post by EmperorXyn


Yeah....as someone else said.....I'd only be concerned if they eat chocolate...and mainly it's only dark or bakers chocolate that can be deadly (Brownies are a no-no).....Still it's good to keep them away from any kind of chocolate as a rule.

Other than that....I wouldn't take the dog to the vet unless the dog starts acting funny. My dogs ate a bunch of variously colored rubber balloons once (why I have no idea). They had multi-colored poop for a few days, but otherwise were fine.

Toxicity often depends on the size of the dog, and the quantity they ate, and some dogs can just eat anything, others are sensitive to anything.
They only thing I've ever heard about gum being toxic, is if there is xylitol (sp) in it. I've heard that it can drop their blood sugar too fast, too low. That would apply to sugar free candies and baked goods also, that use xylitol.

reply to post by EmperorXyn


hi there, i hope you and your new dog are settling in well together

speaking from experience and having worked at many veterinary practices, i can assure you that there are indeed certain things that your dog should really not eat...

the ultimate example being chocolate. it contains a simple chemical compound called theobromide, and this cannot be digested by your dog. if ingested it could have a bad effect on the cardiovascular and nervous system.
however, depending on the amount your dog has eaten, and the amount of chocolate consumed - usually your dog will be fine... the worst that will happen is he will be a bit under the weather, looking sorry for himself and may have diarrhoea... but do try to keep dogs away from bakers chocolate and unsweetened chocolate as they are purer chocolates and contain a higher concentration of theobromide...

another is onions... if only a small amount is ingested the dog will be fine. however, if there is a large amount consumed (again depending on the size of the dog/amount consumed) it can lead to the development of hemolytic anemia - caused by the toxins in the onion. usually dogs wont eat raw onion anyway, but there are some dogs who do like a bit of onion now again...

raisins and grapes - there is an unknown toxin in grapes and raisins that can cause severe damage to the dogs kidneys and in a worst case scenario - kidney failure... i would recommend dog owners try not to let dogs eat raisins or grapes - we had a case just over 2 years ago when a golden retriever was rushed into the practice - the owner had told us he was playing with her kids and they fed the dog only 7 raisins... she had seemed fine for the next day, but the 2 days later the poor dog was vomiting, had lost his appetite, was drinking excessively and urinating alot... so she rushed him to us... sadly we were unable to save the poor dog, as the toxin is unknown - there is no known antidote either... he was with us for 8 days in intensive care and sadly did not pull through.
im not saying this will happen to your dog, this dog may have had an intolerance to such a toxin... but just beware...

another is macadamia nuts - again these contain and unknown toxin which can effect the digestive an nervous systems and the muscles. i have yet to encounter a case where a dog has eaten these...

and like another poster has described xylitol - this lethal little beastie was recognized by the National Animal Poison Control Centre to be a high risk to pets - this was published in july '04.
Xylitol can cause severe liver damage and possible death in dogs that are susceptible to becoming poisoned with this compound... So no sweets/candy for the dog..!!

if your dog has consumed any of these, then DO NOT PANIC !! if you know how much your dog has eaten, and it isnt a large amount, then usually your dog will be OK... all that you can do is keep an eye on him/her and see i they show any unusual mannerisms or behaviour... if so, contact your vet. you do not need to rush to the vet right away as in many cases the animal will be absolutely fine, but will have a sore tummy and feel a bit strange...

however, if your pet shows signs of being distressed, and has eaten a large quantity of said substance, please DO take him to the vet...
most of the time the dog is fine, i myself have a black labrador an he has eaten many, many things he shouldnt have, including rat poison... we flushed him with water, then a few hours later (whilst i was driving) hee proceeded to vomit and have diarrhoea in the back of the car...
luckily he seems to have an iron stomach so the next day he was fine..!!

i hope this helps... but dogs will be dogs

oh and one more thing... its worth knowing what your dogs heart rate and breath rate are on a 'normal day'.
take these when your dog is resting, then if you are worried your dog has consumed something he shouldn't, you can use this to check if there is anything funny going on... it does help.

the average heart rate for a dog is around 60 - 150 beats per minute - you can sometimes do this by feel, place your hand under your dog's armpit and make sure your hand is flat along his chest... count the beat for 15 seconds then multiply by 4, then you should have your dog's average heart rate.

the average breath rate for a resting dog is around 12 - 24 breaths per minute... its no difficult to do this either, again whilst your dog is resting count the his breaths in 15 seconds and multiply by 4.