No one likes to think about the possibility of their pet being poisoned. However, it is a danger to which companion animals are more exposed than we think. Your dog or cat can accidentally ingest or come into contact with a substance that is toxic to them. From a cleaning product, to a medicine or a plant.
They can also be intentionally poisoned by third parties, who leave poisoned food in public areas. Or perhaps by ingesting a food that is harmful to dogs, such as chocolate or alcohol; or some rodent poison or insecticide. All these examples consist of oral poisoning, but there are also respiratory tract poisonings, which consist of inhaling smoke or some powdery substance; or through the skin, when a harmful substance comes into contact with your skin. Whatever the route of poisoning, it is convenient to intervene immediately to save the life of your pet.
The first step will be to immediately call your veterinary clinic or its emergency service. You will need to describe as accurately as possible what has happened, the animal's symptoms, and identify which toxic substance was the culprit.
The vet will tell you how to proceed. It is best that you take it carefully and take it to a quiet and ventilated area. Try to remain calm no matter how complicated it is, in order not to make the situation worse. The vet may ask you to induce the animal to vomit, which can be done by introducing salt water into its mouth with the help of a syringe. In any case, you should never do it if the animal is unconscious, convulsing, or has ingested some corrosive or irritant substance.
Likewise, it will be the vet who will tell you if you should give it water or not, since depending on the substance ingested this can help alleviate its toxicity or, on the contrary, aggravate its symptoms. If the poisoning has been through the respiratory or skin routes, they may ask you to clean their mouth, nose and eyes or the affected skin area with plenty of water. Finally, you should go with the animal to the vet as soon as possible so that they can treat it on site.
