Any vets around? I have a question!

[kaoskat]

I just got to thinking tonight as I took my medication about what would I do if I dropped one and one of my monsters ate it. Other than tossing them in the car and rushing them to the vet, I'm not sure what to do. Now I'm ultra mega careful every time I open that pill bottle because I know if they get them there's a good chance they'll die. I have no intention of any of them EVER getting these things but really I should know what to do in case. I actually plan to call my vet soon as he's back in the office but I figured it couldn't hurt to see if anyone here might have a clue while I wait. If my 5 lbs little dog eats a blood pressure pill, what do I do? I mean obviously I get him to the vet as instantly as possible, but how much time do I likely really have before it's too late? And is there anything at all that I can do on the way to save him? Will his bp just instantly drop and he dies or will I have time to get his tiny self the few miles to the emergency vet? Is there anything the vet should be told when I rush in the door all panicked with a dying puppy other than handing them the pill bottle and telling them the number of them he took? He has no allergies I'm aware of. Is anyone a vet or have any experience with their dog taking bp meds?

[kittybethy]

I hope the little monster will be okay!

 I have no idea how bp medicine affects dogs!

[prettypony55]

I dont know about a blood pressure pill but my slmost 100 pound pit mix ate a months worth of birth control pills and was fine! Could you call a emergency vet and ask them over the phone? I would watch your dog for signs of distress.. not acting normally, excessive panting, not breathing. I hope your dog is ok!

[Griffin]

The only thing I can think of is activated carbon, but I have no idea if it would work in a situation like this. I think consulting your vet is a good idea. Hope you'll never actually need that information, though!

[melodys_angel]

Ask nexttime you go for a vet visit?

I can defiantely understand why you would want to know

[lovesbabysquirmy]

If you are MILES from a vet, definitely get some activated charcoal to keep in case of an emergency.  If he eats something, call the vet ASAP and they may ask you to induce vomiting - hydrogen peroxide will work.  So keep that in the house too.  I would guess given your puppy dogs' sizes, you would have between 10-15 minutes to get them to an ER. 

[babystarz]

The quickest thing to do is call the Poison Control center, you can Google for a local number. They usually just have information on what to do for human children, but often the same advice applies to pets. You might just want to call them now so you have that information in case it happens. If they reccommend that you induce vomiting, you can give your dog hydrogen peroxide:

Use 3% hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting
 
Make sure that the hydrogen peroxide is the standard drugstore concentration of 3%.
 
Give your dog 1 tsp (5 ml) per 10 lbs of body weight. This is 0.5 ml per lb. So a 60 lb dog would get 6 tsp or 30 ml.
( I would suggest doing the math during a non-emergency and keeping the amount necessary for each dog on an index card. It's hard to do these thing correctly when you're panicking).


DO NOT do this without getting advice from the poison control people or a vet first - not all medications should be dealt with this way because some can damage the digestive tract coming back up.

If the hydrogen peroxide doesn't work, take your dog to an emergency vet immediately and they'll either induce vomiting or feed your dog charcoal to absorb the poision. Call the vet while you're en route so they can have everything ready to go upon your dog's arrival.
You may want to look into learning how to perform doggy CPR and what to do for your dog in the event of a seizure.

My dog has eaten my mom's pills on two different occasions while she was babysitting him, so we've had to go through this before. He is fine and suffered no ill effects after treatment. But for some reason the little weirdo loves the way hydrogen peroxide tastes
 
It is very very important to act fast in these situations.

Is there anything the vet should be told when I rush in the door all panicked with a dying puppy other than handing them the pill bottle and telling them the number of them he took?

Nope, that's really all you can do. The vet will have information on hand about any medication so they will know what to do.

[kaoskat]

Awesome! Thank you guys for the information! You've been very helpful. I'm definitely going to ask my vet when I can. These dang pills scare me to take them myself I certainly want to be prepared if anything happens.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

No worries!  I had a dog eat everything from a whole pound of bread and butter, deodorant, antidepressive meds, etc... so I got used to dealing with the "AUGH OMG NOW WHAT?!"  scenarios.   

[SparklersOasis]

Hydrogen peroxide is your friend.

[Kiwi]

Our beagle ate so much stuff he shouldn't - never had a problem but it is always good to be prepared.