Obviously, a dog owner cannot always keep an eye on their dog 100% of the time. Therefore, this occasionally means that the dog will get into mischief. This usually involves raiding a garbage can and thus eating something smelly and half rotten and 'tasty' or picking something up off the street while you're not looking! This is probably not something they should eat, despite their strong stomachs. Unfortunately, dogs can get food poisoning just like a human and it can be a scary time for an owner, to see their dog acting ill and not knowing what has happened. The following is an overview of some of the signs of food poisoning in dogs, and what you should look for.
Firstly and most obviously is vomiting. Seeing a dog vomit is nothing new to many owners, but if they keep on doing so, or you spot something odd in their vomit, you may want to call a vet.
Other physical effect can include loose stools of diarrhea. This may not be food poisoning, so you may want to look for other signs before you panic. Sometimes a loose stool can just mean they ate something that was different and so changed their digestion of it somewhat. If your dog continues to get diarrhea for more than a couple of days, consult your vet.
Pain is difficult to determine in animals, since they cannot talk. However, if they are experiencing a belly ache they may whimper, curl up, act lethargic and otherwise uncomfortable. You will notice a change in their behavior and character, which should give you a clue.
More serious effects of food poisoning can include collapsing, disorientation, seizures, muscle spasms, severe dehydration and even comatose conditions. Call a vet immediately if this is the case. Sometimes, food poisoning does not necessarily mean they have eaten some bad food - they may have also gotten into medication, toxic plants, or household cleaners that they have swallowed. This is very serious and should be treated as such. The effects can be bad and even result in death if they have ingested enough.
Sometimes, the toxicity of a food will not result in poisoning as such, but instead a distinct change in behavior, due to the foods effects on his body. He might become extremely over excited and even unintentionally aggressive if he ingests caffeine or chocolate. Chocolate in certain amounts can be toxic to a dog, and while it can cause death in large amounts, most cases just result in this change of behavior. The best thing to do is keep him confined for a while until it wears off. The caffeine acts like a drug to them.
If you suspect food poisoning in your dog, the best thing to do is to try to find the source of it and determine how much they have had of whatever they have eaten. Call a vet and let them know the details and your dog's symptoms, and your vet will be able to give to advice as to what to do.
Guy Berg is a respected author and dog advocate. For more information on feeding your dog you can visit http://www.healthydogfoodchoices.com
You can also read some of Guy's training tips over at http://www.onlinedogtrainingbooks.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Guy_Berg
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