Cookie just bit into a toad!
 

My yorkie just bit into a toad. She probably had it in her mouth about two seconds or so, as I ran to try to stop her when I saw her go after it. She was kind of shaking her head and appeared to have mucus on her mouth. I rinsed it out with water, the head shaking stopped, and she appears normal now 5 minutes later. I don't know if the head shake was related to the poison from the toad or if it was just her getting worked up over trying to kill it, as it stopped immediately once I got the toad out of her mouth and carried her inside. I live in South Texas which I know has bufo toads. Is this an emergency situation, or am I OK monitoring for symptoms? She isn't vomiting, no seizures, no drooling/salivation, no hyperactivity, nothing like that.

Rinse, rinse, and rinse some more, even around nose. Watch her closely, and be ready to head to ER if any symptoms start. Usually it is like drooling and foaming of the mouth to start, as the toxin affects mucus membranes.

What else should I be looking for other than foaming, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, etc? Thanks!

Just finished rinsing her out again (boy did she not like that).

Symptoms usually appear quickly, see more here:
Toad Venom Toxicosis in Dogs | petMD

We only have frozen toads here.... praying for your girl....

I haven't seen any of those symptoms yet, and it has been about 25 minutes now. The mucus or drool on her mouth at the time of the attack looked normal, not the white toxin I have heard bufo toads release. Nevertheless, I got it off her mouth really quickly then rinsed her mouth with the hose, and then again in the bathtub. She looks 100% normal right now, and is just hanging out on the couch like she normally does this time of day.

When she went after it she had it in her mouth for a split second before I knocked it out of her mouth, but when the toad landed back on the ground she got to it first and attacked it for a second or two before I was able to get it back out her mouth and run her inside. God I'm glad she didn't get it for longer. Minnie knew not to hunt toads but Cook is young and dumb. :(

Perhaps put a call into your vet and see if they have any suggestions

Sorry to make a scary post and not update, but as soon as she vomited I knew it was time for action and not yorkietalk. She also vomited once on the way to the vet. Cook got a couple of shots and then some medicine I have to give her in a couple of hours, as well as some soft food for the next couple of days. He said to watch her closely these next 24 hours, especially for bloody diarrhea, and to head to the ER if symptoms get worse. So far she has been completely normal except for the two times she puked. Hopefully she doesn't start getting sick and that those vomits cleared the toxins out. I know I'm going to really be on edge tonight watching my girl with a hawkeye. Freaking useless toads.

I think the toad was bufo speciosus, which is poisonous, but not as bad as two really poisonous ones: bufo marinus and bufo alavarius (the one people lick to get high). Marinus' habitat supposedly only goes as far north as the Rio Grande Valley maybe 150 miles south of here, and alvarius isn't known to exist in Texas. The toad definitely looked more like speciosus that marinus, and not at all like alvarius.

Cook's just taking a nap at my side right now.

Sorry she had a reaction, but I am soooo happy you were there and got her to the vet quickly. These little ones are affected more than big dogs just because of their size.

Wow. Hope she is fine and that you all get to relax.

On a happy note I just found out Cook can join the teapot club, at 7lbs, 3 ounces after weighing her at the vet.

Hoping Cookie doesn't have any more episodes. Keep us updated.

No more vomiting, and she looks normal. Just gave Cook some medicine (looked like the doggie equivalent of pepto) for her stomach, which she surprisingly liked.

Cook's up and trying to kill her chew toy now. Seems to be doing great.

Wow! Good job on the quick reactions and rush off to the vet. So glad she's feeling better!

Ohmygosh, I couldn't have waited around for the nausea and vomiting - I'd have had Tibbe at the ER vet immediately and probably thought he'd go into cardiac arrest on the way as the websites usually say the toxin can cause heart arrhythmia and even be lethal if not treated immediately. I'm such a wuss about toxins and things like that I would have panicked when I saw that mucus around or near her mouth and oral mucous membranes and not waited for symptoms! Of course, I make more than one useless visit to the vet yearly due to that overly cautious attitude! :( Whew! What a close call you had with her. Poor Cookie - I'll bet she was really nauseated and sick. Thank goodness you got her in when you did! It could have gotten seriously bad in a hurry once that toxin entered her system and she began to be affected by the poison. I'm so glad you can be with her for the next 24 hours and watch her for any more symptoms. I'm praying there will be absolutely nothing and that sweet little Cookie fully recovers soon and suffers no ill effects and has no more brushes with those awful toads! Next one might be more toxic. I'll bet you won't ever allow her out alone or turn your back outside for one second after this. Cookie's sure a cutie!

Now Cook seems to be getting mad at only getting her two teaspoons of gastro food every 2-3 hours. Girl loves her Royal Canin. But Doc's orders were a bland diet for 24 hours.

A call to the vet when in doubt is always best. Online assistance is OK in some situations but when you are dealing with a possible poisoning, trauma, or any event you are unsure of call the vet or get in the car and head there ASAP. I'm glad to got her there as soon as she vomited. I hope she stays well for you.

Gosh, all we have to deal with are coyotes, hawks, owls, and bears. Toads are a less obvious threat but that can make them all the more dangerous I guess.:eek:

Cook is really hungry right now, and keeps pestering me for her dinner. But I'm only supposed to give her a couple of teaspoons every 2-3 hours, and that window doesn't open for another hour and 15 minutes.

Glad to hear little cookie is doing well- what a scare! Good think you got her to the vet so quick, I am grateful not to have a very froggy area to live in.

Cookie is very fortunate to have such an attentive human. You must have been so scared when you saw her with that nasty toad. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

I was scared after. When it was happening all I could think was to get that thing away ASAP. She seems to be doing really well. I just checked on her and no vomiting, after no vomiting this afternoon nor evening. I'll probably check on her again at 5AM and then of course at 7AM when I get up.

Checked on her at 5am and she needed to go out, and made a good solid poop (no diarrhea). Then she was ready for breakfast at 7am. No puking or anything. I can't wait until about 2pm when I can start giving her Royal Cabin again instead of bland wet food two teaspoons at a time.

Yesterday Cook didn't want to give me kisses, which is way out of the ordinary. I don't know if it was because she felt sick, because she was mad I was only feeding her two teaspoons at a time of bland gastro food, or if she was mad I stole her kill. But she is now back to normal with the yorkie kisses.

I wonder if the froggy toxin made her mouth sensitive? Glad she's now forgiven you though... I'm sure she was mad about you stealing her kill too! Yorkie kisses are the best!

I just hoped she learned to leave them alone now, having been taught the lesson the hard way. I have been trying to train her to leave them alone by leashing her on potty trips near sunrise/sunset when they're usually out, but I guess the hunting instinct is hard to suppress there.

Have you worked with her on the 'Leave it' command? (Now would be a good time,(JK))

I have gotten her to reliably drop things, but stopping her from going after stuff is still a work in progress.

Crap, Cookie was going after another toad again tonight when I took her out to pee. Since I had her on a leash (specifically because of the toad problem at night) I stopped her before she got to it, but I was hoping she learned her lesson to not go try to kill these things after getting sick the first time. After I took Cook inside I went back and killed the toad and disposed of the body.

You know how scary this sounds to me after I lost Meika to a poisonous Bufo toad. :(:(

Do you know what kind of toads are in your area? It would be good to verify and know if they are actually poisonous.