Maybe Rat Poison. Saw vet. Still don't know.
 

Last night my husband and I returned home after about 4 hours and, while carrying in groceries, let our Yorkies Turner and Annabelle outside to relieve themselves.

They seemed fine, jumping up and down, glad to see us. We didn't watch them carefully but they were only in the front yard for what seemed just long enough to empty their bladders and then followed us into the house, eager for a treat.

We gave them each one "Breath-less Brushless Toothpaste," which they've had several times before with no problem. They're black on the outside with white centers (the color's important here).

About half an hour or so later, we came up large piles of vomit. Every time we'd get a couple of them cleaned up, we'd find more fresh piles. We were so busy cleaning up vomit for the next couple of hours that we never could figure out which one was, or if both of them were, vomiting. And we couldn't figure out what those blueish green pieces in the vomit were. At first tiny pieces, then pea-sized pieces and tube-shaped pieces, and finally what looked like half of a formed oval disk, an inch or so wide, in that same blue-green (they'd been confined to the bedroom with nothing like that around).

We were concerned about them getting dehydrated so we decided to take them both to the emergency vet. Then suddenly it dawned on me . . . That color. Rat poison. Not sure, I did a quick image search online and the color match looked unmistakeable to me.

We rushed to the vet at 1 a.m. and two other emergencies were ahead of us, including a surgery. More than two hours later, the vet got to us, but by that time the blue-green pieces in the vomit sample we had brought were no longer blue-green but a brownish green. She said she wasn't certain it was rat bait.

She gave them something for nausea, some subcutaneous fluids and some Vitamin K, and prescribed a bland diet.

They have been lethargic all day. Neither will drink water. They ate a little scrambled egg and rice this morning. This evening Turner had a good portion of rice and chicken broth, but Annabelle would only drink broth. So I've been consulting Dr. Google all day and it seems that dogs don't usually vomit rat poison but have to be induced to vomit. Does anybody here have any explanations or thoughts or experience with this?:confused:

Omg that is terribly scary. I hope and pray it wasn't poison. If they aren't any better I personally would return to the vet. I always tend to be on the play it safe side. I pray your babies get better. Please keep us updated.

Thank you. It was so kind of you to reply, and thank you for the prayer. They both just ate some rice and scrambled egg. I will definitely call their vet in the morning, but the fact that they both seemed hungry seems like a good sign. They didn't eat as much as usual but at least they're showing interest. Yay!

A friend of mine who lived on a farm/ranch back east had the family dog get into rat poison in their barn. They called the local vet. He was miles away and couldn't get to them. His instructions were....get as much table salt into the dog as possible which will make him vomit. Poor dog vomited all day but it saved his life.
I don't know if the vets today would recommend this.

I hope and pray your babies are ok. Please let us know as soon as you hear anything.

Do you have any candy/gum in your home that contains xylitol ? if yes please take it and your babies back to the vet ASAP.I mean not in the A.M. NOW !

I read online that you should give them a few teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting and afterwards, activated charcoal to reduce absorption. This is all if you can't get to a vet right away. I think the window is just a couple of hours to induce vomiting. After a certain time it's harmful.

The vet will also give them Vitamin K1, which is stronger than the Vitamin K you get at the pharmacy, and is also the antidote to the anticoagulant properties of most types of rat poison. But there are different kinds of ingredients in some rodent poisons, so if you know what the pet consumed, bring the box/ingredients list to the vet.

I guess we were lucky our dogs (or dog) vomited. The good news, hopefully, is they want to play now.

No, we don't, but thanks for the heads up. So many things are toxic to dogs. Actually xylitol isn't all that good for humans either.

Thank you. I will.

I hope your babies are doing better. . I would have them test the other treats. If two of them have white centers maybe some more have them

How are they today? How scary!

What about ant bait also?

I so hope they are feeling better...thinking of you all!

Good. Hope they are better today. Please update when you can!

Update 1
 

Today they seem back to normal. They want to play nonstop and are sitting here, ball and bone temporarily dropped, staring at me impatiently because I stopped to type this update.

We take them in to their regular vet next week, 48 hours after finishing the Vitamin K1 horse pills, to test their blood for the coagulant time. And then we see whether they need more time on the Vitamin K1.

Thank you all for responding. This is such a wonderful and caring group here at YorkieTalk. And, for the time being, they will not be receiving any of those treats. I may cut them up and look inside in the white part, but the piece of blue-green disk wouldn't have fit in these treats. Just want to keep on the safe side.

So glad they are doing well now! Prayers answered!

Thank you. Yes, they're still going strong. Annabelle has her head, toy in mouth, resting on my arm making it difficult for me to type, and Turner's behind me, dropping his wet, slobbery toy over my shoulder. Good stuff.:)

Yay!!

Once we found some empty rat poison packets in our yard and panicked because the pups had been outside playing and we didn't know if they ate it. We rushed them to the vet and he gave them vitamin k. I remember him telling me to watch their eyes and if the whites of their eyes turn dark red, bring them back in.

Thank you for that piece of information. It's good to know what to look for.

Your welcome. I noticed that Daisy's eyes looked red and I was worried so I took her back to the vet. He said he is talking about a very deep blood red color. Hers were just the pinkish red mild irritation and not blood red.

Ah, thanks for clarifying. I immediately checked their eyes, and they were clear. They were somewhat bloodshot the day after the emergency vet and they definitely didn't feel well.

I just feel so lucky that they/one vomited that blue-green stuff up. I read that this is a more rare symptom.

Here's a link with information on the different kinds of rat poisons or rodenticides: Dog Ate Mouse Poison, Rat Poisoning in Dogs, Mouse and Rat Poisons Toxic to Pets

Yay! Thank God for happy puppies! So sorry you had to go through this. I hope you find out what happened and can avoid it in the future!

Great news , I am glad your pups are feeling better ..

Thank you all for your support. They have an appointment next Thursday to test their coagulation time. I'll update when I find out the results. I wish I knew how or where they got this poison. I go out with them when they need to go out and have searched the back and front yards for any clue. I may never know. Watch your babies closely when they're outside.

We don't know what caused Scrappy to start having seizures, but his vet suspected rat poison. It certainly was possible since MIL kept some in her garden in random places. One night Scrappy was chewing on his favorite toy after dinner. Bf noticed blood on the toy and looked in his mouth. It looked like an impacted tooth so we took him to the vet the next day. The Dr took out the tooth that he thought was the problem. Within 24 hrs he started getting seizures. They got worse and worse throughout the day. He did not want to eat at all. His breathing very labored. He struggled to get up and all he wanted to do was drink tons of water. I rushed him back to the vet and just around the corner of the vet he had another seizure and peed all over me. (He had not gone all day.)

When the vet stabilzed him he looked him over and saw bruising on his inner thigh. He did not fall or anything. He thought he must have internal bleeding and thought it was rat poison. He could not stay stabilized without being hooked up. Even in the oxygen box he could not stay up. By this point he was bleeding from the nose, and we decided it was best he be put down.

If he did not get some poison I have no idea what could have caused for him to go from perfectly normal to that in less than 48 hours. I highly doubt yours got into rat poison bc the symptoms don't sound like what we went though. I'm glad yours are doing better. It sure is very scary when something like that happens. I still haven't forgiven myself.

I'm so sorry about Scrappy. Please forgive yourself; I'll bet Scrappy would and wouldn't want you to feel bad. We do the best we can with our beloved pets. Unfortunately we can't be with them every second, and rat bait is made to smell especially tasty to animals. He probably gobbled it up before anyone could notice.

From what I've read, most dogs don't show any symptoms until it's too late--days or weeks, I can't recall. Then they show the symptoms yours did. My dog/dogs vomited fairly soon after they ate this blue-green stuff that I believe, after researching and looking at pictures of the poison and vomit with the poison in it, was rat poison or something made to look exactly like rat poison. If one or both of them had not vomited, my story would probably end as sadly as yours, unfortunately, did. I still don't know what the final outcome will be, though I'm hopeful. I'm also afraid that, since I don't know what they found or where they found it, that it could happen again and next time I won't be so lucky as to see evidence almost immediately.

I was told that the key is to get dogs in, preferably within two hours so they can induce vomiting or at least within a day or two so they can get treatment to keep them from bleeding. But how are we supposed to do that unless we see them eat it, or find evidence.

In my research I learned that a rat, for example, can nibble on the poison and carry the rest of it someplace else where pets can get it, or the rat may die of the poison someplace that is available to your pet and your pet gets poisoned by eating or nibbling on the rat carcass. A poisoned mouse can squeeze through tiny cracks. They're made that way.

I read about dogs digging under fences to get at the poison the neighbors put out on the other side of the fence. The smell apparently is irresistible to animals. Other people put rat or mouse poison in their houses where none of us would think a dog could possibly get it, but the dog found a way. Dogs are more resourceful than we think they are.

Whatever made my dogs sick, I'm very grateful that they seem to be okay at the moment, and very sad that it didn't work out for Scrappy. I had to put a dog down nine years ago and I still cry when I think about him. So sorry for you loss.

But don't blame yourself. I'm sure you loved Scrappy and did your best. It's just that sometimes our very best intentions and all the love and caring we feel for them isn't enough. Though they feel like our children, they have canine impulses, and we can't act on what we don't know. Take care and thanks for posting.

d


Please do forgive yourself. We all do the best we can to give the best care for our pups. We can't possibly know everything they get into. You had no way of knowing. I am so sorry you lost your precious little one so tragically. But you can't blame yourself.

I forgot to mention...I remember the vet telling us it was good that we brought the empty poison packet with us (thanks to my husband's quick thinking). He read the ingredients before he treated them. So if it is available, put the poison packet in a zip-lock bag and take it with you. I wouldn't have thought to do that.

sending prayers

Just got back from the vet. The blood coagulation test has to be FedExed to New York and we'll get the results tomorrow, but she checked their red blood cells, which were fine, and examined them. No signs of bleeding. Then Monday we have to go back for a second blood test. So far, so good, so we are cautiously relieved and will be about $1500 lighter in our wallets come Monday. Hoping that's the worst part. And one more thing, they've both lost weight. I was surprised to hear that. After the first day or two they've seemed fine. Will let you know the final results when we get them.

I am very happy to hear your pups are doing well. Praying for good results from the tests and a truly happy ending for your scary experience.

:thumbup::thumbup:

Priscilla (Capt Noonie), please forgive yourself. Even the most controlling, hyper-vigilant, over-protective people in the world cannot control everything. Sadly, accidents happen even under the best of circumstances. Walking my boys in public places, they have both gotten into chocolate, chicken wing bones, and who knows what else. Your experience has taught me to be careful around public places that have exterminators who put down things in addition to packets, granules and what not. {{{hugs}}}