My dog ate cough drops. Is it an emergency if my vet is closed?

One of those cough drops in a 15 lb dog is likely not an issue. The symptoms to look for if it were an issue would be GI upset (vomiting and diarrhea). The important thing is to make sure that they are not sugar free as xylitol is toxic to dogs. These do not seem to be sugar free from the label. . If you notice any lethargy, inappetance, vomiting or diarrhea, bring your dog to your vet for fluids, anti nausea medication, anti-diarrheal medication etc. as indicated. There will likely will be no symptoms. Inducing vomiting for one menthol cough drop would not be worth the risk of aspiration. Offer plenty of water in the meantime and put the rest of the cough drops in a safe place! Good luck!

Oh no, that's not good that Spencer ate a whole bag of Luden's cough drops! I would take him into a vet immediately. If they were sugar free, they could contain xylitol, which is highly toxic to dogs and can be fatal. Many cough drops contain ingredients that may cause GI upset in dogs, such as sugar, methol, and eucalyptus oil. The best thing to do is having him seen by a vet right away, and bring the bag with you so the vet can check the ingredients and treat him as needed. I would find an ER vet in your area to bring him into now; if there isn't one, there will be a vet on call for emergencies. The information to reach that vet is found on a clinic's answering machine or website. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Fortunately, there are no toxic ingredients for dogs in this product. Ingestion of large amount of sugar may produce vomiting and transient diarrhea but Kahlua should not develop any more serious symptoms. Please, offer your puppy small amounts of water every 30-60 minutes and monitor her closely at home. If she does develop diarrhea and profuse vomiting, you may have to take her to your local vets to get symptomatic treatment.

I am sorry to hear about your concern for Missy! With these ingredients we would not expect any toxic effects but we could have some mild gastrointestinal upset if she has a sensitive stomach. The ingredients that sometimes are present in cough drops and can cause more serious side effects include benzocaine and xylitol, but from your label you attached these cough drops don't appear to contain these ingredients. I would watch for vomiting and if it occurs, contact your veterinarian.

I'm sorry that Yeezy ate cough drops! In looking up the ingredients for this product, I see it contains menthol 9.1 mg eucalyptus oil, beta carotene, flavors, glucose syrup, honey, soy lecithin, sucralose, sucrose, and water. These ingredients may cause GI upset, but the biggest concern I had about the cough drops were if they had xylitol in them. That's because xylitol is extremely toxic to dogs, and if the cough drops had them, Yeezy would need to see an emergency vet right away. Because these do not have them, he should be ok, but you may see some stomach upset in the form of vomiting and diarrhea. Should you see that, withhold food for 12-24 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in his normal diet. Yeezy should be just fine, I hope this helps :-)

It really depends on the type of cough drops eaten, because some can be harmful, while others would be safe. Please post this question again with more information, so we can better help you. If you can take pictures of the cough drop packaging, that would be great. Specifically, we need to know the name of the cough drop and the ingredients.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Pet Coach about Odin. Without knowing the specific type of cough drops he ingested I cannot make specific recommendations about how toxic they may be to him. Some cough drops can be very toxic to dogs. My best and safest advice is to call Pet Poison Helpline 855-886-7965. You can give them the exact type of cough drop ingested, your dog's weight, and his symptoms. They will let you know if you need to seek any medical care for him right away. There is a small fee for Pet Poison, but it is worth it in my opinion for peace of mind and safety for Odin. Best of luck.