My dog ate silica gel from a stress ball. Is it an emergency or toxic?

The silica gel packets are virtually non-toxic. They are labelled 'do not 'eat' because they aren't meant to be eaten and the dust from the processing and creation of silica is irritating to the skin, respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract and can cause problems for people exposed to it on a regular basis, such as those who work making them. The beads do not enlarge in the stomach and the exterior packaging is usually soft and presents little risk of injury of obstruction.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Pip will be fine. There are not a lot of balls in those packs and it sounds like she didn’t ingest many. The concern would be if she ate multiple packets at a time. That can cause severe dehydration. Only one pack is safe. Kisses to Pip!

The silica packets are actually not toxic, so I don't think the vomiting and lethargy are related to that. However, those are still concerning signs and I would recommend taking Beggar to her vet today for an exam, blood work, and x rays. She could have a metabolic issue, a foreign body, or IBD.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If you are referring to the fresh packets or silica gel or activated charcoal packets that come in shoe boxes, medications, etc then they are non toxic. Ones that contain iron are toxic. So I would check to see what kind it is. Silica gel are white. Activated charcoal is black but isn't magnetic. Iron is magnetic, black and he should see a Vet if he ate the iron. I hope this helps!

I can understand being worried! If the cooling gel is non-toxic, then Kari should be safe. There is a small potential that it could cause some GI upset if she ate a fair amount of it, so if shows vomiting or diarrhea, I would withhold food and feed a bland diet. 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 her normal diet. Kari should be fine, but you did absolutely the right thing by checking :-)

Hello. Fortunately, there is nothing toxic in this product. However, there is a very small chance that this could lead to an intestinal blockage, if he ate any at all. I would go ahead & take a slice of bread, & apply a good layer of Vaseline to it. Feed Hikaru a piece at a time, allowing him to eat as much as he likes up to the whole piece of bread. The Vaseline will not be actually absorbed, but will coat any possible pieces of the clay helping things to pass through smoothly. The clay will possibly soften with the moisture in the gut & the warmer body temperature, too. You should see a softer stool in about 12-18 hours & may last for a day or so, but there should be no abdominal discomfort or vomiting. If you do see more than 1 episode of vomiting, or you think there is any abdominal pain or bloating, please see your veterinarian immediately. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I can't find anything in my resources that suggests that this is toxic to dogs, and I've never seen a case where a dog got sick eating it. I would suspect that since this product was distributed for children, it's likely non-toxic. However, the ASPCA's poison control hotline for pets may help. They maintain an extensive database of information about all types of substances that make pets sick. Their number is (888) 426-4435.