My dog's kibble has ants. Is it safe for him to eat, or harmful?

Depending on where you live, the only concern with eating ants is if they are fire ants. Fire ants tend to cause significant irritation when they bite, so those bites can be problematic (although my previous dog ate them on a regular basis). Otherwise, regular ants do not seem to cause a problem (even though they can also bite). Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your question. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Without knowing if she ate the ants or what kind she ate, it would be hard to say. Most ants that crawl around on food tend not to be toxic, but some can sting or have toxic bites, and if she immediately threw up after, she likely purged them. However if you know the type of ant she ingested, you can contact The Pet Poison Helpline here: (there is a fee for this service) for more information -- https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/ You can pick up her food and offer boiled rice and chicken for a meal to help settle her stomach if she seems otherwise OK now. If she continues to vomit, or shows other signs of illness such as extreme lethargy, pale gums or tongue, staggering or confusion, drooling, bloody diarrhea or vomiting, etc, then these are all signs of possible toxicity which should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.

1. Pale pink and pink gums are normal. It's concerning when the gums are white. 2. I don't think these ants will make Robin sick, but they should not be in his food or on him. I would clean out these areas to get rid of the ants.

Hello. Any food can become contaminated with bugs if it is not stored properly, or sits too long in a warehouse. Do not buy any damaged or repaired bags & avoid bags that are marked down in price. You can also avoid any problems at home by keeping an open bag of food in a tightly sealed container & only buying a months worth of food at a time. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Yes, those are probably grain mites you are seeing. This is usually due to improper storage of the food item. Grain mites should not cause serious illnesses if eaten, but some pets might have an allergic reaction to them that could include itching, and intestinal and skin problems; possible but not likely to happen. I would not be worried about this. Just throw the treats away and follow the guidelines below to help prevent this from happening again. * Store pet foods in airtight containers. * Don't store food in garages, sheds or basements. * Immediately throw bags away outside after the food has been put into a container. * Don't buy or use old or outdated food. * Wash food dishes frequently in hot water and dry thoroughly. * Buy only 30 days worth of food at a time. * Don't purchase food in bags with holes or tears. * Avoid low quality food with a lot of debris in the bottom of the bag (ALPO would be one of the lower quality foods). Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Getting bitten by an ant can be painful and cause an allergic reaction and scare them. Ingestion of ants usually does not cause many problems unless they got bitten in the mouth. I would try to rinse his mouth and clean the food and ants. You can give him an over the counter antihistamine such as benadryl to help from a reaction. If he is not alert and strong on his feet yet, then he should be seen by a vet.

While generally eating insects is not detrimental to your puppy (extra protein, and the fun of catching them...), it may be a good idea to teach it not to go after insects, as your puppy cannot distinguish between stinging insects such as wasps and bees and biting insects and spiders and those that do not hurt it. Stings and bites can cause allergic reactions, which can turn into emergencies. Having a full course of vaccinations or not does not make any difference,