What if my dog licked mouse poison? What symptoms should I watch for?

It would really depend on the type of poison and how much Eric could have gotten. At the very least, I would recommend that he be seen by a vet for baseline blood work and coagulation times and to start Vitamin K in case it was an anticoagulant rodenticide. If it was a below-toxic ingestion, the Vitamin K is still safe to be given.

Hello and thank you for your question regarding Chester. It is so difficult to keep our dogs away from dead animals, isn’t it? It’s like candy to them. I realize that there are so many things that can run through your head as to what can go wrong after ingesting a dead mouse that died of an unknown death. We begin to think of all of the worst case scenarios. Because Chester 65 pounds, the likelihood that it will cause any gastrointestinal ripping or damage is unlikely. The mouse could, however, cause gastrointestinal upset like diarrhea and vomiting if there was putrefaction in the rodent. your concern about whether a mouse that died of pesticides or rat bait poisoning could be an issue is a valid one. If the mouse did in deed die of poisoning then Chester can be affected by this within 24 to 72 hours. I do think it would be best to take him to a veterinarian as soon as you can to at least have some blood work performed to check if there has been any evidence of toxicity. The veterinarian may also want to take an abdominal x-ray just to make sure that nothing else is happening in the intestines. Nine times out of 10 these tests will show nothing abnormal and your dog will be fine. But it is always better to error on the side of caution. I hope this is helped.

Thank you for the follow-up information. This is a very serious toxicity especially in such a small dog. Brodifacom is a long-acting anticoagulant (LAAC). LAACs prevent the blood from clotting, resulting in internal bleeding. Long-acting anticoagulants work similarly to the “blood thinner” medications that people take (e.g., warfarin or Coumadin®). When dogs or cats ingest LAACs, it typically takes 3-5 days before signs of poisoning are visible. So you don't want to wait until she is clinical signs. You should have her treated now. Common signs of poisoning include signs of internal bleeding: lethargy, exercise intolerance, coughing, difficulty breathing (due to bleeding into the lungs), weakness, and pale gums. Less common signs include vomiting, diarrhea (with or without blood), nose bleeds, bruising, bloody urine, swollen joints, inappetence, and bleeding from the gums. With some types of LAACs ( like brodifacoum), it only takes a very small amount to cause poisoning. Other types of LAACs have a wider margin of safety (like bromadiolone) and it takes a larger amount to cause poisoning. In my opinion this is an emergency and you should get Minty to the vet ASAP.

You are correct that the rat can carry diseases. I recommend to call your veterinarian and tell them what happened. They may want to check him for any bites and booster his vaccines. The main concerns for rats are Leptospirosis and fleas who can carry plague depending on where you live. Theoretically, rabies and rat poison ingestion would also be a risk. Your veterinarian will be most familiar with your local environment and the potential diseases. Also make sure Brady is up-to-date on his flea prevention. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

In these cases close monitoring is needed both for any possible wound/injury from the fight and possible poisoning (some of these rats can be poisoned with rodenticide). Any external wound, lethargy, inappetence, signs of cough, vomiting or diarrhoea should be checked by your local vet.

There are a couple things you should be concerned about, if your dog is not vaccinated then leptospirosis is a concern as Rats carry it and it is a serious disease in dogs (affecting the kidneys and liver). the main second concern is rat poison, if the rate ingested rat poison in the past couple weeks, then your dog could be poisoned too, these poisons are usually blood thinner which cause an animal to bleed to death, often it has a delayed action and the treatment for that is vitamin K, which must be given by your vet by injection first.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Bromethalin is the new rat poison that causes neurologic damage to the mice resulting in death. There is no antidote for this poison. Lethal dose depends on HOW much Rotty ate compared to his weight. You need to call Pet Poison Control ASAP. If he ate it yesterday it is already out of his stomach and inducing vomiting will not help he has already absorbed it. If you induced vomiting yesterday and he brought it up then that is a good thing, but still call Poison Control!. I'm hoping since Rotty is a large dog he will be fine. http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/ I wish you the best!