Mê Thú Cưng - Pet Magazine for Vietnam Số Tết | Số 6 | Tet Issue | Issue Six 2015 | Page 71

Expats Pet Owner Guide for Vietnam 60 69 Common Types of Poisonous Dangers WEEDKILLER (Pesticides) Rein in your dogs if you see signs of grass drying up in patches. Be concerned when you see your dog chewing grass, most city parks use large doses of pesticides on grass, flowers and bushes. RAT POISON (Rodenticides) Rat and mouse poison might contain inactive ingredients that are attractive to dogs. Some people here do lace their rat and mice traps with poisons. Rats can educate themselves to stay away from suspicious materials by sensing the baited rat traps. So there is chance the dog might eat the poisoned bait. Dead rodents found anywhere might be filled with poison, never let our dog go near a dead rodent. Exposure to rat and mouse poison can cause bleeding, seizures and kidney damage. COCKROACH TRAPS These attractive boxes are lethal and also contain Zinc Phosphide, the same active anti-coagulant ingredient in all rodent poison. Another danger is bowel obstruction when a dog swallows the plastic box that contains the bait. Mê Thú Cưng DOG-NAPPING BAIT Dog thieves will place poison laced bait to either kill your dog or render them unconscious. Beware of these objects that could be found anywhere. Unfortunately, children are known to pick them up and place in their mouth which could kill. Symptoms of Poisoning Dogs that have eaten rat poison will be bleeding from their nose. The poisoned dog will be short of breath and lethargic. If vomiting occurs this means that he poison has been ingested at least a few hours prior. Definitely though, the dog’s breath smelt like garlic and rotten fish. Depending on the strength of the poison, sudden death could happen. Common Solutions Based on experience, it is a good idea to keep a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide handy. 1 teaspoon per 2 kg of body weight that will induce vomiting and then you should rush your dog to a Veterinarian. After this ‘first aid’, the Vet normally gives the dog carbon tablets to prevent the poison to be absorbed into the dog’s blood system. Ask the Vet for a Vitamin K treatment to rid zinc phosphide from the dog’s system. Types of poisoned bait used by dog thieves If you are an pet owner who has years of experienecing owning pets, dog and / or cats, in Vietnam that has any kindly words of advice or tips to share with our readers please send your story to the editors of Me Thu Cung through this email: [email protected] Issue 06 | 2015 | petmagazine.vn 69