Frequently (and not so frequently) Asked Questions
BRIEF: Are there any poisonous plants that could create these symptoms in my dog?
QUESTION:
I have two dogs that were poisoned last week. I have been diligently
trying to determine the source of the poison. If you could review the
facts below, I would appreciate knowing what types of poisons could
cause the symptoms:
1) dog #1 poisoned on Monday evening after being in the house for 1-2 hours; he
had been outside all day in the backyard. He was not loose in the neighborhood
during the day.
2) He experienced muscle tremors that escalated into seizures and some drooling.
Temp. reached 107.5
3) The following Thursday (3 days later), dog #2 developed the same symptoms at
7:15 a.m. after being in our bedroom the whole night (at least 9 hrs. prior to the
onset of symptoms). Drooling.
I am at a loss as to what the toxin could be. Their symptoms appeared
to be similar to those of snail bait poisoning, but we don't have any
around our house or in our garage. I have canvassed the neighborhood
and no one claims to have used snail bait yet this year. We don't have
any disgruntled neighbors that we are aware of. We have cleaned out
under sink chemicals in the house. We don't think it was dark
chocolate, because we didn't have any around. We don't have any
poisonous plants in our yard that we are aware of (I got a list and have
gone through the yard.)
Do you have any other ideas about what could cause the "shake and bake"
symptoms? What could cause that severe a reaction hours later?
ANSWER:
I don't have a clue what made your dogs sick. I am not a vet and tend to work with
livestock more than dogs, so you should contact a vet who does treat dogs. Why do
you think that the dogs were poisoned rather than just ill from some bacterial or
viral disease? have you ruled out staph or salmonella food poisoning?