Prevention is the best way to avoid a poisoning incident. Learn about the dangers to your Yorkie and have emergency medical treatment supplies on hand. I suggest keeping a home emergency medical kit on hand and stocked in case of any type of emergency.

Symptoms:

There are 2 types of poisoning to be aware of: contact poisoning (on the skin or eyes, etc.) and internal poisoning (ingesting a toxic or harmful substance). For contact poisoning, the symptoms are usually burning, itching, redness, swelling, or other obvious signs of skin irritation or chemical burns. Symptoms of internal poisoning in Yorkies are varied, depending on the substance ingested. Generally, the symptoms are vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and related symptoms.

Treatment:

If you need emergency assistance, see your vet as soon as possible. If that’s not possible, you can do your best to treat at home. The first step is to identify the specific substance your Yorkie has been in contact with; this will help in treatment.

For a contact poisoning, you must completely wash off any poison. Do this by flushing the area that was in contact with the poison for 30 minutes with plenty of water. Then give your Yorkie a full bath with lukewarm water. Even if the substance your Yorkie came into contact with doesn’t irritate the skin, you should thoroughly wash the area; your Yorkie could lick the area and ingest some of the poison.

For internal poisoning, the best thing to do is usually to induce vomiting as soon as possible after the substance has been ingested. DO NOT induce vomiting in the following cases:

– your Yorkie has already vomited

– there is evidence of neurological involvement (stumbling, shortness of breath, etc.)

– your Yorkie is unconscious

– if your Yorkie has swallowed something sharp that could lodge in the esophagus or could

rip the stomach

– if the poison ingested is an acid, alkali, cleaning product, household chemical, petroleum product, or any substance labeled “Do not induce vomiting.” In these cases, the substance could cause throat burns and vomiting could create more damage. Instead, go to the vet as soon as possible and give your Yorkie milk or water at the rate of 30 ml for every 6 pounds of body weight.

If you have determined that you must induce vomiting, the best way to do this is with a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution at 1/2 teaspoon per 5 pounds of body weight (a good thing to have in your emergency medical kit) . Repeat the dose every 15 to 20 minutes, up to three times, until your Yorkie vomits. Walking after each dose is given may help to further induce vomiting.

DO NOT use Ipecac unless specifically directed by your veterinarian. Ipecac can be dangerous in dogs.

After your Yorkie vomits, it is important to prevent further absorption of any remaining poison in the stomach. You can do this by giving it activated charcoal or a mixture of milk and egg whites.

The most effective treatment is activated charcoal, which you can get in 5-gram tablets. ½ tablet per 5 pounds of body weight is the typical dose. There is a liquid activated charcoal product available, but it is very messy and difficult to get into a Yorkie without the aid of a stomach tube. Therefore, obtain the tablets for emergency use at home and keep them in your Yorkie’s emergency medical kit.

If charcoal is not available, you can give a mixture of milk and egg whites to coat the stomach and prevent absorption of the remaining poison. 1/8 cup of milk and 1/8 cup of egg whites per 5 pounds of body weight is the dosage. Use a plastic syringe to administer the mixture inside your Yorkie’s cheek.

After any home treatment, see your vet as soon as possible for further treatment.

What is poisonous:

The list of things that are poisonous to dogs is very long, and I am going to try to list as many as I can.

Household and environmental hazards:

– Common pain relievers such as Advil (ibuprofen) and Tylenol (acetaminophen)
-Other human drugs, both over-the-counter and prescription (if in doubt, induce vomiting)
-Rodent poisons such as anticoagulants and hypercalcemic agents
-Antifreeze
-Poisonous baits such as rodents and snails
-Insecticides
-Garbage – particularly rotten food contaminated with mold or bacteria
-Most household chemicals such as cleaning products, deodorants, hair dyes, mothballs, nail polish, etc.
-Petroleum products such as gasoline, kerosene, turpentine, etc.
-Lead (can be found in things like fishing weights, some paints, linoleum, drywall, batteries, and other products)
-Zinc (found in post-1982 pennies, hardware, nuts and bolts, and other things)
-Toad and salamander poisoning: Colorado River Toad (native to the Southwest and Hawaii), Marine Toad (native to Florida), and California Newt (native to California)

Food Hazards:

-Chocolate (as little as 4 inches of bakery chocolate can be lethal to a Yorkie)
-Raisins and grapes (as little as 1 ounce can cause kidney failure in Yorkies)
-Macadamia nuts (as little as 1/2 ounce can cause temporary paralysis in a Yorkie)
-Garlic (1/2 teaspoon can destroy red blood cells in a Yorkie)
-Onions and Onion Powder
-Active yeast and raw bread dough

-Almond
-Apricot
-Balsamic Pear
-japanese plum
-Coffee grains
-Leaves and stems of tomato and potato
-Avocados
-Pear and peach kernels
-Rhubarb
-Spinach
-Fungi (if they are also toxic to humans)
-Alcohol
-Xylitol (an artificial sweetener found in some sugar-free gum)

Plant Hazards:

Indoor plants that can be toxic:

Amaryllis
arrowhead vine
asparagus fern
Azalea
Bird from paradise
boston ivy
caladium
calla lily or arum
Chrysanthemum
creeping charlie
creeping fig
Crown of thorns
Dembcane (diffenbachia)
elephant ear
emerald duke
Heart Leaf (Philodendron)

Jack in the pulpit
jerusalem cherry
majesty
Malanga
marble queen
mother in law plant
Neththyis
nightshade
parlor ivy
easter flowers
mom jar
Pothos or Devil’s Lily
red princess
wavy ivy
Saddle Leaf (Philodendron)
spider mom
Divided leaf (philondendron)
sprangeri fern
tuberous begonia
umbrella plant
weeping fig

Outdoor plants that can be toxic:

almond
american yew
angels trumpet
Apricot
azalea (rhododendron)
balsamic pear
bird of paradise bush
bittersweet woody
horse chestnut
Gold button
castor bean
Cherry

coriaria
Daffodil
Larkspur
Dologeton
Dutch offenses
english holly
English Yes
Foxglove
ground cherry
horse chestnut
indian tobacco
indian turnip
japanese plum
Jasmine
Jimsonweed
woody larkspur
crazyweed
lupine
Marijuana
marriage vine
may apple
mezcal bean
orange mockup
monkey pod
moon seed
morning glory
Fungus
nightshade
nutmeg
nux vomica
peach
Periwinkle
peyote

poison hemlock
put grass
poppy
Private
rain tree
Rhubarb
skunk cabbage
soapberry
Spinach
sunburnt potato
tomato vine
water hemlock
western black locust yew
wild cherry
glycine

More help:

If your Yorkie has possibly been poisoned and you’re not sure what to do, the ASPCA has an Animal Poison Control Center available 24 hours a day. Their hotline number is (888) 426-4435. There is a $60 consultation fee per incident, and the fee may be applied to your credit card. There is also excellent information on their website at http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/.