Posts Tagged ‘poison’

What You Ought To Do If Your Dog Eats Chocolate

Friday, March 9th, 2012

We all love our dogs, don’t we? We like to give them a little delicacy sometimes as well. Some dogs are so cute when they beg for a bit of what you are eating, but the fact is that some foods that are alright for us to eat are not so good for dogs. This ought not come as much of a surprise as you would probably be quite ill too if you ate a half-rotten bird that you found in the long grass.

The main human food that will kill your dog is chocolate or more accurately the theobromine in the chocolate. Some chocolate has more theobromine in it than others. For example, white chocolate has only 1 mg of theobromine per 28 g (1 oz) whereas baking chocolate has 450 mg per 28 g.

So how much theobromine does it take to poison a dog? Well, the answer to that depends on several considerations like age and health but most significantly the weight of the dog. Let us say that an average, knee-high, collie-type dog weighs 20 kilos (about 45 lbs.), then it would take about 250 kg (560 lbs) of white chocolate to harm him, but he probably would have exploded by then anyway having eaten 12.5 times his body weight in food.

However, the picture changes rapidly when we examine other types of chocolate. It would take about 1.5 kg (3 lbs) of milk chocolate to have the same effect and about a third of that in sweet cacao or half-a-kilo (1 lb). The most hazardous substance is baking chocolate. It only takes just over 100g or four and a half ounces of baking chocolate to give a medium sized dog life threatening complications.

Therefore, the biggest danger would be of a dog eating a chocolate cake with chocolate icing or topping. Children are the worst, albeit innocent, culprits: they often give dogs cake at gatherings and it is one to look out for.

So, what should you do if your dog eats chocolate? It depends on the quantity and the quality and your dog. The safest thing would be to take him to the vet as soon as possible, but if you are sure of yourself you could wait for symptoms like vomitting, diarrhea, twitching, seizure, palpitations or excessive wetting.

Theobromine attacks a dog’s central nervous system so not all dogs will react in the same way, but you will definitely discern that your dog is perplexed, befuddled and distraught.

If you make your mind up to treat your dog yourself, the first thing you should do is stimulate vomitting all the while comforting your dog. A 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide should do the trick. Give your dog a teaspoon full if it is under 10 kg and a tablespoon if it is over 10 kg. Give every 15 minutes until it takes effect. After this, try to get some activated carbon into him to soak up any residual poison. Follow the recommendations on the box.

If you live miles from anywhere or you think that your dog is at high risk (the school vacation season is the worst), you could get a pet’s first aid box from your vet. They are not expensive and have a long shelf life and you will not be caught out if someone gives your dog chocolate.

Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with researching Poisonous Flowers For Dogs. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at What to do if your dog eats chocolate.

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Does Your Dog’s Diet Require Supplementation?

Thursday, March 8th, 2012

It is as vital for your dog to eat a healthy, balanced diet as it is for you. Decent dog foods, normally the more expensive ones, are formulated to provide your dog with everything it needs in its food, but feeding the same stuff every day may lead to deficiencies of some vitamins and nutrients.

It is worth looking at the ingredients on the label of your dog food and comparing it to what your dog should be getting. This takes a little basic maths but is not a problem. Look on the Net to find out what a dog such as yours ought to be having for its size, weight, age and level of activity and copy it down in a column.

Then, read off what is in the dog food, multiply that by the amount you feed your dog and write that in another column opposite the names of the vitamins you have already written down. The ingredients will probably be per 100 grams, so if you give your dog 500 grams a day, you multiply the numbers by five.

How do the two columns compare? If you dog is getting all it requires and more, then all well and good, but if not you will have to supplement your dog’s diet with the shortfall.

Let’s say that your dog’s existing diet is a little short of vitamins A and D. Look up these vitamins on the Internet by typing into Google: ‘foodstuffs that contain vitamin A and D’.

You might have to enter the vitamins in one at a time, but you will find a list of foods that will provide vitamins A and D. In this case, an egg will be the easiest manner of providing the extra vitamins.

Serve it boiled or just stir it into his food. Dogs love eggs so that will not be a problem Then you have to find out how many eggs you have to give a week.

You will find that you can provide almost any vitamins and nutrients you need to give in the various fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts you can buy in the market.

Dogs would obtain a wide variety of these from the stomach contents of its prey in the wild, so if you have to provide them, liquidize them in a food processor and stir them into the dog’s standard food. Raw is best, but the grains may have to be steeped in water over night.

There are some very common foodstuffs that are poisonous to dogs, so you will need to cross-check this before attempting DIY food supplementation. Foodstuffs such as raisins, grapes and chocolate are examples of things that are poisonous to dogs, but there are a couple of others too. Print a list off the Internet and pin it up on the inside of the door of the pet food cupboard.

If this sounds like too much work, you could simply discuss the matter with your vet and he or she will be able to recommend an easier solution to your problems.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on many subjects, but is currently concerned with researching Poisonous Flowers For Dogs. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at What to do if your dog eats chocolate.

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Looking For Snakes And Reptiles

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

There are few places in the world that haven’t been colonised by snakes and other reptiles. Snakes are even found in cities, although it is only the friendlier ones that usually survive our wrath. However, if you want to find some of the more uncommon snakes, you could try in parks and fields, on beaches or in rivers and ponds and even in the sea, depending on where you live, of course, as sea snakes tend to inhabit warmer, tropical waters.

You will have to be wide awake and accustom your eyes to spot even the slightest movement. Wear clothes of dull, drab colours and move very slowly, stopping often to listen out for movement in the grass or bushes. In the beginning, you will have many false starts, until you learn to tell the difference between the noises of the different animals that live or hunt in the grass.

Snakes are hard to locate, because most of the adventurous snakes get killed by frightened (and often ignorant) humans, but good advice is to look for relatively damp areas in arid regions and, on the other hand, dry spots in damp areas. Look for where their prey might congregate. For example, near water for toads and frogs. Watch for frightened lizards or birds fleeing for all they are worth. And listen out for geckos warning each other of the presence of a predatory snake.

If you have to move anything, at least don’t damage it and make sure you put it back as you found it. Two useful tools while out looking for snakes are binoculars (for tree snakes) and a snake-hook, which should also be used for moving bits of debris so that you don’t risk getting bitten by a snake or stung by a scorpion. A camera, a torch and a notebook and pen are quite, depending on how seriously you take your interest in herpetology.

You might also take a rule or tape to measure your specimens and a few plastic bags and boxes to hold them while you are doing so. However, do not kill anything and do not take anything away with you either! Besides it not being right to wander into their territory and cause mayhem, it is often contrary to the law too. Be very wary of picking up any snake that you cannot 100% positively identify as non-venomous. You could be miles from anywhere and will probably not have any anti-venom with you. Since many snakes can kill within 30 minutes, you would probably die.

To summarize, go looking for snakes by all means. However, take it easy and slowly and wear inconspicuous clothing. Furthermore, wear strong, climbing boots to give you some protection where you are most vulnerable and do not move anything unnecessarily. Take a snake-hook to move things if you have to; a tape, torch, camera, notebook and pen to record your experience and/or findings and a few clear plastic receptacles just in case you feel that you need to pick something up.

I hope you enjoy your search for snakes and other reptiles, but remember that they are not friendly and they are definitely not pets and be wary of bites especially when your search is not taking place in the grounds of a hospital!

If you are interested in snakes and reptiles, you should go to our web site entitled Caring for Snakes

categories: snakes,reptiles,herpetology,pets,hobbies,interests,animals,poison,blood,family,recreation,walking,outdoors,other

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Looking for Snakes and Reptiles

Sunday, July 26th, 2009
by Colin Jones

There are not many places in the world that haven’t been colonised by snakes and other reptiles. Snakes are even found in towns, although it is only the friendlier ones that tend to survive human wrath. However, if you want to look for a few of the more uncommon snakes, you could try in parks and fields, on beaches or in rivers and ponds and even in the sea, depending on where you live, naturally, as sea snakes are inclined to live in warmer, tropical waters.

You will have to be very alert and train your eyes to spot even the slightest movement. Wear clothing of dull, drab colours and move slowly, stopping often to listen for movement in the grass or bushes. In the beginning, you will have many false hopes, until you learn to differentiate between the sounds of the different animals that live or hunt in the grass.

Snakes are difficult to find, because most of the adventurous snakes get killed by frightened (and often ignorant) humans, but a good tip is to look for relatively damp areas in arid regions and, conversely, dry spots in damp areas. Look for where their prey might congregate. For instance, near water for toads and frogs. Look out for frightened lizards or birds fleeing for all they are worth. And listen out for geckos warning each other of the presence of a predatory snake.

If you must disturb anything, at least don’t damage it and furthermore, ensure you put it back as you found it. Two useful tools to have while out looking for snakes and other reptiles are binoculars (for tree snakes) and a snake-hook, which should also be used for moving bits of debris so that you don’t risk getting bitten by a snake or stung by a scorpion. A camera, a torch and a notebook and pen are quite, depending on how seriously you take your hobby of herpetology.

You could also take a rule or tape to measure your specimens and a few plastic bags and boxes to hold them while you are doing so. Do not kill anything and do not take anything home with you either! Apart from it not being right to wander into their territory and cause mayhem, it is frequently contrary to the law too. Be very wary of handling any snake that you cannot definitely identify as non-venomous. You could be miles from anywhere and will probably not have anti-venom with you. Since many snakes can kill within 30 minutes, you would probably die.

To summarize, go looking for snakes by all means. However, take it easy and slowly and wear camouflaged clothing. Moreover, wear strong, hiking boots to afford you some protection where you are most vulnerable and do not move anything you don’t have to. Take a snake-hook to move things if you have to; a tape, torch, camera, notebook and pen to record your experience and/or findings and a couple of clear plastic receptacles just in case you feel that you have to pick something up.

I hope you enjoy your search for snakes and other reptiles, but remember that they are not friendly and they are definitely not pets and be wary of bites especially when your search is not taking place in the grounds of a hospital!

About the Author:
If you are interested in snakes and reptiles, you ought to go over to our website called Caring for Snakes

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Poisonous Florida Snakes

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
by Owen Jones

The Florida snakes, together with the turtles, lizards, alligators and other reptiles are all part of a complicated wildlife structure that plays an incredible role in the maintenance of Florida’s ecosystem. There are numerous species of Florida snakes. There are forty-four species living in an incredibly varied habitat, ranging from salt marshes and fresh water marshes to dry uplands and coastal mangrove swamps to residential areas.

Only six Florida snakes are poisonous and they happily coexist with their non-poisonous cousins. They even go into towns and cities too. The best way to stay out of harm’s way with snakes is to learn their morphology and therefore be able to identify the various Florida snakes. The wisest approach to adopt in relation to all snakes is avoidance.

The Coral snake and pit vipers are by far the most dangerous of Florida snakes. They can be identified by quite a wide range of characteristics. Pit vipers include the Rattlesnake, the Cottonmouth and the Copperhead. They all have in common: vertical eye pupils, a v-shaped head and facial pit sensors: one between the eyes and nostrils and the others along each side of the head.

The poison of these Florida snakes is haemotoxic, which means that their venom attacks the red blood cells, destroying the wall of the blood vessel and causing uncontrolled hemorrhage. Coral snakes on the other hand use neurotoxic venom, with the toxins in the venom acting on the body nerves and inducing paralysis.

Most of the snake bites reported every year in the United States are attacks by Florida snakes or by rattlesnakes to be precise. As their venom spreads quickly through the body, the victim will almost certainly die within thirty minutes without the immediate injection of anti-venom.

A big exception in this group of Florida snakes is the copperheads, the venom of which rarely requires an antidote. Their toxins are the least potent and so they are considered t be the least dangerous of the poisonous Florida snakes.

It is precisely because of the danger that they present that poisonous snakes get the most attention, although the most widespread of Florida snakes is the Black Racer, which is a non-toxic species that depends on its sharp fangs to hold onto its prey.

Despite the fact that home owners usually try to remove snakes from their gardens, experts point out that, without them, rodents would soon be so numerous as to be an even greater cause for alarm.

So, unless there are any exceptional causes for worry, like snakes breeding in great numbers in your garden or shed, there is no real reason why you should upset the lives of these usually retiring, helpful animals.

About the Author:
Do you care for a Florida snakes? To learn more about snakes visit Caring for Snakes our new web site.

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