# Dog ate crayons. How serious is this likely to be? Need answer fast.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-ate-crayons-how-serious-is-this-likely-to-be-need-answer-fast/474048>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 22, 2008, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-ate-crayons-how-serious-is-this-likely-to-be-need-answer-fast/474048 "2008-11-22T23:26:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-ate-crayons-how-serious-is-this-likely-to-be-need-answer-fast/474048/21 "2008-11-24T19:13:46Z")

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Quoting the OP, \*\*If your pet has ingested a Crayola or Silly Putty product, please contact a veterinarian for assistance. \*\*

This is really vague (“pet”), probably a CYA on their part. If your gerbil ate the whole 64 box of crayolas, uh oh. But if your mastiff ate half of one, er, no big deal.

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**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-ate-crayons-how-serious-is-this-likely-to-be-need-answer-fast/474048/22 "2008-11-24T19:36:11Z")

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> [@panache45](#):
>
> Yeah, when I was a kid our dog ate crayons all the time, and it never hurt him. Psychedelic poop!

That’s been my experience as well.

ETA: I mean my dog’s poop was technicolor, not mine. I’ve never had colored poop except from eating beets.

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**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-ate-crayons-how-serious-is-this-likely-to-be-need-answer-fast/474048/23 "2008-11-24T20:54:24Z")

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> [@kaylasdad99](#):
>
> Just my WAG.

Was that deliberate? 😛

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**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-ate-crayons-how-serious-is-this-likely-to-be-need-answer-fast/474048/24 "2008-11-25T02:47:34Z")

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The green pigment used in some products, I think including green crayola wax crayons, is toxic to dogs although harmless to humans. A couple of years ago our puppy ate a single piece of green chalk and became very sick, with lethargy and vomiting. We rushed her to the emergency vet and they kept her there overnight for treatment. (I think they gave her activated charcoal; I can’t remember now what else. They may have pumped her stomach, but she had probably vomited out most of the stuff by then. You could see the bits of green in the vomit.) She recovered, but it was a nasty scare.

If I recall correctly, the vet said she had seen this before with dogs eating green crayons, but this was the first time she had seen it with chalk (It was not regular blackboard chalk, more like an artists pastel with a strong green color.) As I understand it, it is only the green ones that cause this.

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