# My Dog Ate Rat Posion This Morning...... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 7, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388 "2010-10-07T17:52:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Storm\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Storm\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Storm_Girl)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/21 "2010-10-08T16:01:49Z")
WhyNot, I am constantly amazed at the stuff the little sucker will find to chew on! I walked into the living room the other day, and there she was, back paws on the couch, front paws on the coffee table doing doggie acrobatics to get to a pair of flip flops that had been left up on the table! I assume you know WHY the shoes were up on the table… Apparently flip flops are a major wiener dog food group. She has also managed to open an interior door in the house…still not sure how that all went down, but I would imagine her amazing leaping abilities came into play. The house is officially rat poison free, but I’m still going to be keeping a close eye on her. I think she would make an excellent rat hunter, as she is quite fearless. I have this image of me seeing a mouse, crying out, “Release the wiener dog!!” and her running to kill it. I really need to get a life, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/22 "2010-10-08T16:08:11Z")
I don’t know anything about dogs and rat poison, but I’m hoping your little girl is okay. Poor little Peanut puppy. ☹ ETA: Looks like she’s gonna be okay–yay! ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/23 "2010-10-08T16:23:24Z")
> [@Storm\_Girl](#): > > I have this image of me seeing a mouse, crying out, “Release the wiener dog!!” Is it wrong of me to have fantasized more than once of adopting a gigantic Great Dane and a pair of mini-Dachshunds at the same time? I’d make the Dane wear a belly sling and train the Doxies to hide in it – and, when I gave the command _“Fire one! Fire two!”_ the Doxies would launch themselves out of the sling like little missiles and run over to greet people. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/24 "2010-10-08T16:42:53Z")
Well, this brings back memories. Earlier this year, I sprayed some weeds in our backyard with an herbicide that contained arsenic. Being that they have no sense of danger whatsoever when it comes to food, our lovably stupid pug decided to chomp on a few while we weren’t looking, and the next day started throwing up green foam. After many expensive tests for liver damage and such, she came through just fine. No smarter, but fine. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/25 "2010-10-08T16:52:10Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > > [@Storm\_Girl](#): > > > > I have this image of me seeing a mouse, crying out, “Release the wiener dog!!” > > Is it wrong of me to have fantasized more than once of adopting a gigantic Great Dane and a pair of mini-Dachshunds at the same time? I’d make the Dane wear a belly sling and train the Doxies to hide in it – and, when I gave the command _“Fire one! Fire two!”_ the Doxies would launch themselves out of the sling like little missiles and run over to greet people. I just came in here to thank you for one helluvan awesome mental image. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/26 "2010-10-08T16:55:05Z")
My beagle mix puppy ate some rat poison just a month or so ago, was rushed to the vet and given the vitamin K stuff and is healthy as a horse. Of course, she’s dumb as a box of hair, but that could be just coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/27 "2010-10-08T16:57:01Z")
Whew! I am quite relieved to hear that your little guy is OK. If I remember correctly, Dachshunds were bred to hunt burrowing animals. I’ll bet that little Peanut would be a good mouser/ratter if given the opportunity. I know that the terrier who owns us is really good and catching chipmunks and squirrels. Nothing quite like stepping on a dead varmint in the middle of the night. heh heh heh ---
**Author:** ![Storm\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Storm\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Storm_Girl)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/28 "2010-10-08T17:26:30Z")
Freudian Slit-Thank you very much. Sailboat, that is an AWESOME mental image. I suspect my afternoon will be spent trying to figure out how to implement something similar with my 2 black labs and my little Nutters! Max Torque-Glad your doggie’s ok. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/29 "2010-10-08T17:46:26Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > > [@Storm\_Girl](#): > > > > I have this image of me seeing a mouse, crying out, “Release the wiener dog!!” > > Is it wrong of me to have fantasized more than once of adopting a gigantic Great Dane and a pair of mini-Dachshunds at the same time? I’d make the Dane wear a belly sling and train the Doxies to hide in it – and, when I gave the command _“Fire one! Fire two!”_ the Doxies would launch themselves out of the sling like little missiles and run over to greet people. Gary Larson, is that you? (Or am I the only one remembering the guy who confronted a burglar with his fully loaded Dobie-o-Matic 5000?) ---
**Author:** ![cgg419](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cgg419/32/2847_2.png) [@cgg419](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cgg419)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/30 "2010-10-08T19:11:28Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > > [@Sailboat](#): > > > > Is it wrong of me to have fantasized more than once of adopting a gigantic Great Dane and a pair of mini-Dachshunds at the same time? I’d make the Dane wear a belly sling and train the Doxies to hide in it – and, when I gave the command _“Fire one! Fire two!”_ the Doxies would launch themselves out of the sling like little missiles and run over to greet people. > > Gary Larson, is that you? (Or am I the only one remembering the guy who confronted a burglar with his fully loaded Dobie-o-Matic 5000?) Not anymore 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/31 "2010-10-08T21:51:20Z")
Yeah, something that people don’t ever think about - because it’s poison - is that rat/mouse bait TASTES GOOD. Mice and rats wouldn’t eat it, either, if it wasn’t delicious. My understanding is that it’s fairly sweet. Can’t say I’ve tried it, myself, though I have been known to taste medications occasionally. (for those in the industry - Strongid does NOT taste like bananas!) ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/32 "2010-10-08T22:05:29Z")
I’m glad she’s likely to be okay. And you’ve got 2 great reasons for getting rid of the rat poison when you find it. 1) It’s nasty stuff and 2) Doxies were bred to hunt BADGERS for pete’s sake. If you have rats she’ll find them. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/33 "2010-10-09T06:00:03Z")
> [@C3](#): > > You should teach your dachshund to hunt mice and rats. Mine does. Stone Cold Killer. He got his little jaws on a rabbit once and as I reached for it to get rid of it, he bit down and you could hear all kinds of bones breaking. _Stone Cold Killer._ ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/34 "2010-10-09T12:19:07Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I’m glad you caught it right away! > > Now, you’ve had your first lesson on Dealing with Dachshunds. Those little buggers will eat anything. ANYTHING. Huh. Mine will only eat what he has seen others eat–including the food from his “brother’s” bowl. It doesn’t matter if it has the same stuff in it, he prefers my chihuahua’s bowl. I do find that he likes to chase everything, though. So the OP’s dachshund may be useful to stop any mice problems. And, as a bonus, you won’t get that dead smell. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/35 "2010-10-09T22:19:01Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And, as a bonus, you won’t get that dead smell. That would probably depend on where he stashes the bodies. ---
**Author:** ![Storm\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Storm\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Storm_Girl)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/36 "2010-10-14T16:21:28Z")
Just a quick update-Nutterdog is doing fine and took the last of the vitamin K pills that the vet gave us yesterday-which brings me to a few questions. I am thinking about getting some babyfood spinach (high in vitamin K, ya see) and mixing it in with her regular canned dog food for another week or so just to make sure she keeps enough vitamin k in her system to combat any lingering effects of the poison. Does this seem like a good idea? Do you think it would be effective? Is dog spinach poop going to be incredibly nasty? (I think I already know the answer to that one, but I’m hoping against hope…) I fully realize that I’m being a bit ridiculous about this, but man, she’s my little buddy! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/37 "2010-10-14T16:31:41Z")
I’d advise against it, for the simple reason that, as I mentioned above, my own dog’s green vomit was an indication of poisoning. If your dog should vomit, and it’s green, you won’t know if it’s because he found another box of poison, or if it’s just the spinach. The pills the vet gave you should be sufficient, but if you want to be over-cautious and keep giving the K, I’d find another source. Maybe the vet has a suggestion, or even more pills? ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/38 "2010-10-14T18:19:42Z")
It’s really not necessary. You caught her soon enough that the K was mostly precautionary in the first place. Consider this ordeal over, and you have yourself a happy, healthy doggie! ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/39 "2010-10-14T20:44:04Z")
1. It’s not really necessary. 2. If you really want to make sure, the thing to do is wait a couple of days, take her to the vet, and ask them to repeat the coagulation panel. In order to do this, and to make sure the dog is over it, the dog has to be finished with the vitamin K treatment. Just to make sure it is making its own vitamin K now. I doubt though, that what you propose would alter significantly the levels, should they be low enough to be causing trouble. ---
**Author:** ![SevenOfTeemingMillions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@SevenOfTeemingMillions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SevenOfTeemingMillions)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388/40 "2010-10-15T08:41:52Z")
When I was a kid one of our puppies ate rat poison. He lived a happy and healthy life for many years after that. I’m sure your dog will be fine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dog-ate-rat-posion-this-morning/556388.md?page=1)