You wake up one morning to see that the half-full glass of wine you accidentally left out the night before is now empty, and no one is at home except for you and your pup — it's clear that your dog is the likely culprit that drank the alcohol. Questions race through your mind: Is your dog intoxicated? Does he have alcohol poisoning? Do you need to bring him to the veterinarian?
Hopefully, you'll never be in this situation, but knowing the risks involved and the steps to take if your dog were to ever sneak a sip can help keep your pup safe.
Just like chocolate and onions, alcohol is toxic to dogs. Even small amounts of alcohol — not only in drinks but also in syrups and raw bread dough — can have ingredients that are poisonous for them. Both ethanol (the intoxicating agent in beer, wine and liquor) and hops (used to brew beer) can cause dogs alcohol intoxication. Signs of intoxication can include:
In severe cases, or if left untreated, alcohol intoxication in dogs can cause failure of the organ systems and even death.
While it might seem harmless to let your dog take the tiniest sip of your wine, beer or mixed drink, the bottom line is that it's never OK to let your dog drink alcohol. It's never acceptable to put his health at risk, no matter how amusing it may seem at the moment. As a pet parent, it's your responsibility to keep your pooch safe, and that includes keeping him away from alcohol.
If despite your best precautions, your dog somehow drinks alcohol, the first thing you should do is alert your vet and get recommendations on how to proceed. Depending on the alcohol content and the amount they consumed, some vets might ask you to take your dog in for a checkup immediately; others may suggest waiting it out to see if your dog has a reaction before coming in.
Usually, if your dog drinks more than one small sip of alcohol — or, if you don't know how much he drank — it's best to bring him to the vet right away. If the vet's office is closed, you should head to an emergency veterinarian center. A dog with alcohol poisoning needs to be treated immediately. You'll want to call your vet or the emergency clinic on your way there to let them know that your dog accidentally drank alcohol; that way, a vet can be ready for you as soon as you arrive.
Here are some basic tips to prevent your dog from consuming alcohol in the future.
Now that you know what happens when a dog drinks alcohol, do all you can to keep your pooch away from liquor at all times. No matter how curious Fido gets, it's never OK to share! If an accident does happen, though, now you'll know what to do.
Erin Ollila believes in the power of words and how a message can inform—and even transform—its intended audience. Her writing can be found all over the internet and in print, and includes interviews, ghostwriting, blog posts, and creative nonfiction. Erin is a geek for SEO and all things social media. She graduated from Fairfield University with an M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Reach out to her on Twitter @ReinventingErin or learn more about her at http://erinollila.com.
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