Big Scare Last Night

**Sawduster** · 06-29-2005, 01:28 PM

I'm not sure what it was, but the dogs are restricted from my shop for a while. Last night both of the younger dogs were near deathly ill. They are both much better today, though somewhat less energetic than usual. Neither had the strength to lift their haunches off the floor. I've seen these sort of signs before and it is generally from ingesting or coming into contact with some sort of toxin. Once they are showing these signs, which seemed to come on very quickly, they're either gonna get better or they aren't; the Vet can do very little, and only then if you know what the toxin was, and for a limited range of toxins.

The older dog did not seem affected in any way and was his normal grumpy self. He'd rather crash out on his chair than spend time in the shop with me, and that is the only place the younger ones were that he hadn't gone. Of course he is a bit anti-social when it comes to the other two, so he made not have engaged in some chewing frenzy they may have performed in the yard one of the times they had been out there, but the shop seems more likely.

Anyway, I searched through the shop and found no sort of chemicals that they could have gotten into, everything stowed and closed. Only thing I can figure is that I was working with some walnut and I know it is toxic to some plants and can cause horses to get an inflamation around their hooves if they come into contact with walnut shavings. These two idiot dogs love to search out scrap pieces of wood to chew on, and have eaten every thing from oak to cherry to mesquite and even a few exotics. One veteranary website I found last night listed walnut as a mild toxin but generally only as mentioned for horses and is topical as opposed to an ingested toxin.

Anyway, a word to the wise.

**Cody Colston** · 06-29-2005, 01:41 PM

Dang, Jerry, that is scary. I'm glad to hear your younguns are okay now. You haven't PO'd any neighbors, have you? Sounds like your dogs got into more than a piece of scrap wood.

Cody

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

**rhull** · 06-29-2005, 01:53 PM

Yep - I don't let my dogs into the basement if I haven't cleaned up after turning. Something about the shavings - they love to eat 'em.

**Sawduster** · 06-29-2005, 03:08 PM

I been real good, ain't picked nothing with em, though the folks behind us seem to think the entire neighborhood needs to enjoy their music. I ain't even even cranked up no Willy Nelson for them to enjoy. Only thing I have done is to put the sprinkler hose down one side yard and give that neighbor some free water whilest I was watering a flower garden over there. He don't like to mow, so when he does he butchers it down to a burr cut, and then don't water so with the half way draugt we got goin, it's lookin like a fire hazard to me. I ain't even said nothin to p him off. Rest of the folks get along fine. They take care of there stuff.

I'd thought of that, but did find no signs outside anywhere. Heck, I don't run my power tools too early or too late, even wait till its too hot on Saturday morning before I crank up the mower. Didn't even go cuss out the pool contractor when they were getting a pool across the street and they blocked in half the neighborhood with their bobcat hauler. Heck, I been a model citizen.

**dcarter636** · 06-29-2005, 03:42 PM

Put out any snail poison in the flower beds lately? Dogs love that stuff like it's candy.

We had Golden Retriever who scarffed up a bunch of it once. Made him real sick, trembly and wobbly, he became the most expensive dog we ever had.

**Sawduster** · 06-29-2005, 04:45 PM

No, we lost a cat years ago to some poison bait for something or other and have not used any of that sort of stuff again. Use mechanical traps for mice and rats, the house gets stuff pumped into the outside walls in little tubes for insects, as well as a perimeter spray, but we've watered several times since that was done two or three weeks ago. I even looked for signs of bait traps or bait thinking maybe one of the neighbors may have put out something and didn't find anything like that. I've got some fertilizer/insecticide for spreader application in the shed, but it was all secure.

Gotta be either some plant in the yard, they're always eating the yard, or something in the shop. No caster beans or anything obvious like that, but a lot of house and garden plants have toxins also, some all the time, others only at certain times of the season. So they're getting supervised outside, and no shop time for them till I finish the walnut and clean up out there.

**grandpaw** · 06-29-2005, 07:54 PM

Jerry, you may be looking for the wrong thing! Have you noticed any extra beer cans laying around with teeth marks in the can? Just a thought.Untill you know the cause you can't rule out anything!

I decided years ago I was only going to have two types of days...
Very Good Days :) :) :) or just Plain Good Days :) :). I just refuse to have bad ones!!!

May you have at least a Good Day today,Jeff

**Breaddrink** · 06-29-2005, 08:11 PM

Ugh.

My dog Maggie became incredibly ill after chewing and eating some of a pot plant we kept in the room she sleeps in.

Just unbelievable what the wrong kind of plant to the wrong animal can do.

I literally found the entire room awash with her vomit...
I did the old trick of fasting them for a day, then only giving water, then small amounts of food until she was over it.

I hope yours recover quickly as she did.

Rob.

**Monty** · 06-30-2005, 06:52 AM

>My dog Maggie became incredibly ill after chewing and eating
>some of a pot plant we kept in the room she sleeps in.

You say she ate a POT plant Rob? Naaaa, I'll just let that one slide.

Monty

[http://woodenwonderstx.com/]
Be careful with that piece of wood. Do you think wood grows on trees?????????????