Our Dog Ate a Whole Bag of Rat Poison. Any Hope He'll Be OK?

Dogs Forum
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Just yesterday we received a package with 16 oz of Tomcat bromethalin rat poison to winterize our camper. My husband placed it on a high shelf in the garage. The package was still unopened. Somehow, it either fell off the shelf or our 2-year-old golden retriever knocked it down. He ended up eating 14 out of the 16 green blocks inside. We found the empty bag on our deck around 6 pm, though it could have happened earlier in the day. He didn’t seem sick, but my husband rushed him to the emergency vet immediately.

Has anyone gone through something similar and had a positive outcome? We are terrified.

UPDATE 1: The vet gave him a shot to make him vomit, and he brought a lot of it up.

UPDATE 2: They’re keeping him at the vet for 48 hours, giving him multiple rounds of charcoal.

UPDATE 3: The vet says it doesn’t look good, but they’re doing everything they can. We had to pay a $4,000 deposit. Our hearts are breaking as we hope for a miracle.

UPDATE 4: Praying for him. Here’s a picture of him waiting for his next treatment: IMG-5113 hosted at ImgBB — ImgBB

UPDATE 5: Here’s another photo: IMG-5112 hosted at ImgBB — ImgBB. Saying goodbye for the night and hoping it’s not forever.

UPDATE 6: Still no symptoms as of 11:38 pm. Maybe there’s hope if he ate the poison close to when we found the bag and didn’t have it in his stomach for long. Trying to get an update on his status this morning.

UPDATE 7: Vet says he’s resting and being a “good boy.” No symptoms yet as of 6:30 am.

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Our neighbor’s dog got into rat poison once. Turns out she was pregnant and had three puppies at the time, which all got into the poison too. The vet bill was insane, but somehow, they all made it. My neighbor was furious but relieved.

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@Perrin
Wow, that must have been so stressful and costly! I would’ve been upset too, but thank goodness they were okay.

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@Dalen
I remember my boss’s Chihuahua got into some poison once. The vet had her give him a spoonful of peroxide to make him vomit right away, and he ended up okay. The little guy just celebrated his 17th birthday!

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@Remy
That reminds me of a story I read where they used mustard to make the dog throw up rat poison. Mustard’s a good old remedy!

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Koa said:
@Remy
That reminds me of a story I read where they used mustard to make the dog throw up rat poison. Mustard’s a good old remedy!

I thought about that every time my dog got into something weird.

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Koa said:
@Remy
That reminds me of a story I read where they used mustard to make the dog throw up rat poison. Mustard’s a good old remedy!

It’s definitely an interesting option. Might be better than peroxide in some cases.

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@Dalen
Thank you for the encouragement. The hardest part is not knowing when he ate it. I’m feeling so guilty.

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@Dalen
He’s around 76 pounds. The vet said he threw up a lot of it. Now we’re just waiting.

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@Dalen
I keep reading stories about dogs who ate one or two cubes. Mine ate nearly the whole bag, so I’m really scared.

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Lane said:
@Dalen
I keep reading stories about dogs who ate one or two cubes. Mine ate nearly the whole bag, so I’m really scared.

Try to distract yourself if you can. I know it sounds odd, but playing Tetris can help when you’re overwhelmed. I hope your boy pulls through.

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If the vet can pump his stomach fast enough, he might recover, but there’s a chance he could have some lasting effects since rat poison is a neurotoxin. Please consider avoiding poison in the future. It doesn’t just kill rats but can harm animals that might eat them afterward.

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@Vann
Exactly, this is one of the reasons why rat poison can be so harmful. It doesn’t just affect the rats.

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Uma said:
@Vann
Exactly, this is one of the reasons why rat poison can be so harmful. It doesn’t just affect the rats.

It’s cruel, and snap traps are more humane and don’t risk other animals. Poison’s effect can reach so many creatures unintentionally.

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@Vann
My favorite method is the big bucket trap. You bait it, and the rats fall in but are alive. We used to take them out to the woods and release them. If we’d had more trouble, we would’ve called in a terrier. Those dogs are great for handling rats.

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@Uma
Sounds a bit like the terrier patrols they used to have in some places to keep rats down.

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@Uma
My dad used poison once, and the rats ended up drinking from his pressure washer tank. They were so desperate for water from internal bleeding. It was rough to watch.

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@Vann
It’s frustrating because of how much harm rat poison can do to ecosystems. I wish people would research more before choosing poison, especially with pets around.

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@Vann
There’s a rodent birth control method now. It helps control population without hurting other animals.

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Joss said:
@Vann
There’s a rodent birth control method now. It helps control population without hurting other animals.

That sounds promising, as long as it doesn’t harm other species.