DocRafiki, your professional opinion, please.

[JerseyJanice]

Can an 85 pound mutt get truly ill from eating a glob of toothpaste?

Say you knew your dog did that and then acted like he had an upset stomache that day. Woudl you think it was the toothpaste? Or something else that that silly mutt was always trying to ingest? Like rocks or Legos or other plastic toys?

What I'm concerned about is the flouride. I know it can be very toxic to human children.

 

[DocRafiki]

Gosh, I'm on the spot.

I have never actually seen a dog who has eaten toothpaste, but I always assumed it would make them vomit and that would be that.

I usually call a poison control center when faced with a possible toxin ingestion other than what I commonly see. The ASPCA animal poison control hotline takes calls from owners 24 hrs a day at 1-888-426-4435 if you're worried.

To give you a direct answer, I'd probably give my pup some GI protectants for a day and then really work it up if he were still sick the next day. Of course, I'm a worry wart AND I get labwork pretty cheap, so take that into consideration.

 

[JerseyJanice]

He seems a lot better today than yesterday, which was the day he ate the toothpaste.

I'd just gotten out of the shower and was getting ready to brush my teeth. The phone rang, and I grabbed it. I didn't have my glasses on and didn't notice the pup licking my toothbrush until after the fact.

I looked all over my bedroom for the missing glob of toothpaste after I noticed it was gone. All I saw was one big mutt licking his lips.

Honestly, this dog drives me crazy with what he's willing to consume. He's a smart dog in other aspects, I have no doubt. He's been a pleasure to train; we've got him doing all kinds of tricks. But he won't keep his jaws to himself! He has to be eating or biting or gnawing at something all the time.

Fyi, doc, his mother is a labrador retriever; his father, a rottweiler mixed with who knows what. I assume the mouthiness is due to the lab in him.

 

[DocRafiki]

I feel your pain. My boxer had diarrhea for the first 6 months that I had him. You just can't stop it if they're going to pick up everything they find outside. I recently found a 6" knotted rope in poop when I was cleaning up the yard. SO glad I didn't know about that one until it came out!

 

[Kermit]

I have a mutt that has a lot of Lab in him (the other part is Cocker Spaniel), and he eats everything, too. I wonder if it's partialy the breed. Like Doc Rafiki, we had a horrible time trying to keep him from eating things when he was a puppy. He actually threw up a pair of my underware once.

 

[Cindy B]

Intersting. My Lab doesnt eat everything, its my poodle! My poodle has eaten all kinds of junk!

 

[Serena]

Janice, I hope your baby is feeling better today.