My poor doggy ate a hand warmer! What to do?

[kkmcan]

Last night we went to a local neighborhood that has a long standing tradition of putting up incredible light displays. You walk through and it was cold so we took some of those hand warmers that you open and expose to air and then they heat up. Apparently my golden retriever found one of the floor this morning and ate the granule contents.

She has thrown up 4 times today this awful black tar stuff. I hope she's gotten all of it out of her system. I don't know what else to do for her. She hasn't eaten her dinner today. I know her tummy must feel so terrible.

Is there anything else I should do for her??

 

[stinkerbelle7531]

Last night we went to a local neighborhood that has a long standing tradition of putting up incredible light displays. You walk through and it was cold so we took some of those hand warmers that you open and expose to air and then they heat up. Apparently my golden retriever found one of the floor this morning and ate the granule contents.

She has thrown up 4 times today this awful black tar stuff. I hope she's gotten all of it out of her system. I don't know what else to do for her. She hasn't eaten her dinner today. I know her tummy must feel so terrible.

Is there anything else I should do for her??

I'd call poison control immediately. I think that I would have had mine at the vet as soon I realized. I hope she does ok.

 

[MyManGoofy!]

Call the vet. Now. That stuff is probably toxic.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

A lot of people who recently posted on the poison control thread said they called for things their pets had ingested. I would call them right now!!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Call poison control or the vet.

 

[luvmy3]

Hope your dog is okay

 

[sunnyday123]

hope you called the vet by now.....if your child had eaten something like that, would've called the vet-same difference.

 

[kkmcan]

I called the vet. They of course are closed but they left an emergency number. I called that and spoke to a nurse. Told her the situation. She then spoke to the doctor who said they couldn't help me because when I told her the ingredients listed on the package they didn't know what vermiculite was. I don't know what it is either.

She gave me the number to ASPCA poison control but they charge $60 before you can talk to someone!

I think my dog is done throwing up. She is acting like her usual self. Playing with her ball, sleeping at my feet etc.

I was reading on another website that one warmer ingested shouldn't do any damage. If it had been an entire package of hand warmers that would be a different story.

For now, I'm just going to watch her.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Vermiculite is a natural mineral that conducts heat. Its also commonly found in potting soil and is used for glass and bead making. It has been found to contain asbestos in the past but I think they keep a close eye on that now.

 

[kkmcan]

Thanks Obi for the info. I did just do some research online on vermiculite. It doesn't seem to be toxic at least with the amount my dog ate. Maybe in large quantities it could be very dangerous.

 

[MM27]

Is there a number on the hand warmers themselves? I'd call the company and ask them if they know what to do or if they are in fact toxic. I agree with a pp, do what you would have done if it were a child that injested it.
Hope your pup is okay!!