The Best Veterinary in Simi Valley to Treat Dogs with Bleach Poisoning

Bleach is used in a variety of ways around the home, and you probably don’t think twice about using it. People have been more intentional about disinfecting their homes regularly and extensively since the coronavirus outbreak hit.

Dogs can be poisoned by bleach. The danger level is determined by the product’s concentration and how your dog comes into contact with it. In this post, we’ll go through the ways bleach can get into your dog’s system, symptoms of bleach poisoning in dogs, and what you should do if you believe your beloved dog has been poisoned by bleach products.

How can bleach get into your dog’s system?

While it may seem unlikely that your dog would be lured to a cleaning product, there are a number of ways your dog could ingest bleach:

• Playful Pups: Some dogs enjoy playing with empty cartons of milk or plastic water bottles as a toy. A bottle of a bleach-containing substance might easily be mistaken for a play toy, especially if it’s brightly colored! Dogs use their mouths to explore, which can result in ruptured bottles and bleach ingestion.
• Fragrance: Some cleaning products are made to make our homes smell very good, and that fragrance may very well appeal to your pet. When you clean the floor with the bleach product and then your dog walks through the substance, it can cause skin problems, and they may also lick their paws to clean them and ingest the bleach.
• Bathwater: If you wonder if it’s okay to add a small amount of bleach to a pet’s bathwater, the answer is an emphatic no! There’s no need to use bleach when there are many pet-ideal shampoos available that destroy viruses without the harmful effects of bleach on skin. Contact with bleach products can harm your pet, something no pet parent wants. Despite misinformation on the internet, bleach should never be used to bathe, cure fleas, or treat parvovirus.

Symptoms of Bleach Poisoning in Dogs

Symptoms will vary based on the amount of bleach consumed and how concentrated the product ingested:  If your dog has diluted bleach it’s system, they may show these symptoms:

• Constant drooling
• Lack of appetite
• Lethargy
• Vomiting
• Clawing or pawing at their face or mouth
• Diarrhea
• Skin lesions around its mouth

More serious side effects, in addition to those described above, are possible if your dog has consumed a concentrated (over 10%) bleach product:

• Kidney damage
• Thirst, tremors and seizures
• Gastrointestinal tract ulceration
• Respiratory problems
• In severe cases, bleach ingestion can cause death

What to Do if Your Dog Ingests Bleach

Keep calm and move your dog away from the substance to prevent it from getting any more. To dilute the bleach, encourage your dog to drink some milk or water. Wash the product from its skin to ensure it doesn’t lick it off.

Next, call your vet or an emergency vet hotline. Provide the following information to a reputable veterinary clinic:

• What product has your dog consumed
• Approximately how much was ingested
• An estimate of the timeframe from ingestion to discovery of problem
• The method of ingestion i.e. by skin or mouth
• An estimate of your dog’s weight
• Any preexisting medical conditions your dog currently has

A veterinarian should examine your dog, in which case, you should also bring the container of the bleach product with you to your visit.

Dr. Ron’s Animal Hospital is Here for You

If your dog ingested bleach, he or she will most likely recover completely. This is due to the fact that a dog consuming a considerable amount of concentrated bleach is uncommon. As a result, the majority of instances are minor.

However, if your dog ingests even a small amount of concentrated bleach, it is a medical emergency, and you should contact your veterinarian immediately.

For almost two decades, Dr. Ron’s Animal Hospital has been delivering superior pet care in Simi Valley. We are a full-service veterinary hospital, and our primary focus is to keep your pet in its healthiest state with preventative exams and low-cost immunizations, as well as spay and neutering, and dental services.

We have a brand new, cutting-edge facility with the best in-house digital radiography and laboratory. During the day, we provide routine treatment, and after hours, we provide emergency care. Call us right away if you suspect your pet has come in contact with bleach or if they are showing signs of bleach poisoning!

posted on May 30, 2022 at 7:31 pm by Doctor Ron