If your dog has eaten a cough drop, check the label to see if it contains any harmful ingredients like xylitol. Contact your veterinarian immediately to determine if any medical attention is needed. It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your pet’s health.
Everyone is bound to get ill and carry a throat syrup in their home. If you suddenly see your dog ate a cough drop and notice a sweetened ingredient in this syrup, your pet might be in danger.
Follow the advice of our specialist vet to take care of your furry friend. In this guide, you will also learn some actionable steps which should be taken to help your dog in this situation.
A Quick Advice from our Expert Vet
Your dog may face low blood pressure after licking some drops of cough syrup. Although it is not risky for your puppy’s health but if the cough drops contain Xylitol or a similar substance, then you should be more watchful.
Before straightaway running to the vet’s clinic, you have to investigate the syrup ingredients and your puppy’s condition. If your dog is vomiting without any break or the syrup contains toxic menthol then you should immediately approach your nearest animal poison control center.
Is a Cough Drop Safe for My Pet?
The first thing that comes into a pet owner’s mind is whether your dog ate cough drop, and if it happens then is it safe? You must instantly react to this situation if the cough drop contains animal poison or any other harmful substances.
Most cough drops comprised sweetened substances and different flavors for taste. Sometimes these artificial ingredients are more dangerous than the original drops and cause some serious damage to your furry friend. The dogs’ cough drops never contain these ingredients because such sweet elements are the main reasons for toxicity.
Therefore, it is important to read the description carefully and include substances in the cough drops. If you think my dog ate hall cough drops, you must know that it contains toxic chemicals that may cause liver failure or even lead to death. Similarly, if your dog eats cough drops and you check the ingredients first but never find any poisoning element, you should be less concerned about this situation.
Common Ingredients in a Cough Drop
Some ingredients of a cough drop may have a serious effect on your pet. You must investigate its substances if your dog ate a cough drop. Some toxic elements may cause dog seizures or some other grave illnesses. Your dog might start misbehaving and can prove dangerous for themselves and their surroundings. So, let’s figure out these ingredients in a cough drop:
- Xylitol – It is the most common alcohol in most cough drops. The sweetened part of this medicine is quite a damaging substance for your puppy. If you see your dog ate a cough drop with Xylitol, you must take your pet to a poison control center for better treatment.
- Menthol – Menthol is also found in most cough drops and has proven to be fatal for dogs. It can also damage most dog breeds, including wired haired dogs but most adult dogs are safe from this toxic element.
- Benzocaine – This substance is less common in most throat medicines and will not cause your puppy any serious damage. You may find your pet vomiting after eating this ingredient or feeling pain in their tummy.
- Choking Hazard – If your dog eats the entire cough drop, it may cause choking in your pup. This problem has been found mostly in tiny dogs.
- Sugar – Sugar is always proven as a dangerous ingredient for most dog breeds. Diabetes in dogs will also lead to liver failures and seizures. Therefore, you only take less stress on sugar free cough drops.
- Eucalyptus Oil – If your puppy inhales Eucalyptus oil or other oily stuff, it is also not good for them. So, you have to avoid cough drops having these substances.
The Best DIY Actions a Dog Owner should Take – Three Easy Ways to Go
Of course, you can’t do much about it if your dog ate halls cough drop, but there are some necessary actions on some lighter cough syrups. If you think that my dog ate Ricola cough drops or my puppy ate a cough drop having a sweetened part in it, then learn the following actionable steps to help your furry friend and avoid any poisoning situation in your pup:
1. Collect all the Necessary Information
When dealing with this type of affair, you must gather all the information about this situation. You have to check how much your pup ate the cough syrup. Suppose your dog eats a few drops of coup or ingests the whole syrup. Further, you should also investigate the substances in the particular cough syrup; if it includes any sweetened element, then your pup might be in danger. It is necessary to gather all the necessary data before moving to the vet.
2. Monitor your Pet’s Condition
Further, you have to analyze the condition of your dog. If you notice some serious symptoms, you should immediately take your puppy to the animal poison control center. Still, there is a possibility that you may regulate all the dangerous affairs or behavior of your furry friend with your actions. However, you need to monitor your dog’s health very closely.
3. When to Approach a Vet
You must know when you should take your puppy to a veterinarian center. Of course, you can’t prolong this condition of your dog, so you have to decide on this point as well quickly. In simple rules, if you think you can’t handle the situation, for instance, if you see some seizure attacks or any other hazardous situation, you should immediately approach your dog’s vet for better care and treatment.
Should I Approach a Professional Vet?
Well, it’s not a good practice to immediately approach a professional vet on every incident. You must investigate the ingredients of the halls cough drop. Moreover, you should also analyze your pet’s condition before taking him to the animal poison control health center.
It would help if you took your dog to the veterinarian for assistance only when you can’t handle the situation or your pet is in serious health. Further, you have to inform all the pre-necessary information to the vet to figure out the right treatment for your dog.
Suppose you notice continuous vomiting, dry mouth, lethargy, or other dangerous symptoms. In that case, any professional vet might keep your pet in an emergency clinic for some days. As a pet owner, it’s also your responsibility to follow any medicated schedule suggested by the vet to care for your pet.
How to Avoid Such Future Incidents
To help prevent your furry friend from similar future incidents, you must keep the cough syrups out of your dog’s reach. You can preserve this corn syrup in sealed bags and in a safer place where your puppy can’t feast on it in any case.
The finished bottles also contain cough drops, so you must wrap them and through them in a tightly closed trash can or at least out of your living space. If you notice any cough drops on your floor surface, you should instantly remove them with an effective cleaning procedure.
Moreover, you must hold contact with your nearest animal toxic control center. You can take a piece of advice from your vet in such circumstances.
Our Thoughts about Dog Ate a Cough Drop
Most dog breeds love the sweet smell of cough drops. So, if your puppy ingests dogs cough, now you have to closely monitor the behavior and health of your furry dog. The ingredients in human cough can be dangerous or may cause some serious damage to your puppy’s health. If you notice your dog ate these cough drops, you must immediately take them to the poison control clinic.
You must check the substances used in that particular cough drop. It can be proven harmful to your puppy if it contains Xylitol or any other similar sweetened ingredient. There are some DIY actions that you need to take in this scenario for the protection of your puppy and avoid future incidents.
FAQs: Frequently Asked Qeustions
What should I do if my dog eats cough drops?
Contact your veterinarian immediately to determine if any medical attention is needed.
What happens if a dog eats a menthol cough drop?
Menthol can cause digestive upset, vomiting, and diarrhea in dogs.
Are cough drops poisonous?
Cough drops can be poisonous to dogs if they contain harmful ingredients like xylitol, so it’s important to check the label and contact your veterinarian if your dog has ingested one.
Will one cough drop hurt a dog?
Most cough drops will not hurt dogs. You might not see any danger signs in your pet, but if your dog takes a cough drop with Xylitol substance, it will poison your puppy. You might see a sudden change in the behavior of your puppy.
Are halls soothers poisonous to dogs?
As the hall soothers never contain toxic in it. If you see your puppy eat this ingredient, you should not worry much about it. Moreover, you must closely observe your dog’s condition for the next 24 hours and approach your vet if found any dangerous symptoms.
Can dogs have cough drops?
You must protect all the human cough drops from your puppy. Artificial sweeteners contain toxic dog ingredients, which should be avoided for better pet care.
Are Ricola cough drops harmful to dogs?
The good news is that there is no poisoning material in Ricola cough drops. Therefore, if your pet accidentally experiences this cough, it will never harm your dog.
What cough drops have xylitol?
The Xylitol cough drops contain sweetened substances, which surely poison most dog breeds. If you notice your pet taking this poisoned cough drop, you must immediately take your puppy to a professional vet.
Is menthol toxic to dogs?
The toxic menthol dose is quite dangerous for dogs. It spreads into their lungs and can cause sudden death. Therefore, if you think your dog ate menthol cough drop; you have to approach your nearest veterinary clinic for quick treatment.