Most birth control pills have a low concentration of hormones, so if your pet were to ingest even a whole packet of pills, it will just lead to stomach upset such as mild vomiting, and possibly diarrhea.
What happens if a dog eats a pill?
There’s nothing much that will happen if your dog eats a birth control pill. Such pills have a low hormone concentration. Thus, your pet should be alright even if it ingested a whole pack.
The only worry about this would be if your pet also ate the packaging, usually a plastic bottle. If your pet only ate the pills, it shouldn’t cause any problem.
Of course, eating many birth control pills also comes with some effects on our pets. Still, it’s not that grave that you would worry about it.
The worst thing that can happen is that your dog would suffer from digestive issues such as an upset stomach, diarrhea, or mild vomiting. Other than that, your pet should be alright.
Will birth control pills hurt a dog?
As I said, most birth control pills have a low hormone concentration. Thus, it shouldn’t cause any problem if your pet ate it, even in large amounts.
Of course, it will still depend on how tolerant your pet is during these kinds of circumstances.
While some pets would be alright, some would experience some small issues after ingestion. Among the complications would be mild vomiting, an upset stomach, and diarrhea.
Other than that, your pet should be alright. Still, it would be best to keep an eye on your pet, especially on the days following the incident.
What Should You Do If Your Dog Ate Birth Control Pills?
The toxicity of birth control pills depends on their ingredients, on the amount your dog ate, and on their size.
If you catch your dog eating birth control pills, use the “leave it” command to make them spit those that are still in their mouth and quickly remove the others.
Often enough, it will be too late to intervene to stop your dog. When all is done and your dog has had the time to go through the whole packet as they please, count how many pills are missing from the packet.
Soon after, check the levels of estrogen for each tablet to make an estimate of how much your dog ingested.
Birth control pills usually come in packets of 28 pills, 7 of which are placebo pills.
The 7 placebo pills are usually just sugar pills, so keep this in mind when you count the missing tablets because the situation may not be as dangerous as it seems.
With the number of pills eaten in mind and the packet in your hand, call the veterinarian and ask for advice.
If the situation doesn’t seem too serious and the pills do not contain more dangerous ingredients, it might be manageable from home.
Please note that even if your dog ingested just a handful of pills and is not showing symptoms, bringing them to the vet for a medical check-up is always recommended because these pills may have unpredictable side effects on dogs.
Within 2 hours from ingestion, your veterinarian may suggest inducing vomiting to get the pills out.
Pet medical expenses can be costly, but if you can it would be better to have this procedure carried out by an expert because inducing vomiting in dogs could have nasty side effects.