What happens when a dog eats cedar?
White cedar poisoning affects a dog’s digestive and nervous systems. He may experience vomiting, bloody diarrhea or constipation. Neurological symptoms include weakness, trembling, partial paralysis and collapse. Severe poisoning causes coma and respiratory failure.
Cedar can be harmful for some dogs. Not only can the oils cause skin allergies, but in rare cases the wood oils can cause respiratory infections. This can be even more problematic if your dog is a chewer and decides to gnaw on his dog house. Owners should also not overlook the fact that cedar may be treated.
Is Cedar Wood toxic for dogs?
Either direct contact with cedar or inhalation of the aromas from cedar can make your dog ill if he is sensitive to it. Cedar chips and shavings are used by many owners as bedding in crates and in dog houses. Dogs can also be exposed to the aroma from the shavings through the use of a dog bed filled with cedar chips.
White cedar poisoning affects a dogs digestive and nervous systems. He may experience vomiting, bloody diarrhea or constipation. Neurological symptoms include weakness, trembling, partial paralysis and collapse. Severe poisoning causes coma and respiratory failure. Unless treated, dogs ingesting lethal doses of white cedar toxins usually die within two days after their symptoms surface.
If you find your dog nibbling on any part of the white cedar tree or showing symptoms of white cedar poisoning, get him to a veterinarian immediately. Treatments may include induced vomiting, pumping his stomach to remove the berries or other plant debris, giving him activated charcoal to absorb the toxins, or IV fluids to maintain his fluids and prevent kidney failure.
Researchers have speculated that Fidos wild ancestors consumed plants to clear parasites from their intestinal tracts. Even if parasite-free, modern dogs may be genetically wired to do the same.
If your pet is determined to include vegetation in his diet, your only options are to keep your white cedar off limits to him or remove it from your yard. Focused training may work well for some dogs. For others, exclusionary tactics may be necessary to keep your dog from eating materials of white cedar origin.
White cedar contains limonids classified as meliatoxins. Theyre most concentrated in the berries, but dogs can also ingest them by chewing the bark, leaves or flowers. The tree also contains a toxic alkaloid, three toxic resins and two toxic acids. These combined compounds add up to a very dangerous mouthful for your pet, causing symptoms anywhere from one hour to two days after he consumes them. Unless you get immediate help, he may go downhill rapidly. The good news is that white cedar berries are so bitter that most animals avoid them. The bad news is that eating just five or six of them has been fatal for small dogs.
How to Stop Dogs From Chewing Wood : Pet Behavior
Dogs love to chew, and for the most part, pet parents love it too! Chewing is a natural action for dogs. It helps keep their teeth clean and gums healthy and can also be a satisfying activity that keeps your dog calm and engaged.
But chewing the wrong objects can be harmful to your pup, leading to fractured teeth, lacerated gums, constipation or blockages in the intestinal tract that require surgery. Not only are these conditions uncomfortable (or downright painful), but they can also result in a large vet bill.
Dogs like to chew. Often they chew for fun or stimulation. Chewing can help keep your dog’s jaw strong and even clean their teeth (depending on what they’re chewing).
For puppies, chewing can be a way to relieve the discomfort of incoming teeth (much like it is for infants). Puppies have a reputation for chewing on everything, from newspapers to shoes, but should be carefully monitored and redirected to safer items. If your puppy needs something to chew, you can give them Kong toys, teething sticks, or dental chews as a safer option.
Sometimes, adult dogs chew things they shouldn’t too. Often this is behavior you can gently correct by providing safe alternatives and “puppy-proofing” your home (which you can do for your adult dog too!). Try keeping anything your dog might chew out of reach. If they are chewing on furniture, you may consider seeking help from a trainer to help them re-learn better behaviors. If you notice that they are chewing on themselves (paws, legs, belly, or tail), it could be a sign of a skin condition, and you should call your vet.
The following items may seem innocent, but may ultimately cause your dog (and your budget) harm.
Hoping to snag a fallen icy treat, many dogs come running at the sound of the refrigerator ice machine. But chewing on ice wears down tooth enamel (the protective cover for teeth). Ice cubes are even more dangerous for small dogs because they can choke on them or can fracture a tooth3.
Playing fetch is probably one of the most iconic activities you can do with your dogs outside. Many dog owners throw sticks for their dogs to play fetch with at the park or on walks. The problem with throwing sticks or wood is that many dogs will start using them as toys and many dogs will begin chewing on the stick. Wood splinters easily when chewed on and shards can jam into the dog’s mouth causing an infection. Also, if pieces of wood are swallowed, it can cause intestinal blockage.
Sticks can create very real and painful injuries. Once they splinter, sticks can puncture a dog’s mouth, eyes, throat, abdomen or even heart. They can get lodged in the throat, causing your dog to choke, or get stuck in the digestive tract, creating intestinal blockages.2
Dogs often utilize rocks as play objects when they’re bored. Additionally, if a rock has food particles on it (for example, rocks near your grill) dogs may try to swallow the rock, thinking it is food. Rocks can cause your dog to choke, or result in an intestinal blockage that requires surgery to fix.
Bones, hooves and antlers are often given to dogs by owners who think chewing on them is natural for dogs due to their wolfen predecessors. However, when domestic dogs chew the bones down into smaller sizes, they can be accidentally swallowed. If this happens, the bone can become lodged in the intestines.
Bones, hooves and antlers can also splinter, resulting in fragments wedged in the mouth, throat, or intestines that require an emergency visit to remove. Additionally, they can wear down the enamel of the teeth, causing tooth fractures, broken teeth, and gum infections1.
Some dogs love gnawing on water bottles, but water bottles aren’t safe for chewing. The cap of the water bottle can come off and the dog can swallow it. Also, dogs can tear off pieces of the plastic, resulting in sharp, rough edges. Your dog may try to swallow these sharp pieces and/or cut their gums chewing on the newly exposed rough edges.
While rawhide and beef hide are intended to be gnawed on, once they get soggy, you should really take them away, according to Dr. Fiona Caldwell, a veterinarian at Idaho Veterinary Hospital. She explains that it’s not safe for dogs to swallow rawhides or eat them quickly because they can cause broken teeth, vomiting, and stomach and GI problems. In some cases, they can also cause choking2.
So, if your dog is a gentle chewer and will just sort of gnaw on the rawhide, let them do so until the rawhide is soggy. If you think your dog may try to eat them, swallow them whole, or just generally chomp them down, you’ll want to avoid them.
Tennis balls may seem bright, fuzzy, and generally harmless, but they pose a number of safety risks for your pup. That fuzz can work like sandpaper on your dog’s tooth enamel, grinding it down and away. When swallowed, the fuzz can create blockages in the intestines.
Tennis balls are also coated in dye and unknown chemicals that aren’t great for your dog’s health. Ultimately though, what makes tennis balls dangerous is that your dog can break them into pieces and swallow the parts, creating a choking hazard and possible intestinal blockages.
There’s a huge variety of hard objects your dog may find and chew, from black walnut shells to compressed plastic to golf balls. Chewing on anything that’s too hard can create dental problems, including fractured, broken, or chipped teeth and bloody or infected gums. If you notice your dog chewing on something very hard, it’s best to take it away. This is especially true if the object is small enough for them to swallow.