Veterinary Poisons Helpline

[MurphysMinder]

At our agility club Christmas meal last night we were discussing dogs eating things they shouldn't (typical doggy folk eh). A VN friend told us about the helpline and shared this info today, I thought it might be useful.
This is the Animal Poisons Line. It should be your first point of call if your dog eats something that you think could be toxic. It cost you £35. It will cost you more than that to see the vet and for them to phone the Poisons Line (which we do regularly & it costs us about £65). If you do phone it they open you up casefile and then if your vet has to also contact them you don’t get charged extra

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[BallyRoanBaubles]

I had no idea this was a thing thank you for sharing

 

[meleeka]

When I needed urgent advice I just phoned my vets. It didn’t cost me a penny. I guess for something out of the ordinary it would be useful.

 

[skinnydipper]

I see from one of their posts that there are problems with jerky treats again.

 

[Annette4]

I can 100% recommend! Fizz got hold of slug pellets at my brothers house, quick call for lots of reassurance that she will be fine. They did the maths, explained the toxicity levels etc.

 

[misst]

Thank you I knew about the human one but didn't know about the vet one!

 

[planete]

I became aware of them when one of my lurchers decided cherry laurel fruit made a nice snack. My vets had never met this problem before.

 

[Landcruiser]

When I needed urgent advice I just phoned my vets. It didn’t cost me a penny. I guess for something out of the ordinary it would be useful.

Exactly this. Vet is a also good first port of call as they know the toxicity levels of the most common things like chocolate and raisins, particularly at this time of year. If the ingestion has just happened, vomiting can be induced and happy days. HOWEVER, there are thousands of things pets can eat, including dozens of brands of chewing gum, some of which are harmless, some deadly, and vets can't know the majority so they have to use their own poisons line and pass on costs to owners. The Veterinary Poisons Line for the public is a great service particularly if ingestion was a little while ago. Even though it may be too late for emesis to help, pet may need other support or treatment and they can direct you accordingly.

 

[MurphysMinder]

Exactly this. Vet is a also good first port of call as they know the toxicity levels of the most common things like chocolate and raisins, particularly at this time of year. If the ingestion has just happened, vomiting can be induced and happy days. HOWEVER, there are thousands of things pets can eat, including dozens of brands of chewing gum, some of which are harmless, some deadly, and vets can't know the majority so they have to use their own poisons line and pass on costs to owners. The Veterinary Poisons Line for the public is a great service particularly if ingestion was a little while ago. Even though it may be too late for emesis to help, pet may need other support or treatment and they can direct you accordingly.

I wouldn't argue with this, and my vets are brilliant with over the phone advice on many things. However, dogs eating things they shouldn't invariably seem to happen out of hours , and I suspect the big ooh places would be reluctant to give free advice over the phone.
When one of my dogs ate a prascend tablet I took her straight to the vet and she was made to vomit immediately. However the vet had no idea what the effects of the table would be , I knew it might be pretty nasty having accidentally taken one myself once (don't ask) .

 

[meggymoo]

Thank you for that info. I have just put the number in my phone because I know I'll never find it again when I next need it - which I inevitably will!

When our Lab ate a tube of iron cleaner (stop laughing - I can hear you!), the vets rang the poisons line for us and charged us over £100 for doing so. (And that was about 5 years ago) Apparently there was nothing too harmful in it, we were just warned that he may froth at the mouth a little.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Handy, but I'd be dropping everything and speeding to the vet.

 

[skinnydipper]

...

 

[splashgirl45]

I thought one of mine had eaten one of my blood thinner tablets as I dropped it on the floor and couldn’t find it, first port of call was my vet who gave me the poison phone no as he wasn’t sure of the effects and it is cheaper to phone them direct, they were very helpful and although it cost me I was happy to pay, at least until I finally found the tablet under the fridge . I had already arranged to take my dog in to the vet for all night supervision as per the poison line recommendation and cancelled that so at least that money was saved…

 

[meggymoo]

Handy, but I'd be dropping everything and speeding to the vet.

Well yes, I would be heading to the vets at the same time as making the call as we are half hour away from the nearest one. Easy enough to turn round and go home if the poisons line confirmed it wasn't necessary to visit vet, but vital time saved if it was necessary.