Keep the trash safe from your nosy pets! In addition to the obvious dangers of cleaning product poisons or choking hazards, the bacteria and molds found in rotting foods can seriously endanger your furry friends . . . they can't distinguish between spoiled and fresh yums!
The millions of bacteria found in your old take-out or spoiled meat can lead to food poisoning and inflammation or bloating of the intestinal tract and abdomen (bacterial enteritis). What's more other foods like cheese, nuts, and pasta are ripe environments for a variety of molds that can produce the scary-sounding tremorgenic mycotoxins, substances that cause symptoms similar to snail bait or strychnine poisoning. If your pup has ingested these metabolites, look out for muscle tremors, spasms, seizures, and elevated temperature – it can require overnight hospital care so bring a pet to a vet if you suspect it!
Even if your trash is safely contained, learn one more risky spot pets can find these threats when you read more.
The fungi, molds, and bacteria that grow in garbage and compost can also be found in weathering fruit on the ground – so if you've got a fruit-baring tree nearby, don't let your pets eat the fallen fruit!
Velvet
D&G
Just Cavalli
good tips, thanks. sometimes when I'm walking my dog, he'll start eating something strange out of a neighbor's yard -- one lady puts bread out, I guess for birds or squirrels, and the dog makes a bee-line for it. I'll have to be more careful.
1This happened to us. Our 2 yr old Rottweiler got into the trash right after I'd cleaned out our produce drawer. She ended up in the vet ER, completely listless, unresponsive, and frothing at the mouth. A couple days (and $1000) later, she was healthy again. Talk about a horrible experience. We had no clue what happened and we honestly thought we were going to lose her.
2danielle that is terrible! I'm glad she ended up OK.
3Watch out for onions! My friend's dog was hospitalized for several days after digging onions out of the trash.
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