Be careful what your dog gets into...

[stevecamper]

We had a scare last week with our dog getting a bout of Pancreatitis after a weekend of camping in Southern Wisconsion. He was at the vet for 3 days and was really sick. The only thing we and the vet could come up with that caused it was him getting into something at the campsite. We do tend to leave them outside on their leashes while we are inside the camper. And I did remember him digging and licking something under the picnic table. We figure there must have been some spoiled food from a previous camper. Poor guy, he was so sick!

[Stefrobrts]

When I was a teenager we lost our boxer dog to chronic pancreatitis - the vet called it 'garbage gut'. Dogs get into everything, and I know mine eat first and ask questions later. I can't imagine leaving them out on leashes, they get into so much trouble - I can barely leave mine unsupervised in the yard! Glad to hear yours only had a mild case of it Lord only knows what a dog could find half burried under a picnic table...EWWWWWW!

[driftwood]

FYI ...

Over the weekend the doting owner of two young lab mixes purchased Cocoa Mulch from Target to use in their garden. They loved the way it smelled and it was advertised to keep cats away from their garden. Their dog Calypso, decided that the mulch smelled good enough to eat and devoured a large helping. She vomited a few times which was typical when she eats something new but wasn't acting lethargic in any way. The next day, Mom woke up and took Calypso out for her morning walk. Half way through the walk, she had a seizure and died instantly.

Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further investigation on the company? s website, this product is HIGHLY toxic to dogs.

Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey's, and they claim that "It is true that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog). However, 98% of all dogs won't eat it."

Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman's Garden Supply and other Garden supply stores, contains a lethal ingredient called "Theobromine".

It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already occurred in the last 2-3 weeks. Just a word of caution ? check what you are using in your gardens and be aware of what your gardeners are using in your gardens.

Theobromine is the ingredient that is used to make all chocolate ? especially dark or baker's chocolate ? which is toxic to dogs.

Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline. A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.

[azflycaster]

Here is a link to plants that can kill your dog. We almost lost out Yellow Lab (Gracie) to a Sago Palm. I never saw anything throw up that much. She was at the vets for 3 days and alot of $$$$.
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer...cc_toxicplants

[LLB21]

We had a small dog once. He was very sick with pancreatitis. He ended up on an IV and in intensive care.

The vet said he sees it all of the time after Thanksgiving. Turkey is very fatty for dogs.

Since then no Turkey for the dogs.

[yukionna]

This thread is very informative. Thanks for all the helpful information. I knew about the chocoloate toxity element but who would have thought mulch was toxic?!

[Happycampers]

Hello everyone... Our Toby had a mild case of pancreatitis and the only thing the vet and us could put it down to was his Heartworm med.. vet said the flavoring the medication is put in does cause some problems with some dogs.. our dogs do not eat human food and we are very fussy about what we feed them... So we will have to try something else for the heartworm.. Toby is better thank heavens... Annie