Ask the Veterinarian/dog poisoning

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Expert: - 1/2/2010


Question
My eight year old dog has been poisoned with carbamate, he has been treated by the vet with a drip,valium/injections and charcoal.  We got him to the vet within two hours.  Today is his 4th day of recovery but my concern is that he is very weak, he has head tremours and his tongue hangs will this go away and how long will these symptoms last.  Please advise if there is anything else I can do.  

Answer
I am sorry to hear that Shirley. Carbamate is a potent poison and in two hours he may have absorbed some of it. Have you contacted your vet about his condition now, 4 days later? I have not seen a dog still be that weak 4 days post treatment unless they actually absorbed some of the poison.

If I were you I would call the vet or the on call clinic and describe his condition to to them. I would think that he should be up and feeling better by now.

The symptoms you are describing are constant with exposure to organophosphates, and carbamate is one of them. The tremors may not go away, or the hanging tongue. The prognosis for a dog that shows symptoms is very guarded.

That is why I think you need to get this dog back to the vets asap.

Here is an article on the treatment of organophosphates:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1677+1684&aid=2250

It just says the same thing I did. I hope he recovers completely, but you need to call your vet as soon as you can.

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

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PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

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I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

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Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

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Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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