Inducing Your Dog to Vomit

My bedtime routine was interrupted last evening by having to search for how to induce vomiting in dogs.  While I knew that hydrogen peroxide was key, and needed a primer on how much.  My search was launched when Dexter jumped out of the bed and grabbed something that was crinkly and ran downstairs.  He had that quick trot that always alerts me that he has something that he considers a prize.  I lay in bed for a few moments.  I was ready to sleep, not chase him down.

But I heard the noise again and went down the steps.  He had a package of unidentified gum (in blister package).  I believe that it was Orbit, and it looked like it had gone through the wash. Likely it fell undetected beside the bed during laundry.  There were two loose pieces on the sofa and a hint of minty freshness on Dexter's breath.  I have no idea how many were in the blister package, but there were at least nine slots.  As it was a wash damaged packaged, I don't know what had fallen into the wash. I found these before from my son's pants that were not emptied.

Xylitol is highly toxic to dogs. It is a natural sweetener than when metabolized by dogs in a toxic dose can result in life threatening hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), liver necrosis/failure.  With the health stakes so high, I was not going to risk making an assumption about what he may or may not have ingested.

I located a syringe, hydrogen peroxide and squirted it in his mouth.  I took him outside to move around, and then brought him in.  He vomited fully in several places to include the arm of the sofa.  It was a welcome sight, and the armcover could be rinsed. I did not see any signs of gum in his vomit, but given that he had a full stomach, there was alot of volume.  He came to bed and all was well.

Now is a good time to check your medical supplies.  If you live in a skunky place, two 32 oz containers of hydrogen peroxide are useful.  It's great as a mouth rinse, laundry aid (HP + Dawn), and of course inducing vomiting.  Having some activated charcoal powder on hand is great too.  I'm 35 minutes away from an emergency vet. So being prepared is both life saving and money saving.