Symptoms of Rat Poisoning in Dogs

Rat poison is a killer and it will kill your dog if he doesn't receive proper treatment immediately. The substance most commonly used is called Cumarin which stops the blood from clotting causing the poisoned animal to bleed to death. The main substance can be combined with Bromethalin which paralyzes the animals heart and lungs.

Due to the fact that rats are extremely intelligent the developers of rat poison made sure that the effects don't show up at once which would mean that the rats would see one of their kind die after ingesting some poisoned food. This would, of course scare the others and they would avoid eating the poison.

This means that our dogs show initial symptoms of rat poisoning not sooner than 48 hours after picking it up. Depending on the kind of poison this may be as late as three to five (!) days after consumption. Most dog owners will have forgotten that their dog picked something up - if we did notice it at all!

Here are the symptoms which put you on red alert:

• bleeding from minor wounds


• nose bleeding


• foamy vomiting


• diarrhea containing blood


• increased amounts of saliva


• decreased body temperature


• pale gums and pale lining of the eyes


• restlessness


• breathing problems


• shivering, shaking


• weakness


• cramps


• breaking down

These symptoms are indicative of the fact that the dog's internal organs have been affected and that he is suffering from internal bleeding which will kill him if he does not get help quick.

If any of these symptoms show up in your dog you need to rush him to the vet's at once. Please collect some of the motions and of the vomit and take them along with you so that the vet can inspect them and reach his diagnosis quickly.

Do not force your dog to drink any water but don't stop him if he wants to drink. Don't tie his jaws together or muzzle him.

There is another kind of poison being used on rats called Thallium. This is illegal in the EU but still available. Please check the regulations in your own country to be on the safe side.

The symptoms of Thallium poisoning show up very late and they are:

• losing lots of fur in tufts


• diarrhea


• skin rash

Because these symptoms are not very specific it is extremely difficult to suspect that the dog has been poisoned. Therefore taking the diarrhea along to the vet is of utmost importance.

The vet will most likely give him something to make him vomit and treat him with vitamin k to stop the internal bleeding.

Because time is such a crucial factor when it comes to save a poisoned dog it might be a good idea to print this list out and stick it to a door somewhere or maybe even learn the list by heart so you can point out the symptoms to fellow dog owners.