The following is new information posted starting with the fourth edition (since 2021) of Where There Is No Pet Doctor:
In the “First Aid” section:
Ingestion of Sharp Objects, broken glass, needles, etc.
Do not induce vomiting. Radiographs (x-rays) should be done to evaluate. For small, sharp objects, such as pins, needles, or bits of broken glass, you can feed one or two cotton balls (in a small dog or cat) soaked in some gravy, up to several cotton balls in a larger dog. The idea is that hopefully the fabric will wrap around or blunt the sharpness of the potentially dangerous object. This is kind of a wing and a prayer approach, but it’s what we do. Then we monitor the pet with X-rays to look for successful passage of the material through the stomach and intestinal tract. Very often this approach works, but all too often a needle can penetrate through the wall of the intestine and start to migrate. If surgery is needed, it needs to be done before the offending sharp object migrates its way somewhere lethal, such as into the lungs or heart. So don’t take it too lightly.
under “Poisonings”:
Background:
Bromethalin and cholecalciferol are two alternative types of rodent poison. In the US the government is attempting to have manufacturers change their rat poison formulations from the traditional anticoagulant type of poison (which is easily treated with Vitamin K as an antidote) to bromethalin and cholecalciferol which have no antidotes but which require ingestion of a much larger quantity of the poison. This is an attempt to avoid or reduce the accidental poisoning of wildlife which generally cannot be treated with antidotes because the animals cannot be taken to a veterinarian for treatment. This may be good for the wildlife, not so good for your pet if your pet consumes a large enough quantity. The treatment of these poisons requires hospitalization, sometimes extensive, and symptomatic treatment, often quite expensive, but unfortunately, for these two compounds there is NO ANTIDOTE. If your pet ingests rat poison, it is more important than ever to find the container and take it with you or write down the specific brand name, manufacturer, and active ingredients and contact a veterinarian or poison control center immediately. Time is critical, since these poisons do take time to act and that time can give you the important head start that is needed for successful treatment. Then induce vomiting as soon as possible.
It is important to remember that a given trade name may be shared among different type rodenticides coming from the same producer. A given producer may manufacture a product with a particular trade name but containing different active ingredients, such as bromethalin (neurologic), anticoagulants, and cholecalciferol. Therefore you cannot accurately identify the active ingredient in a given product by simply using the trade name. Also the color, size, and shape of the poison, whether in blocks, pellets, worms, or other form, does not offer any insight into what the poison is. You must know the actual active ingredients.
Bromethalin – not to be confused with other rodenticides (e.g. brodifacoum, bromadiolone which are anticoagulants), bromethalin affects the central nervous system and symptoms can appear hours to days after ingestion. Those symptoms, when they appear can show as seizure activity or paralysis leading to coma and death. Inducing vomiting within the first one to four hours after ingestion followed by aggressive use of activated charcoal may help. Patients with neurologic symptoms who have been successfully treated often have persistent or permanent neurologic damage. Other than that, symptomatic treatment may help. Experimentally ginkgo biloba extract has been thought to help reduce severity of symptoms, but your best course is to avoid exposure to bromethalin in the first place. Contact an animal poison control center. Bromethalin has been banned in the EU since 2010.
With cholecalciferol rodenticides the symptoms are those of dramatically elevated blood calcium and phosphorous levels which lead to fatal consequences. Early intervention (within 4-6 hours after ingestion) by inducing vomiting and then aggressive use of activated charcoal are about all that can be done. Beyond that, hospitalization and aggressive treatment with IV fluids and other products in a hospital environment may help. Contact an animal poison center.
Captdrdave instructional video DVD’s have been discontinued and are no longer available. As mentioned in the preface of the book they were done in the old 4:3 format before the advent of high-def. BUT, you can probably access just about any procedure you’re interested in by looking it up on Youtube. Somebody probably has probably posted a video of it or some similar procedure. So always check it out.
Pain medication – Tramadol is mentioned as a pain reliever (at 3-5mg/kg body weight) in the book. I have always had doubts about its efficacy in dogs and I’ve always avoided it in cats. It is now considered to be unreliable and not very effective a pain reliever in dogs (and never was considered a particularly useful analgesic in cats). If it’s all you have, you can try it at the recommended dose, but don’t count on it working very well. A new drug that has recently gained popularity among veterinarians for those situations where you need something is gabapentin (5-10mg/kg suggested starting dose). I have reservations similar to tramadol about the actual efficacy of the drug but gabapentin. with a wide range of suggested dosages, does seem to be safe and may help with pain. Even though it does appear to be safe, when used by itself it’s generally not very reliable. It’s really not a drug for use on an as-needed basis but is more likely to be of value with chronic pain. Gabapentin does have a tendency to induce sleepiness and settle them down and can help reduce anxiety.