dog ate my inhaler - help

[sununu]

she stole my salbutamol (ventolin) inhaler from my handbag about an hour nd a half ago, and had punctured the cannister in several places when I discovered it. I spoke to my vet straight away and they said to monitor, I called them back half an hour later because I thought her heartbeat seemed fast and they suggested offering food. She refused all food, then had a long drink of water and threw up copiously (once). Tried to call again but they are now shut.

Emergency vet said it was up to me to monitor at home or take her in. She has now curled up on the sofa, her breathing seems normal but I still think her pulse seems fast. She does not seem herself but could obviously be feeding off my anxiety and constant checking. WWYD?

My dog did this. He was fine. I think his pulse was fast because he had scared himself silly when the canister punctured! Whenever he heard the same noise for weeks afterwards he'd run away!

thanks, that's somewhat reassuring. I think she definitely took a fair bit in because of the throwing up but I have decided not to take her for now but keep checking her pulse. daft dog, she had that and a pack of extra-strong mints too.

I'd also be worried about the extra strong mints A lot of these contain artificial sweeteners which can also be harmful to dogs.

I'm in complete agreement with BeerTricks - the Veterinary Poisons Unit website is literally a lifesaver and should be in every dog owners bookmarks. I'd also want my dog in for monitoring if at all possible.

Those of us who are members of BSAVA now have a book produced by VPIS with common poisons in.

Having checked my book I would be phoning the emergency vet again.
The VPIS is a subscription service available only to vets useful to know about, but I am afraid pet owners can not access it's information. You need to be a registered practice and have to provide your code every time you contact them for info.

Lone, though the subscription area is restricted, there is an excellent area I often look at which is the Common Poisons lists - very helpful. The seasonal newsletters are also extremely interesting and informative, as well as the advice on how to poison proof your home. Though it is never a substitute for vet advice in an emergency, it's also a very handy reference guide for all those blasted wacky messages that seem to circulate on FB etc abut how some random household ingredient e.g. self raising flour is a deadly toxin.. you know the type of thing.

From a rescue perspective the common poisons list is extremely useful as it is a good guide to novice dog owners as to what to avoid - including things that are not necessarily foodstuffs such as batteries, plus the poison proofing mentioned above e.g. garden chemicals etc.

sorry not to come back last night, thank you all for your advice. she is completely fine - found a much closer 24hr vet who was very helpful, monitored her heart beat which came down over a couple of hours and she wasn't sick again. begging for food by the time we went to bed!
she hadn't actually eaten any mints, but that was a good thing to note too.
first vet told us it would be a £50 fee to consult the poisons helpline, but the second seemed to be able to access the necessary info without mentioning this?

Second vet had the book I would think. So no need to pay for helpline - it is pay per use. Glad the dog is better everything you were describing were signs of salbutamol ingestion.

Hi people,
My siberian husky took my blue salbutamol sulphate inhaler and pierced the canister.. she was showing these symptoms at first - wont get up, not interested in food or the lead for walkies, drinking lots of water, laying down, dry nose, tongue, mouth and gums and an elevated heart rate. i couldnt check temperature as didnt have one to hand. She was rushed to the vets and we found through blood tests that her potassium levels had dropped drastically along with her phosphate levels. The vets had only seen 2 cases whereby these levels were lower and they dogs passed away, fortunately she has regained her potassium levels and her phosphate levels are increasing again slowly.. she is still extremely tachycardic and they have reduced her heart rate from over 200 to 180ish, however that means she is still tachycardic and has a high respiratory rate (breathing fast). she isnt out of the woods yet and from a urine test there is a little kidney damage but they dont think it will be permanent.. please from previous posts DO NOT risk watching the dog yourself at home PLEASE take to the vets ASAP !! it is the amount they consume and there is no way of measuring that without adequate blood tests, if i had of taken advice from here and monitored at home i could have had a dead dog or it would have been too late for an improvement if i took her to the vets after several hours of home monitoring. im lucky that i took her to the vets immediately as she now has the best chance of coming through this. she is still on close monitoring and isnt out of the woods. PLEASE dont take the risk!! take your dog to the vets immediately!!