Nicotine poisoning in dogs is not an uncommon event that happens once in a lifetime. However, nicotine poisoning is severe and can occur whenever your canine friend comes close to cigarettes, cigarette butts, electronic cigarettes, or even nicotine gums.
Chewing tobacco, nicotine exposure, or any nicotine ingested can lead to nicotine toxicity, so if you are a smoker or hang out with smokers, you should reconsider where you leave your nicotine products.
This article will explain how nicotine absorbed by your dog can put it in a life-threatening situation, how to react if this happens, and when it is time to call the veterinary professionals. Stay tuned to learn more about nicotine toxicity in dogs and how to avoid it.
What Is Nicotine And Nicotine Poisoning?
A natural chemical stimulant, nicotine is an addictive chemical compound that speeds up messages between the body and the brain.
Even in small doses, it can be toxic to animals such as dogs. In addition, it is a poisonous drug from the tobacco plant, used as an insecticide and in medicine.
You can find nicotine in various nicotine-containing products such as cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, nicotine mouth sprays, snuff, nicotine patches, pipes, e-cigarette liquid, nicotine inhalers, etc.
Pets are prone to nicotine poisoning in homes with tobacco products, e-cigarettes, and a pack of nicotine gum. Ingested nicotine, playing with nicotine products, or chewing tobacco is dangerous and can be fatal to your dog.
Nicotine appeals to our companion animals, and they like chewing tobacco because of its added flavors, such as honey, syrups, sugars, and molasses.
Nicotine poisoning is the ingestion of products that contain nicotine. Since a dog’s nervous system is similar to a human’s, the nicotine can overstimulate the nicotine receptors in the system. In addition, since pets are not as nicotine tolerant as humans, they might suffer from severe poisoning.
Even a tiny amount of nicotine can be toxic if it is within the pet’s reach. How much the pet will be affected by nicotine depends on its body weight and how much nicotine it ingests. So, nicotine toxicity depends significantly on the level of nicotine exposure dose.
The average cigarette can have between 9 and 30 milligrams of nicotine. Even 1 milligram per kilo can cause some trouble, and the median lethal dose is 9.2 milligrams per kilo. 10 mg/kg is already lethal in dogs.
Even after you finish smoking your cigarette, cigarette butts still contain nicotine because it concentrates in the cigarette butt. So, a finished cigarette is not less dangerous than non-used nicotine-containing products.
Symptoms Of Nicotine Toxicity
Signs of nicotine poisoning in dogs will show quickly. They depend on the amount of nicotine ingested connected to the dog’s body weight. After half an hour of ingestion, the clinical signs will start appearing.
Of course, if you notice any clinical signs, do not hesitate to contact the pet poison helpline. After ingesting cigarettes, cigars, nasal sprays, or other tobacco products, vomiting will come naturally to many dog breeds such as the German Shepherd, Boston Terrier, or the Great Dane.
If you leave your dog unattended, nicotine toxicity can paralyze the breathing muscles, and your dog might eventually die of inability to breathe.
So, if you notice any of the following signs, consult the poison control centers immediately.
Signs Of Nicotine Poisoning
These are some of the most frequent signals of poisoning by a nicotine product:
- muscle weakness, stumbling, incoordination
- vomiting and diarrhea
- agitation
- rapid breathing
- tremors
- high/low heart rate
- high blood pressure/ low blood pressure
- seizures
- respiratory depression
- hyperactivity
- drooling
- constricted pupils
- dog symptoms hyperactivity
Ask for veterinary care if you notice your animal suffering from the above symptoms because nicotine is readily absorbed. Prompt treatment is essential, and veterinary medicine might relieve your dog of a life-threatening situation.
Nicotine Toxicity Causes
If you wonder what can cause nicotine poisoning in dogs, the answer is simple — some nicotine-based products your dog found in your house. For instance:
- cigarettes
- cigars
- cigarette butts
- loose tobacco
- nicotine gum
- nicotine patches
- nicotine lozenges
- e-cigarette
- nicotine mouth sprays
- pipes/pipe tobacco
- nasal sprays
Dogs Toxicity Diagnosis
Dogs’ diagnosis of nicotine should be prompt. Avoid at-home care because of the rapid onset of the toxicity symptoms. The vet will diagnose the poisoning according to the signs and your story about what happened.
Was it one cigarette or a cigarette butt? Did your dog inhale nicotine gum, or did it find your electronic cigarettes or some nicotine patches?
Diagnosis depends on the exposure to nicotine products and eating them. Many vets will do advanced testing to confirm what happened. They can trace nicotine in blood, urine, or stomach tests. So, veterinary evaluation of blood pressure, heart rate, and neurological status are crucial.
Nicotine Toxicity Treatment
You should first reduce the amount of nicotine and promote excretion as much as possible. As with any other toxicity, early treatment is the best treatment.
Take your dog to the vet immediately. The vet will try to prevent nicotine absorption in the dog’s system. They will also try to induce vomiting.
However, antacids should not be used because the acids in the body decrease nicotine absorption. Administering activated charcoal will reduce the nicotine amount too. Consequent doses of activated charcoal will reduce the level of nicotine even more.
Next, you should do stomach pumping, known as gastric lavage, if the dog has ingested large amounts of nicotine.
Care with intravenous fluids, anticonvulsant medications, oxygen therapy, gastro-protectants, and anti-emetics might be necessary and will enhance elimination.
Also, vets might use IV fluids and other products to enhance the elimination of nicotine by acidifying the urine. The vet will also monitor the blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing to give medications such as tremor muscle relaxants and anti-nausea medications.
You might also need a ventilator to help the breathing until the toxin is out of the body. Also, you might need some other care such as oxygen, diazepam, and seizure control medications. If the intoxication happens through dermal exposure, bathe the dog with dish-washing soap.
The prognosis depends mainly on the dose of exposure to nicotine. Low-dose exposure can be easily treated, while high-dose exposures are more dangerous. High dose exposure can lead to death. With early treatment, you will improve the chances of complete recovery.
Nicotine Toxicity Prevention
Preventative care in terms of nicotine toxicity is simple. First, keep all the nicotine-containing products away from your dog’s reach. Next, eliminate all the nicotine sources and the cigarette butts, chewed nicotine gums, ashtrays, and used nicotine patches.
Some nicotine is still left even in your used products, so never put those products where your dog can find them.
FAQs
What Happens If My Dog Eats A Nicotine Gum?
Eating nicotine gum can be very harmful to dogs. Some nicotine gums have xylitol, a very toxic dog sweetener.
You could expect vomiting, diarrhea, or self-contamination if the dog ingests only a small amount. However, if the dog eats a lot of nicotine, the consequences to its health can be severe.
Can Chewing Tobacco Be Harmful To My Dog?
Yes, chewing tobacco, also known as snuff, can harm your dog. Any nicotine ingestion (cigarettes, cigars, patches, gums) might be deadly to your pet. Do not underestimate the power of this dangerous chemical. You might end up losing your canine friend.
The first thing that happens after chewing some tobacco is diarrhea, vomiting, and twitching. However, twitching can turn into seizures. And this is no longer a joke. Also, high blood pressure might lead to circulatory collapse.
What Amount Of Nicotine Can Be Considered Fatal In Dogs?
Although you should try not to let your dog ingest any nicotine, there are limits on how much it can survive ingesting. Most cigarettes have lots of nicotine inside, so even a tiny cigarette can cause severe damage to your dog’s health and even lead to death.
Pets can survive only 0.5 to 1 milligram per body weight without any life-threatening dangers. However, a dose of 4 milligrams of body weight will be deadly to most dogs.
How Fast Can Nicotine Poisoning Happen To My Dog?
The onset of the signs is swift, and pets can show symptoms even after 15 minutes after ingestion. You will notice vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, weakness, tachypnea, or tachycardia within the first 30 minutes to an hour. The symptoms will be apparent and show fast, so your reaction must be quick. It would be best if you did not leave your dog unattended for long.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, we must say that dog nicotine poisoning is not something to play games with. Owners must keep all the nicotine products away from their pets to avoid any low- or high-dose exposure poisoning.
Dogs are naturally curious and try to eat and sniff anything they find appealing. Tobacco, especially flavored tobacco, is very tempting to dogs, so the last thing you should do is leave your cigarettes on the table.
Take care of your dog by removing all the nicotine-based products from its sight. If the dog still happens to ingest some nicotine, call the vet for further treatment to avoid serious health issues and sometimes even death.
Related topic: Lead poisoning in dogs
*photo by annokhotska – depositphotos