One of the most important things to monitor when taking care of a dog is what they eat. Dogs are different from humans since their digestive system doesn’t work like ours. One thing they can’t eat is fertilizer. What do you do if your dog ate fertilizer?
Fertilizer is dangerous for dogs to consume. The chemicals inside fertilizer are toxic and can kill dogs. If your dog ate fertilizer, take the substance away from them and call the vet immediately. Even small amounts of fertilizer can be fatal for dogs. You’ll need to treat their symptoms as fast as possible.
The rest of this article will cover what to do if your dog ate fertilizer, how to prevent your dog from eating fertilizer, why you shouldn’t let your dog eat fertilizer, and how to care for your dog after treatment.
Table of Contents
What To Do If Your Dog Ate Fertilizer
Fertilizer is a dangerous substance that under no circumstances should you let your dog near. However, accidents happen, and it’s possible that your dog could get into the fertilizer while you’re not looking. Especially bigger dogs that have stronger jaws and claws.
As soon as you catch them with the fertilizer, take it away from them and put it somewhere they can’t touch it. Once you know an approximate of how much they ate, and you put it somewhere that’s out of reach, get your phone and call your local vet to inform them about the situation.
Your vet may ask for how much your dog ate so they can better assess the situation, which is why you should try to at least get an approximate. After you answer the vet’s questions, you’ll likely need to take your dog in to be monitored.
From there, vomiting is encouraged so the dog can get the fertilizer out of their system before it causes severe reactions. If your dog is vomiting, don’t try to stop it or slow it down. Let them get the harmful substance out of their digestive system.
How To Prevent Your Dog From Eating Fertilizer
The good news is that it’s easy to prevent your dog from eating fertilizer. It’s a sealed product, so smaller dogs are unlikely to have the strength to tear it open and eat it. Regardless, no matter what size dog you have, you should hide it from them so they can’t chew on it.
To hide it, you have multiple options. The first is to take the container and keep it somewhere safe and hard to get: like a high shelf. Whether you’re keeping it in a shed or inside your house, you should put it somewhere high up so the dog can’t get it easily.
If you’re keeping it in a shed, you should have a locked shed door so the dog can’t snoop around while they’re playing in the yard. If you’re keeping it inside, you should keep it behind a closed door such as a pantry or a cabinet. That’s an alternative to a high shelf.
There’s also the risk of fertilizer being used outside. When you use fertilizer, it’s possible your dog will eat it off the grass. For the first 48 hours after fertilizer use, you should keep your dog on a leash and closely monitor them while they’re outside. This is to make sure they don’t eat it.
After the 48 hours are up, you can let your dog roam around the yard freely. If you add any more fertilizer, you should do the same process of waiting while monitoring your pet.
Why You Shouldn’t Let Your Dog Eat Fertilizer
Fertilizer is dangerous because it’s a chemical. It’s not healthy for any animal – including humans – to eat. The harmful chemicals inside the fertilizer are toxic to dogs and could kill them if they get into it. You should make sure no amount of fertilizer is digested by your dog.
It can cause stones inside them, which is fatal if left untreated. Small amounts of fertilizer are less dangerous, but you should still treat it as a serious situation since it’s possible they could suffer from poisoning after digesting the chemicals.
How To Care For Your Dog After Treatment
After receiving treatment for the toxicosis, you’ll need to monitor your dog and make sure the fertilizer is out of their reach. Determine how they got into the fertilizer and ensure that won’t happen again by hiding it either on higher elevation, or behind closed doors like a pantry.
Although the immediate threat is over, that doesn’t mean more threats won’t arise. Fertilizer is a very harmful item that hurts our systems, no matter if we’re human or animal. Keep it away from them at all costs.
Your dog is going to be in low spirits after their experience with fertilizer. When your dog is healthy again, ease them back into their life and give them regular dog food to keep their diet up. However, don’t be surprised if they’re reluctant to eat at first.
If their reluctance to eat persists after a few days, call your local vet for help.
Conclusion
Fertilizer is full of dangerous chemicals that should never be fed to dogs. If they eat fertilizer, no matter how much or little, call your local vet immediately to ask for advice. If you don’t act fast, it could kill your dog or give them symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, and cardiac failure.
To prevent your dog from eating fertilizer, you should keep the container away from their paws. This can be on high shelves, behind locked sheds, or behind closed doors like a pantry or cabinet. When you put fertilizer on grass, wait 48 hours before letting your dog roam free.
Lastly, you shouldn’t let your dog eat fertilizer under any circumstance. It’s toxic to both humans and animals, and it shouldn’t be left anywhere near them. After they’re treated for the poison, you should ease them back into their diet and monitor their behavior for the next few days.
My name is Ken and I’m one of the staff writers at Petloverguy.com. I’ve cared for pets most of my life starting with hamsters, turtles, and snakes. Then moving up to parakeets, guinea pigs, and even ducks.
I currently live with two yorkies and a chihuahua mix.
