If you make your kids’ modelling mixture at home, it is perfectly safe, isn’t it?
After all, everything you put in there is edible, right? Right. But not everything that humans can eat is safe for dogs. Let’s take a look at an example homemade playdough recipe. The ingredients include:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup salt
- 4 teaspoons cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate)
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 tbsps vegetable oil (coconut oil works too)
- food coloring (optional)
Source: i heart naptime
Do you see the problem? If you don’t, please brush up on salt poisoning in dogs.
Salt poisoning in dogs
The means by which excess salt can hurt your dog is severe dehydration. All that salt pulls water directly from the tissues. The most damaging effect is on the brain, and it can result in seizures and come. The load on your dog’s heart also increases, which can be especially dangerous for dogs with pre-existing heart problems.
Symptoms of salt poisoning progress over time and include:
- vomiting
- diarrhea
- loss of appetite
- lethargy
- incoordination
- excessive thirst and urination
- fluid retention
- tremors
- seizures
- coma
Daisy’s story
Daisy was a 7-year-old Beagle—curious and full of energy. Daisy also loves food. When her human housemate brought home some homemade playdough from school, Daisy sniffed it out right away. Daisy found it on a dressing table and quickly gobbled down the whole lot. When her human housemate returned to the room, all he found were pieces of the plastic bag the playdough came in.
Daisy seemed fine, and nobody was overly concerned about her eating it since it was made of edible ingredients.
Daisy isn’t well
Twenty minutes later, Daisy started feeling unwell. She became extremely thirsty, emptying her entire water bowl and looking for more, and she began to lick the walls and floor.
That prompted Daisy’s mom to look up what happens when a dog eats homemade playdough. To her shock, she learned that it is a serious emergency. She rushed Daisy to the emergency hospital at once.
At the emergency hospital
The veterinarian immediately gave Daisy medication to make her throw up any modeling mixture that might still have been in her stomach. They put Daisy on IV fluids while rechecking the sodium levels in her blood.
At this point, Daisy was very sick; throwing up and feeling miserable.
With aggressive treatment, Daisy made it past the critical stage, but it took two days to stop feeling ill. As soon as she got over the ordeal, she went to check her human housemate’s dressing table to see if she could find any more of that yummy stuff. She had no idea it was what made her so ill. Keep homemade playdough away from your do.
Source article:
Daisy the 7-year-old Beagle Became very Unwell
Related articles:
Dog Symptoms: When Is It an Emergency?
Further reading:
Homemade Playdough – salty and dangerous for pets
Play Dough (Homemade)