Your Dog Ate What?! A Pet Parent’s Guide to Hidden Hazards in the Kitchen and Medicine Cabinet - Barking Mad

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Your Dog Ate What?! A Pet Parent’s Guide to Hidden Hazards in the Kitchen and Medicine Cabinet

Episode 68 • 22nd October 2025 • Barking Mad • BSM Partners

00:20

Jordan Tyler

The kitchen is so often the heart of our homes. It's where we nourish our families, it's where we store or life-saving and life-bettering medications, and create memories around the dinner table. But for our four-legged companions, this inviting space can very well be the most dangerous room in the house.

00:41

Dr. Stephanie Clark

And if you're just tuning in, rewind and go listen to our first two episodes. Because in those two episodes, we've investigated the hidden toxicities lurking in our living rooms, cleaning cabinets, windowsills and garden sheds. We've learned a lot so far, and today we're bringing that knowledge back into the realms of food and medicines, where a single sugar free mint can send a dog into liver failure—yikes—and where daily medications can become deadly attractions for overly curious cats.

01:13

Jordan Tyler

Oh, I was waiting for you to meow.

01:15

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Meow!

01:19

Jordan Tyler

So, buckle up for this last chapter of our toxicities investigation and arguably the most crucial one. Because every day we make choices about what we eat, where and how we store our medicines, and what we share with our pets. So, let's learn how to protect them.

01:37

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Welcome to Barking Mad, a podcast by BSM Partners. We're your hosts, Dr. Stephanie Clark—

01:44

Jordan Tyler

—and I'm Jordan Tyler. So, let's start out maybe by rehashing some of the central themes of the last two episodes that will certainly come up here. And the first of those is, of course, we are different from dogs. Dogs are not small humans. Cats are not small dogs. We can't just make assumptions about what's safe for us being safe for them. While we can eat a lot of the same foods, and while there are some pharmaceutical compounds that can be used in humans and in animals, the way that we metabolize those things is so different, and so there are a handful of really critical considerations along those lines that we'll dig deeper into today.

02:27

Dr. Stephanie Clark

And it really comes down to concentration dosage, because with the medicines, I can see how that can get confusing. We may go to the same pharmacy to pick up medicine for our dog and ourselves, or we may have the same label on our medicine, the same generic drug. But when it comes down to concentrations and dosages, and we'll really start diving into that in this episode, that's where things really start to matter.

02:52

Jordan Tyler

Absolutely. So just a few of those key themes and we'll add to that list today for sure. But let's go first to Dr. Katy Miller. She's the Director of Veterinary Services at BSM Partners and a formerly practicing veterinarian, former retail expert, and former and current and probably future, safe to say, pet lover, of course. So, let's hear from Dr. Katy. What are some of the most common pet toxicity cases that you saw as a vet? And I'm asking that knowing that probably some of the top ones are actually going to be foods that we know and love. So, give us the top items on your list, Dr. Katy.

03:32

Dr. Katy Miller

Yeah, I would say the most common in, like, the number of cases that we saw was chocolate. Chocolate is a big one that dogs get into, but luckily it's also, for the most part, one of the milder ones. So, most pets, you know, unless it was like a dark, like a baker's chocolate or, you know, really highly concentrated chocolate, you know, they just need a little supportive therapy and they're fine. I would say probably the most serious one that I saw would be xylitol, seeing hypoglycemia or low blood sugar from eating xylitol, especially in the smaller dogs that get into, like, gum, you know, in people's purses. So, those would be the two most common.

04:19

Dr. Stephanie Clark

So pulling a little bit of my former veterinary days, I wasn't a vet, but definitely experienced a lot of food toxicities, dogs that ate things that they should not have. And Dr. Tina Wismer, Senior Director of Toxicology at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, also had similar experiences too. And when we spoke with her, she agreed with Dr. Miller in saying that chocolate and xylitol were two of the most common calls that they actually got as well. In addition to chocolate and xylitol, she took it a step further and mentioned that grapes or raisins and onions and garlic, which we'll talk about later in this episode. But those are kind of the top ones that I've seen as well.

05:04

Jordan Tyler

So chocolate, xylitol, we got grapes, raisins, onions, garlic. Believe it or not, there are more. So also on today's episode, we have Dr. Renee Schmid. She's the Senior Veterinary Toxicologist and DVM Supervisor at Pet Poison Helpline, which is a subsidiary of Safety Call International. When we talked to Dr. Schmid, she mentioned that one of the most common calls that they get is for marijuana toxicity, as well as a few other big ones.

05:33

Dr. Renee Schmid

Marijuana made our first top 10 [for the] first time about four years ago, I want to say, and it's kind of slowly been heading, you know, steady in the middle of the pack. And then anticoagulant rodenticides. So, those are rat and mouse poisons that cause bleeding to occur. And then vitamin D3 supplements. So, things that are for human supplement use. And then carprofen. Carprofen overdoses. It's actually the first veterinary specific medication to make it into our top 10 and to be one of our most common calls. But I always like to point out that these are for overdoses. Carprofen is a quite safe medication when used as recommended. But these are either animals that shouldn't have gotten into it or gotten into more than they should have been given.

06:24

Dr. Stephanie Clark

I remember a case of marijuana toxicity in a dog. It was in Southern Illinois, and this is before, like, the talk of, like, marijuana even being legal was a thing. And we literally just had to beg the owner, “Just tell us how much and what they ate, because we can't treat them if we don't know.” And they're like, “Well, we don't want to tell you because we don't want to get in trouble. And they may have eaten something they may have not.” And we're like, we don't care. We just care about treating this dog.

06:55

Jordan Tyler

Yeah, yeah. It's such a good example for the dose determines the poison and the size of the animal, like, determines what kind of dose would be poisonous to that animal. And so, it's so important, even if it's something embarrassing. Right? Even if it's something like your dog got into your weed brownies, like, that's—

07:16

Dr. Stephanie Clark

That’s exactly what it was.

07:18

Jordan Tyler

—yeah, you have to be transparent with the people that you're talking to because they can't help you if they don't know how much they ate or what they ate. And thinking about weed brownies because you have the marijuana toxicity, but then you also have the chocolate. And you're like, “Oh, no!”

07:33

Dr. Stephanie Clark

That's exactly what were trying to get at. Like, how much baker's chocolate and how much weed? Like, what are we dealing with here? What organs are going to eventually fail or are we just going to have a real fun afternoon? Like, what's happening here?

07:46

Jordan Tyler

Oh, man. Yeah, yeah. So, transparency—so, so important. And then another thing that Dr. Schmid mentioned was carprofen. This is a medicine that we prescribe to dogs, but they can overdose on it, just like we can overdose on any medication that we're prescribed to. So, it's not only that we have to be careful about human medications, you know, things that you or I take that our pets could get into, but also we have to keep our pets medications on lockdown too, because they could very well overdose on those as well. And that's not pretty. We'll certainly talk a little bit more about that later in the episode.

08:24

Dr. Stephanie Clark

It's always that mentality of like, if a little is good, a lot is great.

08:28

Jordan Tyler

Not always, not true at all.

08:32

Dr. Stephanie Clark

But then I think Dr. Renee brought up a really good point too about rodenticides and the anticoagulants that are in there. They are kind of going back to the ectoparasite prevention. Like they are chemicals meant to kill something, whether it's a flea, a tick, a heartworm, this for example, killing rats. But that anticoagulant can actually, if consumed by dogs, can cause bleeding issues. And if not treated, the dog can actually bleed out.

09:07

Jordan Tyler

Oh my gosh.

09:08

Dr. Stephanie Clark

So some of this stuff, and like a little goes a long way. I actually, a really good friend of mine, she had a locked up shed and three of her dogs got in it and she came home that day with zero dogs. Like just a little bit...

09:22

Jordan Tyler

Oh my gosh.

09:23

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Like, this is how serious we're talking about with this stuff. And I'm not trying to like shock at all you before we even get into like the juicy stuff of things. But like, a lot isn't always great.

09:34

Jordan Tyler

Yeah, yeah. Some of these things, like we've said, you know, onions, garlic, it's typically like if you're mincing garlic and one tiny, little, microscopic fleck hits the floor and gets slurped up by your dog, that's likely not going to cause them, you know, any real harm. But for other compounds, like things that are highly corrosive, things that are intended to kill other pests, even just a tiny bit of that can be fatal, I mean, detrimental to the point of fatality for pets. So, yeah, not to scare people, but we're just trying to keep pets safe, right? And this stuff we've got to know about, we've got to be aware so that we can store them correctly and keep them away from our pets. But let's talk a little bit more about xylitol. So, this is something that Dr. Katy brought up, this is something that Dr. Wismer brought up. Dr. Schmid even brought it up when we talked to her. So obviously it is an important toxic compound for our pets that we need to discuss, and it might be one of the more unfamiliar ones, right?

10:34

Jordan Tyler

We think of chocolate, that one's pretty well known; onions, garlic, I would say is relatively well known. But xylitol, not everybody probably knows about it. And that's precisely what makes it so dangerous for pets. So, Dr. Wismer give us the scoop on what xylitol is and why it's so dangerous for our pets.

10:54

Dr. Tina Wismer

So xylitol, which is X, Y, L, I, T, O, L, right—even though it sounds like a Z, begins with an X—is a problem for dogs. It's not a problem for people, it's not a problem for cats. And what xylitol is, it's a sugar alcohol. So, it can be used in place of glucose or fructose. Right? Your regular table sugar. And the reason that people use it is because it's great for diabetics and it's also great for children because bacteria can't use xylitol. So, you use it in your dental products and you don't get cavities. Right? You don't get ear infections in children. But unfortunately, in dogs it's very well absorbed and it's going to cause the pancreas to secrete insulin and that's going to drop your blood sugar. And we can see things like tremors and seizures. It also is metabolized differently in dogs than something like sugar and it can cause liver failure.

12:00

Dr. Renee Schmid

There are certain species that are, actually, xylitol's toxic with. Cows are one of them, baboons. Rabbits have a toxicity to it as well, but dogs tend to be the most sensitive for it. And there aren't a lot of cows who have a lot of access to xylitol. So, we don't think about that too much. But cats drew the long straw. They always say, you know, cats draw the short straw for just about everything. But xylitol, we don't see a big issue.

12:29

Dr. Stephanie Clark

I think it's a sneaky one. Right. We don't know what products it's in. But Dr. Schmid, what kind of products is xylitol in?

12:38

Dr. Renee Schmid

Where we see it is in more of the kind of the whole foods or the organic food sector section. I call them the boutique brands, the specialty brands, is where we'll start to see xylitol in there. But we will see it in like sugar free puddings and Jello’s and protein bars that maybe don't even say sugar free, but maybe they're kind of designed for more fitness level or weight loss. It isn't necessarily just because it's a sweetening power. It also helps prevent fermentation and protein breakdown. So, it helps to extend the shelf life of products. It also has a cooling sensation. So that's why you might see it in some gums and mints. It also has kind of, it's called a humectant property. So anti-drying.

13:31

Dr. Renee Schmid

So it helps extend the shelf life of like our deodorants and our skin gels and lotions and so we might see it there but then it has a great anti-cavity properties. So, we'll see it in toothpaste and mouthwashes and that type of thing too. So, when we say it's everywhere, it's literally can be everywhere.

13:52

Dr. Stephanie Clark

What is one of the most surprising that you know, pet owners listening would be surprised that is toxic to cats and or dogs?

14:03

Dr. Tina Wismer

So I'm going to have to say onions and garlic. Right? Because for years you know, it's been—and it is an old wives tale, right? “If you put give your dog garlic, he won't get fleas.” Well, number one, that's not really true. It doesn't work that way. But it is a dose determines the poison thing, right? You know, your dog eating one slice of onion that falls off your hamburger is not going to be a problem. But you know that big blooming onion from Outback, definitely an issue if they eat that. So, when we cook it doesn't decrease the problem from onions and garlic and the compound in there actually causes destruction of your red blood cells. So, you become anemic and it takes several days for that to happen.

14:53

Dr. Tina Wismer

So your animal may look normal, but you know, three to five days down the road. Wow. He's kind of lethargic. He doesn't want to eat. Maybe his gums are pale and. Yeah, that's from the onion, the garlic that they ate earlier in the week.

15:07

Dr. Stephanie Clark

And you said cooking doesn't neutralize it or anything. So, I'm assuming like garlic powder, dehydrated onions, like all of it?

15:16

Dr. Tina Wismer

All of it, yes. Onion powder, garlic powder all contain the same compounds and they're antioxidants. Right? You may have heard those ads on TV for garlic tablets, right. Supposed to help you know, your cardiovascular system. And it does at low doses, but at high doses, right, it causes these problems with your red blood cells.

15:40

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Do you know why garlic and onion was it used to be in pet food or it sometimes still is?

15:49

Dr. Tina Wismer

Yeah, they love the taste of it. It's a flavor enhancer. And it takes a pretty significant amount in dogs to cause an issue. Cats? Cats are a little more sensitive. If you want to know the scientific reason why, it's because cats have more sulfhydryl groups on their hemoglobin. Right? They've got eight, dogs have four, people have two. So, you're at higher risk of oxidative damage to those red blood cells if you're a cat. And that's what the compound in the dipropyl sulfide in onions and garlic does, is it causes oxidative damage to the red blood cells. People noticed if you fed old cats baby food. Right? Meat baby food that contained onion powder or garlic powder in it, they would get a chronic anemia. And it's from those onions and garlic. So, yeah, so we don't do that anymore.

16:42

Jordan Tyler

Yeah. It's so fascinating to learn that we used to have some of these ingredients in pet food as a palatant. You know, you talk about onion powder and garlic powder as something to make the food taste better, and it's like, oh, yeah, let's not do that anymore. So, definitely those are some of the surprising learnings for me. But let's flip it over to Dr. Schmid. What surprising food toxicities for pets come to mind for you? Like, other things that you think a lot of pet owners wouldn't be aware of?

17:13

Dr. Renee Schmid

Macadamia nuts is probably one that comes to mind. And macadamia nuts, particularly in dogs, can cause joint pain and kind of some muscle pain and a little bit of kind of difficulty walking. Usually, they resolve on its own. It's not typically a real serious issue, but that one is a big surprise. And really, even with the ones that you mentioned, it's still a surprise to a lot of people. Grapes and raisins, you know, I had, you know, they'll say, “I had no idea. I had no idea.” And when I was in practice, to be honest, I had a client, I remember them specifically, and that's how they medicated their pet, was they put it in a grape. Every day, they put the pill in a grape, and that was their treat. And it was, you know, one a day or one twice a day.

18:02

Dr. Renee Schmid

So it was kind of spread out enough that it didn't accumulate and cause a big issue. But it's really amazing how many people we think we do a good job educating, but how many people still say, I had no idea that grapes and raisins are an issue. Chocolate is, you know, being our number one call that we get. A lot of people understand that chocolate is toxic, but then there's a lot of them, they don't understand the differences. You know, there's the different types of chocolate. One Hershey Kiss is not the same as the same amount of baker's chocolate or something else. And the differences in that.

18:35

Dr. Katy Miller

So while we're on the topic, Dr. Katy, any human food items you'd caution pet owners against giving their pets, not because they're necessarily toxic in the true meaning of the word, but because they're still going to cause problems. Cooked bones are one thing that a lot of people think is harmless because it's been cooked. So it, you know, doesn't have the safety aspect of bacterial contamination. But especially for some reason, pork bones are absolutely terrible. They constipate the pet to the point that they need to have help in passing that solid stool that forms from pork bones. So, I would say definitely do not give pork bones. We don't recommend giving any cooked bones because it makes them brittle and able to shatter. But specifically, the pork bone seems to be a big culprit.

19:31

Dr. Katy Miller

Another one would be dairy products. So, I don't think a lot of people realize that most pets are actually lactose intolerant to the point of it gives them a little digestive upset, maybe a little diarrhea, and they don't feel real good, you know, after they eat dairy products. So dairy products would be one that I would stay away from. And then high fat foods, especially those animals that are eating like an extruded kibble or a canned food, they're not as high in fat. And so, you give a high fatty treat, the trimmings off your steak or the skin off of the turkey or your chicken breast or something like that, and then all of a sudden you've got vomiting and diarrhea and you know, an upset tummy from that high fat treat.

20:14

Jordan Tyler

Yeah, I mean, not unsimilar to what we experience. You know, try going on a low-fat diet for two months and then having a pork belly for dinner. You're not going to have a good time later that night, I promise.

20:26

Dr. Stephanie Clark

My mother-in-law had called me. Oh gosh, this was probably three, four years ago. She was using yeast, like active yeast, and she dropped the packet on the ground and of course the dog was like, slurp! And she called me and she was like, “Is he going to pop?!” And I was like, “Out of all the things you could have dropped on the floor, this is probably not the greatest.”

20:51

Jordan Tyler

So, why is that so dangerous?

20:54

Dr. Stephanie Clark

So, if you like, think about like when you're making bread, like the yeast, like it activates and it creates bubbles and gas. And so that's fine if it's got places for the gas to go, but in the stomach it doesn't go many places. So yeah.

21:10

Dr. Katy Miller

I've actually had a couple of cases of dogs that ate dough, like rising dough, and so they eat that dough and then it continues to rise as it's in the stomach because it's a nice warm environment with moisture. And so they just get really bloated and uncomfortable and painful while this passes. And then it also, a side product is ethanol production. And so they can get a little tipsy from their ingestion of the bread dough. So, that actually is one of those emergency situations is if they've eaten, you know, rising yeast bread dough, you want to have them seen because they may need some supportive care to get over that.

21:54

Jordan Tyler

Totally some shocking things here that, like, even I didn't know. I've been covering this industry for like eight years now, and I feel like I'm just now learning some of these things can be toxic and dangerous for our pets. Like the yeast dough, I think, was the most surprising to me, even though it completely makes sense after you guys explained it. I mean, how many of you, how many of us—what are we, two for two over here?—that got into baking bread during COVID? So, like, I know there are people out there that did that too. We can't be the only ones.

22:27

Jordan Tyler

And it's true—that sourdough starter that's been passed down through your family for generations and is sitting lovingly on your countertop could totally cause your pet at the very least a lot of digestive discomfort, and at the most, way bigger problems.

22:44

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Alcohol poisoning.

22:48

Jordan Tyler

Yeah, nobody wants that, especially not your dog. But just kind of goes to show how seemingly innocent and innocuous things can actually pose really grave health risks to our pets. So, hopefully you got some good nuggets there. But let's shift the conversation now into medication. So, moving from the pantry into the medicine cabinet, Dr. Wismer, what is your major concern when it comes to pets getting into medications that they shouldn't? Is it a certain type of medication? Is it a certain category? What are you most concerned about?

23:24

Dr. Tina Wismer

So, my concern with over the counter medications, especially non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, our pain medications that we take. You know, ibuprofen, it's a big one. And naproxen. I'm of the age, right—I have my purse Ibuprofen, my car Ibuprofen, right? My office ibuprofen. And it is not a medication that dogs and cats tolerate very well. And depending on the dose, it can cause vomiting, stomach ulcers, kidney failure, and potentially things like seizures. Acetaminophen, right, or Tylenol as we typically call it, is another drug that dogs and cats metabolize differently than people. And there is a dose for acetaminophen in dogs and it can be useful for pain, typically like orthopedic pain, but you have to dose it correctly, right? They take a much smaller dose than people do. And unfortunately in cats there's no safe dose of acetaminophen and it can both cause liver problems and it can change your blood so it can't carry oxygen.

24:31

Dr. Stephanie Clark

While it may be shocking for my 4-year-old who thinks that she's a cat, we are not cats. We are definitely not extra-large dogs. So, in other words, dogs and cats are not small humans. So again, what works for them may not always work for us and vice versa.

24:48

Dr. Katy Miller

People, they don't mean to do something bad, but they give it to their pet thinking that it's safe for you or it's safe for your child, that it would be safe for your pet. And that's just not the case. Unfortunately, dogs and cats are much more sensitive than people are to those medications and especially the gastrointestinal side effects that can happen. And with acetaminophen in particular, Tylenol is really bad. It causes liver failure in dogs and it causes red blood cell damage in cats.

25:17

Dr. Katy Miller

I think because we take it and think of it as so safe and you know, Tylenol, you give it to your children when they don't feel good. You think that, “Oh, it must be safe for my dog or cat.” And it just—unfortunately, these creatures are different than we are and they metabolize drugs differently than we do. So, it makes it very dangerous for a dog or a cat. And another one that seems to be pretty common are decongestants and cold medicine. So, your pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine, trying to give a decongestant to your pet because they have a cold or they seem that they're congested. And these cause agitation and seizures in pets. And the same goes for actually sleep meds and anti-anxiety meds. They can sedate the pet, but a lot of times they do what we call paradoxical agitation.

26:07

Dr. Katy Miller

And so they actually agitate the pet instead of causing sleepiness and being sedate like you would expect them to because of, you know, Xanax [alprazolam] or Valium [diazepam] or something is something we might use to go to sleep. And then all of a sudden you have a pet that's bouncing off the walls and they can become quite aggressive when they've ingested that medication. So, those are definitely things that we want to keep out of the out of reach and not accidentally give people thinking again that, you know, they're pretty safe, they're harmless. You know, it's—the fireworks are going off. You know, I take Xanax. Why not give one to my pet? And that's not a good idea. They're not small humans in any way, shape, or form. These guys are very different species than we are, and so their physiology is just different than ours.

26:54

Jordan Tyler

I think it was so interesting to hear about some of the medications that are used in both human and pet and some of the risks associated with those. But I had no idea that there is a class of medications and specifically SSRIs [Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors], and as antidepressants that are literally like, they attract cats. Like, we've heard that, like, there's something about these medications that just entices cats. They're irresistible. But why is that? Like, let's dive a little deeper into that. So, Dr. Wismer, are there any specific medications in this category that are particularly irresistible to cats? Or do we just need to keep all of our antidepressants on lockdown at all times?

27:39

Dr. Tina Wismer

The big one is Effexor, which is Venlafaxine. And I do not know what's in this medication, but the veterinary community should get on. On board, right? Because it does attract cats. You know, people tell me, oh, my cat ate 10 acetaminophen. I was like, “No, [they] probably played hockey with them, and they're under, you know, the stove or the fridge,” but literally, they will eat an entire bottle of this Effexor. They find it very attractive. And antidepressants, right? This is one of our serotonin medications, right? We want to have more serotonin in our brain so that we feel happy and function normally. But too much serotonin can cause problems with our blood pressure, potentially tremors and seizures. So, yeah, we try to avoid these meds at high doses in our dogs and cats.

28:28

Dr. Renee Schmid

There is something about the SSRIs and even different stimulants that cats. They really are attracted to the. I'm assuming they're attracted to the scent first, and they really like to ingest these medications. And so, if somebody were to leave it on their nightstand or their dresser or the table and the cat were to kind of go over to it, they tend to ingest those more readily than maybe some of the other medications that are out there. And with these types of medicines, they can cause neurologic stimulation and cardiovascular stimulation. So, they'll be really agitated and kind of bouncy or you know, restless, they can have a high heart rate and a high blood pressure. Maybe they'll have body tremors or even seizures developing depending on how much they get into.

29:25

Dr. Tina Wismer

And not only do we have to keep human meds right out of the reach of our pets, but a lot of veterinary medications, we make them in flavored tablets. Right? Great way to get your dog or cat to take a pill… Also a great way that they'll ingest the entire bottle of pills.

29:43

Dr. Renee Schmid

It's really difficult to reason with animal to say this pill is really important for you to swallow. And so having it chewable, having it flavored is something that I think we will just continue to see more and more of. And really important for pet parents to understand that this does make it more enticing to the pet. And so, they will be more likely to potentially get into it if they have that opportunity.

30:12

Dr. Tina Wismer

Cats find this new chewable Apoquel [oclacitinib], like, irresistible. And yeah, unfortunately too much will cause, you know, kidney failure in cats. So, it's definitely something to keep away from your other pets.

30:24

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Any other top of mind medications we should be extra careful about around our pets?

30:29

Dr. Renee Schmid

Other things to really be concerned about would be Baclofen. So, Baclofen is a skeletal muscle relaxant that has a really narrow margin of safety in animals. And the animal can get into just one or two tablets that could potentially be fatal to them. Or 5-FU. So, 5-FU [5-fluorouracil] is a topical chemotherapeutic. There is an injectable form that some animals for certain cancers do receive and they do okay with. But when they've ingested the topical form, not very many of them survive. And so, this can be something where the owner is well intentioned, but maybe they see a lesion on the animal so they apply it, thinking that they could do that, or the animal gets into the bottle, or they rub up against the human and they lick the spot, or something like that.

31:23

Jordan Tyler

So we've talked about specific things that we'll need to keep on lockdown in our homes. But how do we exactly do that? Right. Let's go back to Dr. Schmid and get some best practices for how pet parents can safely administer medications to their pets to their other family members without risking any overdoses or any accidental ingestion or anything dangerous like that.

31:49

Dr. Renee Schmid

Never give your pet medication without consulting with a veterinarian. Don't consult Dr. Google, don't put it in ChatGPT, don't AI it. Consult with a human. You can certainly consult with Pet Poison Helpline, but your veterinarian is your best source for asking, “Can I give this to my pet?” Because they have that relationship with your pet more specifically. But any type, anything that's intended for humans—some medications are certainly used in humans and animals, but the doses are not the same. And so, you really want to use the guidance of your veterinarian to help determine what can and shouldn't be used.

32:28

Dr. Katy Miller

I think keeping them obviously in a sealed container, sometimes putting them in two containers. So, you have the pill bottle, but you also have another container that's in because dogs especially are going to chew that up and get into it anyway. And cats like to be jerks and knock everything on the floor. So, they're going to give it to the dog by knocking it on the floor and the dog's going to get into the bottle by eating it. And especially something that's chewable or tasty that pets like to get into. So, putting that in a double container or really high, like up on a shelf, you know, in a cupboard where, you know, the pets can't get to. Another one that we worry about is when you are taking pills out and they fall on the floor.

33:15

Dr. Katy Miller

So, one tip for that is to get in the habit of when you're getting your pills out, be over a tabletop or a counter, especially seniors or people with mobility issues, making sure that you're over a solid surface when you're opening your containers and taking your pills out to help prevent the pills from falling on the floor. So have a special place in your house where you keep pet medication and keep that even out of reach of your dogs or cats, you know, so they don't get into too much of their own medication. But then also keep it separate from your medication and kind of draw that line mentally for yourself between this is okay for my dog and this is okay for me.

33:56

Dr. Stephanie Clark

As we close the case file on our three-part toxicity series, the verdict is clear: knowledge and prevention are our pet's best protection. From the fragrance-filled living rooms of episode one to the cleaning cabinets of episode two and now to our kitchens and medicine cabinets in today's episode, we've uncovered the same fundamental truths.

34:19

Jordan Tyler

Number one: concentration matters. Whether it's an essential oil, a corrosive drain cleaner or xylitol in a sugar free gum, the stronger something is, right? Let's say you just dump a bunch of essential oil and in a bowl and let that sit in your house, that's going to be a danger to your pets. But one drop in a 16-ounce thing of water is probably not as bad. Number two: dose determines the poison. Again, a single slice of onion or a little microscopic piece of minced garlic probably is not a reason to take your dog to the vet, but giving them a Bloomin’ Onion definitely will. And perhaps most importantly: species differences are critical here. What's safe for us can be deadly to them, and further, what's safe for a dog can be deadly to a cat vice versa. So, species is really important here.

35:19

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Your pets trust you to create a safe environment, and now you're equipped with the knowledge to do exactly that. Read labels, store products securely, and never assume that “natural” means safe. And when in doubt, don't wait and see. Call your veterinarian, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control center, or Pet Poison Helpline immediately.

35:43

Jordan Tyler

We've added the numbers for both the ASPCA Animal Poison Control center and Pet Poison Helpline to the show notes for today's episode along with links to episode one and episode two of this series. So, if you learned something, if you like what you heard, share these episodes with your fellow pet lovers. Because the more we know, the safer our pets will be.

36:07

Dr. Stephanie Clark

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Barking Mad. If you want to learn more about BSM Partners, please visit us at www.bsmpartners.net. Don't forget to subscribe on your favorite leading podcast platform or share it with a friend to stay current on the latest pet industry trends and conversations.

36:29

Jordan Tyler

We'd also like to thank our dedicated team, Ada-Miette Thomas, Neeley Bowden, Kait Wright, Cady Wolf, and Dr. Katy Miller. A special shout out to Lee Ann Hagerty and Michael Johnson in support of this episode, and to David Perez for our original music in the intro and outro. See you next time!