Besides being dog owners, many of you will be like me and be horse owners – or at least horse riders at local stables. Did you know hoof oil (Effol) is poisonous? It apparently contains cyanide (because of the laurel content). I’ve just been sent a tale about a dog who decided to taste some Effol, and the effects and the action to take is something we all need to know. This is their story.
‘The galga got hold of the bottom of a jar of hoof oil (Effol) and ended up in the vet surgery. We were all terrified as this awful tar was coming out both ends. She had a temperature of 39.8 – at 40 a dog can die. The vet gave her a vital injection to make her sick and put her on a drip because the tar was coming out both ends – mouth and bottom – and the dog could end up dehydrated.
As there would not be anyone at the clinic overnight to monitor her condition, we carried our dog out – drip still attached – and took her home. We had to keep washing her because this black gunge was oozing out of her, and wiped her body down with cool water to get her temperature down. We took it in turns to sit up with her through the night.
Back to the vet the next day for a check over, her temperature was still up, but the drip was removed and we took her back home and left her to be calm and to rest. She livened up a bit later on and pooed – still covered in tar but more solid. We also had to watch out for her coughing because, if the tar is inhaled, it can go into the lungs. Luckily in this instance, the galga’s lungs are clear, because everyone was so quick off the mark to realise what had happened and get her to our vet.
There are apparently several types of Effol, many contain laurel and the advice would be – if you are sure your dog has ingested, then get to the vet fast – it will kill them and the period of time is only 2 hours during which they must have the injection to make them sick.
We were really lucky, but it could so easily have been a sad end. Please share our experience with everyone.’