Boodzey Ate His Sunscreen

[Law]

Last night we found Boodzey in the backyard with the chewed up remains of his doggie sunscreen. He then later vomited three times, which all had zinc through it.

I straight away called the emergency vet as we couldn't even read the tube to see if there was a warning. They said he should be fine but to keep an eye on him and maybe give him some milk.

He was sookie for the rest of the night, wouldn't eat and was acting quite strange at times. He wouldn't drink the milk out of the bowl, so knocked it over and started licking it off the floor.....

He seemed to be pretty normal this morning.

Has anybody had this happen before? Or have any idea of what was going on?

Thanks

[puggy_puggy]

I think that some people give zinc as a suppliment so I wouldn't be that worried. And the fact that he threw up a few times means that he probably managed to get a fair bit out of his system.

As the vet said just keep and eye on him.

Do you know the brand of the sunscreen? Maybe you can google it and see what it contains. If it's a doggy one then they should have already factored in that dogs might injest some of it by licking etc when it is put on them so it is probably pretty safe.

As for his behaviour he probably knew he had done something wrong. I am sure you guys yelled at him for being so stupid etc.

[Muttaburra]

Zinc is toxic in high doses.

The symptoms of zinc toxicosis can be confused with acute gastrointestinal episodes because the patient may be uninterested in food or lethargic while vomiting and having diarrhoea, either of which may be bloody. The swallowed object may not be visible in X-rays depending on its size, whether the dog vomited the object or passed it in faeces, and its consistency. Zinc-medicated ointments and shampoos aren’t visible in X-rays the way pennies are.

from http://www.dogicuts.com/index_files/toxic.htm

You have the advantage in that you discovered your dogs ingestion of zinc quickly and have the opportunity to monitor and observe knowing what the problems might be. With luck he has vomited a lot of it up or passed it through.

Just keep an eye on him and get in touch with the vet if any further symptoms occur.

Glad that all seems ok.

Now please forgive me I just have to say this

At least the sun won't shine out of his ass anymore, at least for a while

[Muttaburra]

I think that some people give zinc as a suppliment so I wouldn't be that worried. And the fact that he threw up a few times means that he probably managed to get a fair bit out of his system.

As the vet said just keep and eye on him.

Do you know the brand of the sunscreen? Maybe you can google it and see what it contains. If it's a doggy one then they should have already factored in that dogs might injest some of it by licking etc when it is put on them so it is probably pretty safe.

As for his behaviour he probably knew he had done something wrong. I am sure you guys yelled at him for being so stupid etc.

Puggy puggy, just to clarify on the point of zinc as a dietary factor

Dietary zinc is an important mineral, but its normal concentrations in the canine diet are very low, about 80 to 120 parts per million on a dry weight basis. The large amounts found in pennies, zinc-coated objects, and topical medications like zinc oxide cause acute zinc toxicity in dogs, leading to gastroenteritis, haemolytic anaemia, inflammation, and possible necrosis (destruction of tissue) of the liver, kidney, and pancreas.

Go easy on the zinc, it is only needed in tiny traces.

[puggy_puggy]

Thanks IDWT.

I don't give zinc to my fur kids but I know that some people suggest it as a suppliment sometimes.

[Law]

Thank you guys for the advice.

Yes he seems to have vomited most of it up.

I understand that his tummy probably wasn't feeling so good so thats why he was sookie.

We didn't reprimand him at all as we didn't actually catch him eating it.

The only thing I was confused by was the odd behaviour. He also at one point was sort of nudging at the floor as if to puch something along although there was nothing there.....