Valley Veterinary Centre is a well established veterinary clinic in the heart of Happy Valley. We are open seven days a week, 365 days a year.
28/02/2025
Rodenticides - “rat poisons” are chemical agents aimed at eliminating small rodents.
There is always discussion regarding use of rodenticides in Hong Kong and access our pets, especially dogs, may have to them. Remember that control of the rat population is very important from a human health perspective as rats do spread diseases such as Leptospirosis. Unfortunately with Hong Kong’s dense living, mild climate and close proximity to “jungle” - rat populations thrive and need to be controlled. Distribution of these baits needs to be done thoughtfully- minimising accidental access from non targeted animals.
It is important to understand how most rodenticides work - that is by making the animal bleed to death, usually into the lungs. The poison stops the blood from clotting and results in internal bleeding until they die.
They are the “Silent Killers”. If your dog eats rat poison there are no initial symptoms- there is no vomiting, no diarrhoea, no seizures, no convulsions, no collapsing. You would not know unless you saw the dog ingest the bait. Over the next few days the dog will become lethargic, have pale gums, external bruising and may then just die. Of course the amount of poison eaten in relation to the size of the dog is important. A large dog that ate a small amount of poison may very well be fine.
So if you see your dog eat rat poison and you think “he/she looks fine!”- Don’t be complacent. It would be best to get the dog to the vet to induce vomiting and get the poison out ASAP. Generally VitK (the antidote) is given by injection and followed with oral tablets for upto 1 month. Close monitoring of blood clotting profiles is done during this time.
If your dog does develop symptoms of rodenticide ingestion ie bleeding, then intensive care is required and the prognosis at that stage is guarded.
