Hi there! I’m Star, a fun-loving, hyperactive husky! Have you seen my ball? Where’s my ball? Oh, my chew toy! Grrr.
What are you doing here today? Why aren’t you busy giving your dog belly rubs? Why aren’t you playing fetch? Oh… You want to know if we can eat Aloe? Oh dear, I hope you haven’t given your pup any!
Aloe Vera is something you humans like to look at a lot, it sure does look pretty, you also seem to enjoy cutting it open and putting it in things and even eating it. Weird. As cool as it looks and despite how much you humans love it, it is not good for dogs.
It can be poisonous to us actually, and we are not meant to consume it.
Though it is unlikely that it will kill dogs, it still has the capability to do so, and if it doesn’t, you can expect some trouble, and a very unhappy doggo.
The latex part of the Aloe Vera plant can cause us to get cramps, be sick, feel nauseated and become dehydrated.
What is most dangerous is how it can lower the blood sugar, this is really dangerous as anyone who has blood sugar issues will know, it can cause coma and even death.
And if we die from this, how can we play with you all the time, and give you cuddles? Hmm?
The chemical that makes Aloe Vera dangerous to dogs is called ‘saponin’, it is not just to be avoided by dogs, but also cats, other pets and also your children. Keep these plants away from all of our curious teeth.
What happens if my dog eats Aloe Vera?
Let me tell you what will happen if your dog eats Aloe Vera while I chew on this rope. Grrr.
The least problematic thing that will happen is sickness, while the most problematic is death. Anything can happen as a result in between.
There are some symptoms you can watch out for to keep yourself aware of what may happen if your pup has Aloe Poisoning.
(This rope is really tasty.)
Symptoms of Aloe Vera Poisoning in your pup.
- Pain and bloating in the abdomen.
- Heart rate abnormalities.
- Anorexia.
- Difficulties with breathing.
- Dark Urine.
- Depression.
- Diarrhea.
- Dilated Pupils.
- Drooling.
- Head-shaking.
- Hyperthermia/ high temperature.
- Tiredness/ lethargy.
- Spasms, twitches, or weakness in the muscles.
- Sickness/ nausea.
- Skin irritations, rashes, hair loss, and flaky skin.
- Tremors.
- Incoordination.
- Vomiting.
- Weight loss.
- Seizures.
- Going into a coma.
Obviously, Aloe Vera poisoning can happen to your dog is they eat it, this is why you should keep it out of reach of our curious muzzles at all times.
It can also happen as a result of being fed products that have Aloe Vera gels in them, or latex. If anything, this is your motivation to stop leaving your beauty products laying about ready for us to chomp away at.
Sometimes we can get Aloe Vera poisoning just from having constant exposure to it as well, we might be exposed to it one or two times and be okay, but then after a third, fourth, or fifth time, it’s too much and WOOF we are sick.
Can Aloe make dogs sick?
Yes, although Aloe Vera is a medicinal plant for you back-leg walking creatures, it is the level of toxicity is between mild and moderate for both us dogs, and felines too.
It has many possible symptoms that we can suffer from, none of them fun and of varying degrees of severity, ranging from depression and diarrhea to anorexia, seizures, coma, and even death.
Just please keep that pointy, gooey plant away from us and all will be fine.
How much Aloe Vera can I give to my dog?
You may have gone onto the ‘intailnet’ and seen some veterinary practices saying that you can give us Aloe Vera. This… this is why we don’t like going to the vet!
Most vets are wonderful and will give us a good old belly rub before sorting us out, but some don’t and those vets we don’t like.
Vets who say we can have Aloe… we like even less.
While a small amount, on a one of basis with a healthy dog is unlikely to lead to death, it can still make us unwell. You wouldn’t be willing to drink poison, would you?
If someone told you “This cookie will taste interesting, but by eating it you have a change of making yourself really sick, or even dying.” Are you eating that cookie? Star the Husky does not think you would.
Simply, if something is poisonous or toxic to us, just keep it at an arms’ length away from us, don’t risk it if you read some info sheet that said, it might give us shiny fur or something.
Our fur is fine, we like it this way. It is better to ask a professional before feeding anything to us or putting anything on our fur. And if it could be potentially dangerous. We don’t want it.
We want to be able to run around and play fetch, we can’t do that if we are sick.
What plants are toxic to dogs?
Well, human. I am so glad you asked, we know you like to keep your homes full of plants, and we like it too, some of them smell wonderful! But, there are some we want you to keep away from us.
Cannabis is the first one, cannabis plants can give us seizures, respiratory problems, or land us in coma. Lilies, while most lilies are potentially fatal to cats, some types are toxic to us too. Be careful of these, they can really hurt us, and they can kill your felines too.
Sago palms, are very cool looking plants often found in topical gardens, however they can upset our tummies and also give us organ failure. Ivy, messes with our stomach, a tongue and lips, we can get bad swelling from this, Chinese evergreens also do this as do Philodendrons.
Then there are rubber tree plants, which cause bad bellies and skin problems. As well as Asparagus ferns which also mess with our bellies but can cause dermatitis too.
Finally, Lantana, despite being beautiful, for us, it means depression, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal swelling, paralysis and maybe even liver failure.
Keep these plants away from us, if you must have them but them on a shelf far out of the way, so we too can appreciate them from a distance we know they won’t make it sick from.
My owners home! Oh my god, oh my god. Bye human!
