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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Dog vomiting and weak after drinking spilled herbicide

By Harrington, M L et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1996·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Suspected herbicide toxicosis in a dog.

Species:
dog
Dog vomitingStomach & digestionDogs

Plain-English summary

An 8-year-old Golden Retriever was brought to the vet after vomiting, showing signs of abdominal pain, weakness, and difficulty walking for two days. The dog had been found drinking from pools of a spilled herbicide just hours before the symptoms started. After some tests, the vet suspected the dog had been poisoned by the herbicide, which can cause muscle problems. With supportive care, the dog recovered from the herbicide poisoning and is now doing better.

People also search for: dog vomiting after herbicide exposure · Golden Retriever weakness treatment · dog muscle problems from poisoning

Abstract

An 8-year-old 38-kg spayed female Golden Retriever was admitted for vomiting, signs of abdominal pain on palpation, ataxia, anorexia, and generalized weakness of 2 days' duration. Ten hours prior to onset of clinical signs, the dog was found standing in and drinking from large pools of an accidentally spilled herbicide that contained an octanoic acid ester of bromoxynil (3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzonitrile) and an isooctyl ester of (2-methyl-4-chloro) phenoxyacetic acid (MCPA). Appendicular muscles were firm on palpation and persistent muscle contraction (myotonia > 1 minute duration) was found on muscle percussion, using a reflex hammer. Electrical activity indicative of myotonia was identified on electromyographic evaluation. With supportive treatment, the dog eventually recovered from suspected MCPA toxicosis. Although rare, MCPA toxicosis should be considered as a cause of acquired myotonia in dogs.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8960192/