My dog is ill. Apparently from cannabis ingestion?

Question

The vet thinks she picked it up on a walk and ate it. It's cost us a fortune and affects our insurance. Can we ask for tests to confirm that it is cannabis (they've taken lots of blood tests, urines tests, x-rays etc) and not some hidden underlying problem which will emerge later?

Well, they say they think that's what it is - but I'm wondering if there are tests to confirm it. We're going to pick her up soon and I want to know what I'm talking about.

It was very frightening, actually. Anyone who thinks that cannabis has no affect on you, should have seen what it did to her. We thought she was having some sort of fit - unable to walk, shivering uncontrollably, diarrhea and vomiting. I thought she was dying. It wasn't funny.

Thanks for all your input. No, it wasn't my stash! :) Would I lie?
But the vet says it is a common problem.

It's cost over £700 so far. I'd say she was worth every penny but it means that she cannot afford to be ill again this year!

Answer 1

Yes they can do a urine and blood test for dogs the same as they do for people. It will unfortunately stay in the dogs system for a while. With the hydroponic marijuana that is around now, its fed all sorts of chemicals which can be harmful to dogs and people. I have to admit that an ex boyfriend of mine used to grow pot in the backyard, but it was grown naturally. Whenever i went to see him, i would take my dog for a play date with his, she would walk past the plants and take a mouthful, but it never really hurt her(well physically anyway). But when a later bf had some hydro pot that she got hold of, well, let me just say that i know exactly what you are experiencing. It is literally a chemical poisoning which can be hard to diagnose, because the blood tests look like your dog broke into a dangerous chemical plant and tasted everything. If it hadnt been for the traces of T.H.C from the marijuana, we almost thought someone had baited her. Keep caring for your dog and try to eliminate everyone in the house for the source of the drugs and your dog will recover, not entirely, but she will get better.

And yes it is a common problem, some breeds of dog seem to find it irresistable, (spaniels, labs and most bird retrieving breeds). Some breeds dont care for it at all(rotties, danes,dobes and most of the larger game hunting dogs)

Answer 2

Contact a different vet and ask if urine test can be done to check for it. They do urine tests on racing greyhounds all the time to check for substances, trainers have to been careless with even what would seem meds or ointments eg a muscle linament can trigger a urine test even for a couple weeks after using, or if the dog get into the trainers coffee for a drink the dog would fail. The greyhound trainer do not have a list of what substances will result in failed test to ensure they do not try to beat the systems, so there should be no trouble doing a urine test to confirm if marijuana was the cause even if a few days have passed. Because your vet claimed this was the reason the dog was ill without confirming or even asking if he could a test which would have been easy to confirm, bugs the heck out of me, for that reason I really think you should ask another vet to run the test, especially considering it is affecting your insurance, other substances could probably cause similiar effect, or it could be an allergic reaction to something for example if I take cough syrup with DM in it I end up appearring quite stoned and everthing will start spinning on me. On person at work had taken a migraine medication, their supervisor ended up suspending and hauling the person to the health centre believing the employee was drunk so sometimes things are not aleays as they appear, heck your dog could have ate some sort of mushroom or toadstool instead.

Answer 3

there was an article in the press today about an 11 month old dalmatian eating cannabis whilst she was being walked. Was that your dog? If not apparently she appeared very dazed, shaky & hadn't returned to normal yet despite happening a few days ago & the owner is very concerned about the dalmatian's long term prognosis. Having a dalmatian myself, I know how good they are at sniffing anything out that might be vaguely edible & they will try to eat anything. I do know that the British Army (amongst many other employers) regularly test recruits for drugs through urine & blood samples. I am sure that vets can do the same (I bet racing greyhounds get tested for just about every known chemical substance) so speak with your vet about what tests are available. If your vet is unhelpful, you are within your rights to ask for a second opinion for another vet at the same vets practise or ask another practise their opinion but remember you will be liable for the bills (unless your dog ins insured).

Good luck!

Answer 4

Cannabis does not have the same effect on dogs as on people as you have found out. It causes nausea, vomiting, and shaking. How severe the reaction is depends on how much she ate, I'm assuming it was resin. They usually vomit it up soon after eating so don't tend to absorb that much.
The effects are short term and there shouldn't be any long term health issues for your dog.
The blood tests etc that your vet took should rule out anything else; just inform the vet that you'd like tests done to rule out other possibile causes and if you want to cover yourself with the insurance company later you can put it in writing and keep a copy.

People sometimes drop their resin if they think theres a chance of being stopped; they sometimes go back to pick it up but may just leave it as its not that expensive to replace. So its possible for your dog to find it and eat it. Hopefully your dog won't touch it in future.

Answer 5

Er... I haven't seen many lumps of resin lying around when I walk my dog!!! If it was a roll up stub... well there wouldn't be much cannabis left in it!!
I would ask your vet on what basis is he making this diagnosis,and for a copy of all the results of tests that have been performed. I'd then seek a second opinion at another veterinary practice(take the results with you).

Sounds like an extremely remote possibility to me... but then again I'm a dog owner ... not a vet!

Hope doggy gets better soon and you get to the bottom of this.
xxx

Answer 6

I would be investigating further about the source of the illness (unless you're telling porky pies and you know for sure that she ate your stash).

It is very unlikely that a dog or cat would eat dry vegetable type matter such as cannabis. Delta9-tetrahydracannibinol is the active ingredient in marijuana.

Unless of course, it was mixed well with her normal meal or she is the type of dog who eats everything in sight.

Good luck, I hope you don't find an underlying problem, but I also hope that you get to the bottom of the mystery!

Answer 7

Why does the vet think your dog ate pot? Did the vet do any tests on blood and/or urine to confirm this? Have the vet do blood work to check for kidney or liver damage. Sounds to me like your doggie ingested something chemical, not herbal. Good luck.

Answer 8

You can ask them to do any test you want, but it all costs money. But hopefully the vets have sorted the problem out, might be worth just keeping an eye on her for a while.

Answer 9

Cannabis smells pretty strong. Not quite sure if a dog would choose to eat this. I know people who have dogs and smoke cannabis, and dogs know not to eat something like that. Also, people who carry cannabis tend to carry it in something e.g bit of tin foil, drug bag or cling film.
What makes the vet think its cannabis?

Answer 10

You should be able to get an OTC drug test that will test for THC (cannibas) plus you may be able to see if sparky has been hitting up any other local drug spots. The down fall to this is you have to wait around for sparky to urinate and well catch it in a cup (good luck with that) but it should work and be fairly inexpensive. Please don't think I am poking fun I am truly trying to help but well having a bit of a sense humor while I am at.