Doggie Russian roulette

I have had the scare of my life! One of our dogs loves to play and hunt frogs in our yard, but usually nothing ever happens. Today she bit the bullet, or in her case the frog, and she almost died. If it were not for the fact that I went online and found a site that indicates what to do right away my dog would have passed in my arms.

If this ever happens to your dog, especially if you see it happen, take your dog and rinse out its mouth by holding it head down and putting the water hose by the side of its mouth to shoot across the mouth and use your fingers to rinse the gums, inside the cheeks and on and around the tongue. Do not spray it down towards the throat since it may cause the dog to swallow more of the poison. Rinse it repeatedly.

If the dog begins to seize, TAKE IT TO THE VET!!! This is a neurological toxin and it can cause respiratory and cardiac distress. Also if you have a small breed, under 10-15lbs, RUN TO THE VET. They are the most vulnerable to poison.

My dog came in contact with a Bufo frog. These are not frogs native to North America. They are South American frogs that were introduce to our country most probably by boats hauling cargo.

Here are some ways to avoid Bufo frogs in your yard, especially if you live in Florida like I do:

1. DO NOT LEAVE DOG FOOD OR CAT FOOD in your yard. They love this food and live on it. When your dog or cat finish eating either discard or put away the remaining food in a sealed container.
2. The same goes for water, do not leave open containers of water for them to get in and breed. If you can get a pet water dispenser or put the water in a protected area where the frogs cannot get in.
3. Use chicken wire or screens buried a few inches under ground and a few feet above ground to keep them from getting in the yard.
4. My vet recommended to buy rock salt to put all around the fence of the yard. Frogs do not like salt, that is if they eat it which is unlikely. I'll try it and if it works, I'll let you know.

Mostly just be aware of where your dog is at and what they are doing. Also be aware of the nature in your dog's environment. If you see frogs around or your dog is chasing an animal in the bushes make sure that you investigate and take precautions to avoid emergencies, especially costly ones that hurt not only your pet and you but also your wallet.

I hope that a few get to read this before it ever happens to your pet, but it is more likely that you will read this as I read this link at http://itjustdawnedonme.com/?p=194 , when your dog's eyes are dialated, it is totally disoriented, foaming or drewling by the mouth and even starting to sieze up.

For most of us our pets are family, so we feel their loss the same as if anyone close to us passes on. Hope this helps a few like the post that I read that helped me in an awful and extremely scary and stressful situation.

:oP Smile!!

For more suggestions on getting rid of Bufos or what to do if your dog gets poisoned, check out:

http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/bufo_toads.html

First post...

This is all new for me. I have read blogs but this is the first I have created. At the moment this is just my first post so I don't have anything that I have prepared to talk about. I will tell you that I have over 15 years experience in accounting, have a degree in IT and that I love to read.

I am the friend everyone calls for advice wether it is for jobs, resumes, money, technology or personal strife. So I hope to use my experience to impart just little bits of info, knowledge, wisdom or whatever you may call it.

Here's to starting something new and to hopefully starting a new path in life.