My Dog Ate Birth Control: What Should I Do Now? (4 Tips)

Although it’s not usual, many households now have birth control pills stored. With our dog’s curiosity, it can be one of the many things they can sniff and eat. Thus, it’s no wonder why many pet owners experience such.

So,  you may ask: my dog ate birth control: what should I do now? The first thing you need to do is observe your pet for symptoms of issues or complications. These pills aren’t toxic, and so you don’t have to worry that much about poisoning. Still, you need to observe your pet to ensure it’s safe after eating these pills. Of course, it’s an entirely different case if your pet included the package.

Most of the birth control pills have a low concentration of hormones. Moreover, it has no toxic ingredients that can harm your pet. It may cause some digestive issues, but that’s about it.

In this article, we’ll tackle everything you need to know about birth control pills and their effect on dogs. This way, you’ll learn how to deal with such a situation if it happens.

Without further ado, let’s get into it!

What happens if a dog eats a pill?

There’s nothing much that will happen if your dog eats a birth control pill. Such pills have a low hormone concentration. Thus, your pet should be alright even if it ingested a whole pack.

The only worry about this would be if your pet also ate the packaging, usually a plastic bottle. If your pet only ate the pills, it shouldn’t cause any problem.

Of course, eating many birth control pills also comes with some effects on our pets. Still, it’s not that grave that you would worry about it.

The worst thing that can happen is that your dog would suffer from digestive issues such as an upset stomach, diarrhea, or mild vomiting. Other than that, your pet should be alright.

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Will birth control pills hurt a dog?

As I said, most birth control pills have a low hormone concentration. Thus, it shouldn’t cause any problem if your pet ate it, even in large amounts.

Of course, it will still depend on how tolerant your pet is during these kinds of circumstances.

While some pets would be alright, some would experience some small issues after ingestion. Among the complications would be mild vomiting, an upset stomach, and diarrhea.

Other than that, your pet should be alright. Still, it would be best to keep an eye on your pet, especially on the days following the incident.

Can birth control kill a dog?

It’s not likely that a dog would die from eating a birth control pill. These drugs contain low levels of components that could harm a dog. Thus, eating a birth control pill shouldn’t be enough to kill a dog.

In reality, birth control pills need to be quite a large amount before it becomes toxic to dogs. In fact, it would take hundreds of drugs in a medium-sized dog to be a problem.

Still, it doesn’t mean you would just leave these drugs everywhere. It would always be best to prevent such incidents by taking these pills out of your pet’s reach.

How to recognize that your dog ate birth control?

Our pet dogs can be quite the sneaky type. Thus, chances are you won’t catch your pet in action.

To recognize if your dog ate birth control pills, you need to check them for some light digestive issues. However, this likely won’t show if your pet only ate a couple of pieces.

In particular, you can look for symptoms of digestive issues and dehydration. Here are the following symptoms this complication may include:

  • Mild vomiting
  • Stomach Ache
  • Diarrhea

If the following symptoms seem to worsen, contact your vet right away. This way, you can be confident your pet receives proper diagnosis and treatment.

Still, it’s not likely that the complications would continue. If your dog ate these pills, the problems should subside in a couple of hours.

What should I do if my dog ate birth control?

As pet owners, we want to ensure our pet’s safety, and that we need to ensure that nothing is wrong with them.

Here are four simple tips you can do if your dog ate a birth control pill.

Observe your dog.

You need to observe your dog and look for any signs of pain or reaction after eating this product. Although it’s not likely to happen, it would still be best to prepare for the worst.

Some symptoms would mean danger, and if such happens, you may need to call or take your pet to the nearest vet.

If your pet seems alright and doesn’t show any signs of severe symptoms, you may proceed with the next one.

Clean the area and remove the remnants.

The last thing you’ll want is for your pet to eat more birth control pills. Thus, you should remove any remnants from the area.

Dogs usually find such things in your bathrooms and bedrooms. More likely, they may find it lying someplace where you take it.

Wherever the product came from, ensure the area is secure and no more remnants.

Understand what happened.

Birth control pills should remain even in large amounts. It would take hundreds of drugs for it to be toxic to dogs.

Still, understanding the situation will give you an idea of how you should deal with it. It would be best to note every detail you can gather regarding the incident.

Here are a few questions that you need to answer and understand from the scene. 

  • How many birth control pills did your pet eat? (Did it swallow the bottle as well?)
  • How long has it been since it happened? (the sooner you knew, the better)
  • Did your dog consume other items aside from the product? (perhaps your pet eats other products that can be way more toxic)

Getting such information would make you understand how worse the incident is. Moreover, it will help you report what happened if you visit the vet and ask about what happened.

birth control pills

Take your pet to your vet.

Birth control pills may not pose that much of a threat. However, nothing beats the assurance coming from your vet.

An immediate call to your vet upon learning about the situation would give you an expert’s advice on what to do. As long as you give every piece of information you can gather, it will help diagnose your pet’s condition.

Moreover, your vet will give you some directions on what to do and what to observe with your dog.

Even if your dog shows no adverse reaction upon taking the product, a visit to the vet will help you ensure it is alright. 

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How long does it take for a pill to digest in a dog?

A pill usually takes 20-30 minutes to get digested in a dog’s stomach after consumption. If you want to induce vomiting, it should be within this duration.

Still, inducing your pet to vomit isn’t ideal, mainly if it ate a birth control pill. The best thing to do is observe your pet and see if it shows severe symptoms.

If it seems fine after a day or two, it should be alright, and you don’t have to do anything about it.

Why do dogs eat birth control?

There’s no exact way to tell why dogs eat birth control pills. Still, if you would look at dogs, they are curious pets.

The main reason they would eat such is that if they see you eating one and start thinking it’s also food for them.

Another thing is that you left it lying around for these dogs to sniff. They likely find it smelling good and decided to eat one.

Whatever the reason is, the best way to prevent such an incident is to keep it out of your pet’s reach at all times.

How to prevent dogs from eating birth control pills

A dog eating birth control pills isn’t surprising anymore. Still, it should be a lesson to prevent it from happening again. Here are some of the things you can do to prevent your pet from eating such pills again.

Place the product somewhere unreachable.

The first thing you need is to secure the place where you store your birth control pills. It will be ideal for putting it somewhere your dog can’t see and reach.

Another thing you can do is not to show your dog whenever you’re taking this drug. This way, you can be sure your pet won’t get its hands on such a product again.

If your dog has access to your room, put your pills and other similar products in place it can’t reach. 

Divert your dog’s attention.

Another thing you can do is to divert your dog’s attention away from the pills. You can do this by giving your pet an interactive toy.

Moreover, allow your pet to play in areas without these pills and other similar items.

This way, you’ll avoid having your pet running around and eating this lip product again.

Introduce such toys with your guidance, and leave them with your pet only as long as you think it’s alright. It may take a few days or weeks, depending on your dog’s output.

What should you do if your dog ate melatonin or chapstick? Check it out!

Summary

Our pets often make us worry about them by eating the things they shouldn’t. One of these items is the birth control pills and other drugs we store in our house.

The good thing is that birth control pills are not toxic to our dogs. Thus, it shouldn’t cause any grave issues if your pet decides to munch on one.

If it caused any issues, a visit to the vet would be necessary to ensure your pet receives proper treatment. Nevertheless, it’s a small problem that wouldn’t need excessive treatment.

Still, it would be best to keep such products out of your pet’s reach. This way, you can prevent such incidents and keep your dog safe.

Resources

Image credits – Canva

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