2011's Top 10 Toxins and Dog Names Reported to Pet Poison Helpline

Most of these toxins shouldn’t be a surprise to most of us. Chocolates, pesticides, insecticides, mouse and rat poison, household cleaners, human anti-depressants, ADD and ADHD medications and cold medicine all make the Pet Poison Helpline's newly released list.

On the other hand, some of these toxins may be surprising to some dog owners. Grapes, xylitol (a sweetener found in candy and gum), flea and tick treatments (canine treatments are toxic to cats), human pain relievers such as Advil, Motrin and Tylenol (ibuprofen and naproxen should never be given to pets) and veterinary pain relievers such as Rimadyl in high doses are all considered poisonous to pets.

Our pets are just like kids and as we do when we have babies in the house, we should always “pet proof” our homes, making sure they do not have access to anything that may harm them.

We have six dogs in the country and live about 40 minutes from the nearest vet. Here in the country, our dogs have suffered wild animal attacks, cut themselves and had snake bites.

We’ve consulted with our vet to make sure anything we may treat our dogs with is safe. We have a list of approved pain relievers and snake bite treatments and the doses, a smart thing for any pet owner.

2011's Top 10 Dog Names

Now for some fun stuff. Along with the top 10 toxins reported in 2011, the helpline also released the top 10 dog names that came with those reports. Those names were:

1. Bella
2. Lucy
3. Max
4. Molly
5. Daisy
6. Bailey
7. Charlie
8. Lily
9. Maggie
10. Sadie and Buddy were tied for tenth place!

We have two of these names in our household and another one for a foster dog we adopted out.

Have you encountered any of these pet poisons in the past, or (on a lighter note) chosen any of these top dog names for your pets? Share with a comment!