Basil’s brush with toxic conkers sparks dog warning

Wednesday 10 October 2018

A dog owner is warning others to keep away from conkers this autumn after her pup narrowly avoided becoming seriously ill after nibbling the potentially fatal seed.

Young Cavapoo Basil could have found himself in trouble this week after accidentally munching on a horse chestnut.

Owner Sarah Pope didn't realise that as well as being a stomach blockage hazard, they also contain a chemical called aesculin, which is toxic to dogs.

“Basil got hold off the conker in our house, as my girls love collecting them. [He] happily eating it when I saw him. I then thought, ‘Oh god, I wonder if it’s toxic to dogs?’, as a lot of things are now,” Sarah recalled to Express.

But, acting on instinct, she thought fast.

Pictured: Conkers have a toxic chemical for dogs.

“I googled it, which was giving me mixed information, so I decided to phone the vets to ask if it was toxic. They said it was toxic for dogs and for me to take him to them.”

She was able to get Basil there in just 30 minutes, meaning that they were able to give him a drug to make him sick, ridding his body of the nasty nut.

“He brought it all up. He didn’t have enough time to go into toxic shock with my quick actions… Then they give another drug to do the reverse stop him being sick. It left him feeling very tired and sorry for himself. I was told to give him charcoal which flushes the conker though.” 

Fortunately, it worked, and, although Basil was a bit unwell in the short-term, he avoided getting seriously ill.

While rare, UK dog charity Blue Cross warns that deaths can occur if dogs consume conkers.

Pictured: Basil is fortunately feeling better now.

Even in non-fatal cases, the effects of eating conkers, which sometimes don’t present themselves until a few days later, can still be particularly unpleasant for dogs.

“They can vomit, collapse, have diarrhoea, get very restless with the discomfort and pain, become severely dehydrated and go into toxic shock. It has also been reported that dogs can experience respiratory paralysis and can die,” the charity warned.

Their advice to dog owners is to “keep a watchful eye” as their pets forage and explore this autumn, keep them out of reach in the home, and to keep them distracted with a suitable dog toy on walks.

Above all, “don’t encourage them to catch or play with them and if they show signs of becoming unwell after you have been out and about then contact your vet as soon as possible.”

As for Basil, he is now fortunately back to his normal self.

Lead photo: Basil after being taken to the vets after eating a conker.