How can you tell if your dog ate rat poison?

Poisoning is a deliberate act intended to cause medical issues, up to and including death, in a targeted animal. Veterinarians will generally use the term "intoxication", which does not imply malicious intent.

Signs of intoxication vary depending upon the causative agent. Some chemicals have a first sign of sudden death, particularly if the dose was extremely high. Other chemicals cause central nervous system deficits such as drooling, incoordination, seizures or collapse. Still other classes cause hematologic deficits, such as acute anemia, clotting factor disruption resulting in uncontrolled hemorrhage.

Often intoxication is recognized after treatment has been initiated, so it's hard to tell at home that your dog has been poisoned or intoxicated. However, sudden onset of abnormal clinical signs such as those listed above would be a good reason to take your dog to a veterinarian immediately - even if your dog hasn't been poisoned, these conditions need to be diagnosed and treated quickly.