Is Play-Doh Harmful To Dogs?

Category: Dog Care, Pet Health | Tags:

Date: March 2nd, 2011

I heard a story this morning from my neighbor who has an American Bull Dog.  His daughter was playing with play-doh and by accident the dog ate a huge clump of it!  He called his vet, and the vet told him the play-doh is extremely toxic, and to immediately bring him in to be seen.  They pumped the dog’s stomach, along with some other treatment, and the dog is just fine now.  Thank god.  However, this made me very curious to find out what exactly about play-doh is toxic.

After some research, here is what I found:

The ingestion of play-doh, depending on the formulation and circumstances of exposure, could potentially produce sodium or salt poisoning, which causes brain swelling, seizures and comes, and is usual fatal to dogs. It could also result in a gastrointestinal tract blockage if a large enough quantity is consumed.  Homemade varieties tend to contain larger amounts of salt than commercial ones do, so the risk of poisoning can be higher.

Because of this, we recommend that pet owners keep pets away while working with or making homemade play-doh, and to also store the dough in a secure container out of their pets’ reach.