Deadly Bufo Frogs and Your Dog
Bufo frogs (Bufo marinus) mainly inhabit South Florida and Hawaii.
These slow moving creatures are great toys for dogs, as they slowly hop around your garden, usually in the early evening.
The problem with these creatures is they are highly poisonous and it will take less than fifteen minutes for their poison to kill a small dog or puppy.
Bufo frogs were put in the US and Hawaii as a way to reduce the amounts of insects not realizing how dangerous they really are.
These brown skinned creatures are usually about six to nine inches and they spray white liquid up to two meters, which can poison your dog within minutes.
The majority of the time your pet will be poisoned when biting these creatures, they do not spray unless provoked and there are ways to prevent this from happening.
How to Prevent Your Dog from Being Poisoned They come out at dusk or dawn, when it's cooling down to eat insects.
They love pet food so be sure that you don't leave pet food lying around outside, as this will attract them.
Put a muzzle on your dog when they are outside.
This may sound cruel, but with a muzzle on your pet won't be able to bite and therefore the worst that will happen is they get sprayed in the eyes which can quickly and easily be washed out with lots of cold water.
Improve the drainage in your yard.
These creatures are most active during spring and summer when it's wet, so improving your drainage will result in less wet pools for the frogs to be attracted to.
You can set traps and catch as many as possible and always have a good wander around your yard before letting your pet out on their own.
Symptoms of Poisoning Smaller dogs and puppies are most likely to die from the poison, as they are much smaller so they don't need a large dose to kill them.
Larger dogs stand a better chance, but the results can be devastating, especially if they bite into a creature and the poison ravages through their body quickly.
Some of the symptoms to look out for are your dog pawing their mouth, excessive salivation, very red gums, stiff body and difficulty breathing.
The biggest problem is your pet is likely to get lock jaw and you need to get their jaw open to help them breathe and wash their mouths out with water.
What to Do You will know immediately if your dog has been poisoned by a bufo frog.
They will have white sticky liquid around their mouths and they will be stiff and unresponsive.
The first thing you need to do is get their mouths open, this may take some prying especially with larger breeds.
Once opened rinse their mouths thoroughly with water, use a hose pipe if necessary.
Just be careful you don't drown your pet by spraying water up their nose and down their throat.
Once thoroughly rinsed, check to see all sticky liquid is out and wipe any excess away and immediately go to your local vet.
Knowing what to do and how to prevent it can result in it never happening to your dog.
Take precautions and know what to do if your dog does get poisoned.
These slow moving creatures are great toys for dogs, as they slowly hop around your garden, usually in the early evening.
The problem with these creatures is they are highly poisonous and it will take less than fifteen minutes for their poison to kill a small dog or puppy.
Bufo frogs were put in the US and Hawaii as a way to reduce the amounts of insects not realizing how dangerous they really are.
These brown skinned creatures are usually about six to nine inches and they spray white liquid up to two meters, which can poison your dog within minutes.
The majority of the time your pet will be poisoned when biting these creatures, they do not spray unless provoked and there are ways to prevent this from happening.
How to Prevent Your Dog from Being Poisoned They come out at dusk or dawn, when it's cooling down to eat insects.
They love pet food so be sure that you don't leave pet food lying around outside, as this will attract them.
Put a muzzle on your dog when they are outside.
This may sound cruel, but with a muzzle on your pet won't be able to bite and therefore the worst that will happen is they get sprayed in the eyes which can quickly and easily be washed out with lots of cold water.
Improve the drainage in your yard.
These creatures are most active during spring and summer when it's wet, so improving your drainage will result in less wet pools for the frogs to be attracted to.
You can set traps and catch as many as possible and always have a good wander around your yard before letting your pet out on their own.
Symptoms of Poisoning Smaller dogs and puppies are most likely to die from the poison, as they are much smaller so they don't need a large dose to kill them.
Larger dogs stand a better chance, but the results can be devastating, especially if they bite into a creature and the poison ravages through their body quickly.
Some of the symptoms to look out for are your dog pawing their mouth, excessive salivation, very red gums, stiff body and difficulty breathing.
The biggest problem is your pet is likely to get lock jaw and you need to get their jaw open to help them breathe and wash their mouths out with water.
What to Do You will know immediately if your dog has been poisoned by a bufo frog.
They will have white sticky liquid around their mouths and they will be stiff and unresponsive.
The first thing you need to do is get their mouths open, this may take some prying especially with larger breeds.
Once opened rinse their mouths thoroughly with water, use a hose pipe if necessary.
Just be careful you don't drown your pet by spraying water up their nose and down their throat.
Once thoroughly rinsed, check to see all sticky liquid is out and wipe any excess away and immediately go to your local vet.
Knowing what to do and how to prevent it can result in it never happening to your dog.
Take precautions and know what to do if your dog does get poisoned.
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