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Concern about dog licking salve w/potentially toxic plant material

Joanne

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Apr 14, 2023
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1. Your pet's name, age, sex: Martin, 10, Male
2. Neutering status: Neutered
3. Breed: Chihuahua mix
4. Approximate weight: 10 lbs.
5. What's their BEAM (behavior, energy, appetite, mood): Good
6. Diet: Freeze-dried raw
7. Vaccination history / exposure to toxins, other medication: No recent vaccines; questioning toxicity to herbal salve he licked
8. Primary problem, when it began and if there was anything else happening around that time: He licked an herbal salve I'm using on my leg and I'm concerned if any of the ingredients are toxic for dogs.
9. Is the condition better or worse from exercise, heat, cold, time of day, certain foods, emotional upset, being touched, excitement, etc? N/A
10. Has any diagnostic work been done? Diagnosis if available (you can attach your diagnostic tests to the post if you have them.) No, he just licked it this afternoon.
11. Current and previous treatment. Just monitoring for now.
12. Other health concerns. N/A

Hello, my dog Martin licked (one good lick) a white pine salve that I used on my leg. It has a lot of herbal ingredients, so I'd just like to make sure that he'll be OK. So far, he's been fine. I looked up a few of the ingredients and it says they are potentially toxic for dogs. Here's the full list:

Olive Oil
Beeswax
Castor Oil
Chaparral Leaf
Yarrow Leaf & Flower
White Oak Bark
Chickweed Leaf
Marshmallow Root
Slippery Elm Bark
Pine Tar
Mullein & Plantain Leaf
Tea Tree Essential Oil
Coconut Oil
Flower & Gem Essences

Here's a link to the product page as well: White Pine Salve

I appreciate you looking into this for me/letting me know if there's anything I should do. @Dr. Christina @Dr. Jeff

Joanne
 
Most dogs, in their normal lives, lick tons of weird things and usually are fine.
Let go of your worry, as a small lick should not be a problem. Eating a whole jar, which I have seen many times, could be, though rarely it is .

I see nothing in the list that would be harmful unless in huge quantities, and in a salve with so many ingredients there could not be very much of any one of them

Deep breath, watch the BEAM, love with no worry.

Dr. Christina
 
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