What to do when your dog is poisoned by a frog or toad

Frogs and toads may not seem like huge threats to your canine's health ... until you find one inside of your dog's mouth. Dogs have a tendency to lunge and bite at smaller creatures, such as frogs and toads, when they cross their path. But did you know that a dog can be killed within hours of simply licking a poisonous toad? This is why it is important to make sure your dog never gets his mouth around one, and to know exactly what to do if he does.

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What to do when your dog is poisoned by a frog or toad1. Wash out your dog's mouth

This is the first thing you should do after you dog has licked, mouthed or bitten a frog or toad. Even if you didn't clearly see what kind of amphibian it was and don't know if it was poisonous, start rinsing immediately. The proper way to do this is to stand behind your dog so you can get a strong grip on his jaw, and force his mouth open while using a hose to rinse it out from the side. It's important to only rinse from the side so you're not forcing any water or potential poison down his throat or windpipe. You should continue rinsing for 5-10 minutes to make sure you have gotten most of the foul taste and/or poison out of his mouth.

2. Wipe your dog's mouth with a clean, wet towel

This is to ensure that you have completely cleaned out his entire mouth. Make sure you wipe down his tongue, teeth, the roof and sides of his mouth.

What to do when your dog is poisoned by a frog or toad 3. Wash and clean his paws and legs

If your dog did come in contact with a poisonous frog or toad, you don't want to have left any toxins on your dog's body where he can lick it off later. Even ingesting poison this way can kill a dog.

4. Call or visit your vet immediately

Call or visit your vet and describe your situation, and even describe or bring the offending frog or toad if possible. Your dog will receive better and more accurate treatment if your vet knows exactly what the situation is.

5. Give your dog plenty of water to drink

What to do when your dog is poisoned by a frog or toad
After an unpleasant encounter with a frog or toad, your dog probably won't feel like drinking or eating. However, most dogs who have been poisoned will most likely feel nauseated and will vomit a few times, which will dehydrate them. Make sure he has access to water, which will help him replenish any lost fluids and flush out the toxins in his system.




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When my dog mouthed an unidentified frog during an evening walk outside, it was a terrifying experience. He immediately spit out the frog (which hopped merrily away) as if he had tasted something horrible, and began uncontrollably foaming at the mouth. Fortunately, we were near our home, so my dog was immediately rushed to the bathroom where his mouth was rinsed and wiped until there was no foam left. The vet was alerted, and we were told to continue to monitor the dog's situation.

What to do when your dog is poisoned by a frog or toad He seemed all right for awhile, if a bit traumatized, then he began to vomit. Over the course of two hours he vomited four times, each puddle of bile significantly smaller than the previous one. It was also difficult to tell whether he was so exhausted because he was possibly poisoned, or if it was just all the vomiting that was taking a lot out of him. He did however, manage to drink a little water, which was encouraging.

Thankfully, after three hours, my dog seemed to spring back to life, and actually approached his bowl hoping to get a little food. He was most likely hungry since he had thrown up his entire dinner onto the floor. He was given a little food and some treats and he very happily ate it all without throwing anything back up. Then he went to sleep. Phew.

We were very lucky that my dog's harrowing experience was not a fatal one, although I still don't know whether the frog he encountered was poisonous or not. However, the above instructions are ones that every owner should keep in mind just in case their dogs are ever bested by a frog or toad.

78 comments:

  1. my two-twin dogs ate something poisons them and they didn't eat their meal i don't know what to do please help me!!!!!!!!!!,.,.and my dogs.

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    1. You need to get those dogs to a veterinarian immediately! And try to recall everything they've eaten and been in contact with before they got sick. Bring them to a doctor right away!

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    2. Me and my mom woke up very early when she saw my dog biting something she said it was a frog then she woke up my older cousin then they gave my dog a medicine then my dog was spinning around like a crazy guy I started to cry hard my mom told me to search then I found this we did the rules exept for the vet because it's to early but my dog is already ok it just happened today
      April 1 2016

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    3. my little yorkie dog has eaten over 3 poisonous frogs, following these steps he will be just fine, it's a better idea to give them milk instead of water so that they can vomit any excess of the poison

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    4. Would evaporated milk work as well as regular milk

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    5. My maltu got a hold of a frog and got really sick and stiff. I did what was said to do not only through here but I learned a while back from news 3. I prayed for her and I believe she'll be fine. Thank you Jesus.

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  2. Thank you....my shiba inu was poisoned by a frog last month and because of your post I was able to take care of her and she was just fine. Thank you!

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    1. I'm so glad to hear that! Dogs really know how to get into all sorts of trouble and keep us on our toes, don't they? I'm so happy this post was helpful to others!

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    2. Thank you, I did the same thing to my dog just now she vomitted just once, the TOAD was BIG.

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    3. I'm glad it was just once! Make sure to keep some water nearby, she'll probably be thirsty soon. Hope she feels better soon!

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  3. Our siberian husky bit a toad and vomited 7 times, i followed the instructions though. He wants to sleep already but is breathing a lil heavier and we can hear his stomach growling, is all this normal?

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    1. He's probably exhausted ... and hungry since he vomited up the entire contents of his stomach. It's important to keep him hydrated and please still inform your vet! Always better to have a licensed vet take a look at him too if possible.

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  4. My yorkie also experienced this just last nyt. I woke up 3am coz my dog was crying when i went outside he was lying in a pool of vomit. He cant open his mouth andhe was breathing hard through his nose. He cant move his legs. He was like paralized. I never left his side and i see his struggling and fighting for me. I was crying. After a few hours he stopped crying and he was able to move his legs and ate the food i gave him. It was sunday and our vet was outof town i was able to take him monday and the vet said yeah he was poisoned by frog. I would never leave him outside again. T.T

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    1. I'm so glad your dog is all right! It's an awful thing to watch your dog be in that kind of pain and not be able to do anything about it. I'm happy he pulled through.
      It's too bad your vet was out of town so you couldn't find your pup professional help sooner. I'd see if maybe there's another 24-hour vet somewhere in your area in case of emergency?

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    2. what can i do for our dog has the same issues,vomiting hard to breath through his nose and can not stand up. woke up .sick 2 days ago,please help any ideas?

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  5. This happened to my yorkie just a few hours ago. Very scary. We called an emergency vet and they told us it could have been an encounter with a toad. Sure enough, we looked outside and saw a toad hopping by. We gave the yorkie a bath right away to get him cleaned up. My family and I were so scared!

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  6. My Siberen Husky has a 2 frogs!! Please help me

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    1. Same procedure applies! And get your pup to a doctor right away!

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  7. we just had an encounter with our Golden and a large toad. She was foaming at the mouth and shaking her head. She only puked a little. I immediately wiped out her mouth with paper towel. This was before seeing this post and I gave her a Benadryl tab to prevent a histamine reaction...she seems ok, she has eaten some ice...she has not drank any water yet...should I be concerned since she seems to be ok, this has me very scared....

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    1. It's still always best to get a vet's opinion if you can. I hope she's all right now!

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    2. Pls what did you tell them to do. I cannot find that post.

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    3. You should never give a dog ice .

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  8. My little chi is in doggie hospital right now. Vet said possible frog poisoning.

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  9. I wish the internet had been around back when my dog Sneakers got ahold of a poisonous frog. Maybe he could have been saved. :(

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  10. My Jack Russell just went after a toad. He immediately starting shaking his head and foamed at the mouth. I saw the whole thing so I know he didn't have the toad in his mouth but probably licked itThis was about 1-1/2 hours ago. I wiped his face and mouth with a wet towel. He seems fine now. Sleeping. Should I assume he's okay?? Worried!!

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    1. If he's drinking and eating then he should be all right. I'm always most concerned when pets begin to refuse water and food.

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  11. My dog got a toad in his mouth and just shook his head and sneezed a little. This happened a day or two ago. He seems fine. No vomiting, no foam, still eats like normal. Should I do anything?

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    1. I say if his energy level is fine and he's eating and drinking normally, he's probably over it. Whew!

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  12. My Spaniel bit a toad and I washed her mouth. I do not know what else to do I am scared

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  13. How about small green frogs?

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    1. Those aren't generally poisonous, but if you're dog is having a bad reaction I'd say maybe he's responding to something that was on the frog's skin, and to still implement the steps above.

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  14. I found my beautiful Strawberry dead, she had the toad dead next to her too, it looked like her body exploded and sort of got fried. I saved her 2wks ago and I wasn't around this time':(':

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    1. I'm so sorry to hear that. Losing a pet is always extremely difficult, especially under such circumstances. At least you got two weeks to spend with her, and I'm sure they were happy ones.

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  15. after seeing my jack Russell bite a large toad ,head and body,took him to rinse out the mouth but he kept tilting his head up and swallowed a lot of water, called banefeild and they told me to bring lucky in. the vet came out 20min.later and told me that he seemed fine but was foaming a little. she wanted to do a bunch of stuff and it would cost over 300 dollars. I thought it was too much, could not help feeling that I was being taken for a ride. I wanted to go somewhere else. they then gave me an estimate for a couple of shots and an iv under the skin for 72 dollars. didn't see the vet after that , gave them the go ahead to be on the safe side. they took 15min. and charged me without directions .just that his poop would be dark because of the shots. lucky, my dog seemed fine and was barking loud the whole hour he was in the back stressed him out. doesn't behave that way @ other clinics, the vet also said his heart rate was fine, she also said that toads and frogs are all over Miami. was all this necessary? didn't feel they were honest.

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    1. Not being a vet myself, I can't say whether this was all necessary. Perhaps they were erring on the side of caution, perhaps the dog was lucky to not have mouthed a toad that was actually poisonous, or maybe your Jack Russell is just especially tough.

      But I'm glad that that no matter what happened in between, he came out all right in the end. Just watch what he gets his mouth around more carefully in the future, as it might be something more dangerous next time!

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  16. My boxer mix, Zoe, just gave me a huge scare. I had been playing with her outside and just put her back in my fenced yard when I noticed her mouth was foamy and drooly. I've seen other dogs with the same foamy, drooly mouth after they had eaten a toad but I'd never seen one get sick. I live in North Carolina and have never heard of poisonous/toxic toads here before so I wasn't worried. I came inside and after about 15-20 minutes saw that Zoe was drooling and staggering all over the yard. She was kicking her legs out the front and back trying to keep from falling down like she was drunk. I immediately checked on her then ran to call my husband to get home so we could take her to the vet. While waiting, I Googled her symptoms and discovered that even the Common Toad can be toxic to dogs. My gut feeling was that she had ingested something poisonous and now felt most likely it was a toad. I read this blog of yours and was 99% sure that was the culprit. I was a little relieved when I read what others had said, but I was still very afraid for her life. Zoe had been laying down when my husband got home. She perked up and was able to stand without staggering. She even walked over to get a drink of water (I cleaned & refilled the water bowl in case it might be contaminated by the toad). I washed off the inside & outside of her mouth and she drank plenty of water. I discovered that she had vomited so cleaned that out of the yard. She was hungry and I gave her a little turkey & bread. It has been about 5 hours and she seems to have made an amazing recovery. It's like it didn't even happen! Thanks for your blog! I will be more careful if I ever see my dog near a toad and if I ever see the foamy drooly mouth of a dog, I will know to clean his mouth ASAP and get him/her to a vet. I think Zoe was very lucky today.

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    1. This JUST happened to my bulldog today. Thanks to everyone for this very informative page, you may have just saved my dog's life!

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    2. My puppy ate a frog had to be hospitalized then was fine then later had seizers and died she had the shots after she ate frog couldnt save her she was only 7 months i bought her and the next day she was poisened by frog sad she was a boxer pup so sad i recommend that vaccine for the vermits urine i forget whats its called ask your vet because she died so painful

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  17. This happened to my french bulldog Toby last night -- second time, god I work so hard to keep him from getting in touch with one but it was dark and he is so fast. He foamed at the mouth I was able to rinse immediately with a hose then targeted the area even more with a spray bottle nozzle full of water as getting him to stand still with the hose was a challenge. He did vomit but showed no symptoms of disorientation, staggering or weakness. He went to bed last night with us and woek up this morning drank water, ate, walked, his normal routine, is it safe?

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    1. Generally I feel like if a dog is walking, eating, drinking and being his usual self you're in the clear. It's when they stop eating and drinking, or being lethargic that I start to worry.

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  18. My 1 month old pitbull puppy eaten frog comanly found at homes after 30 min she started womiting tell me she his alright or not

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    1. Follow the steps I outlined above and get a hold of your vet!

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  19. My dog ate a poison toad last week. My parents brought her to the vet as she began having multiple seizures and heart attacks. It was horrible and she almost died. She now has a damaged liver and heart and possibly some to her brain. She will be on meds for a month but she's slowly recovering. Thank you for this article as now I'll know what to do if a dog is ever poisoned again!

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  20. my chihuahuas have done this a few times, i rinse their mouths out, give them peanut butter and benadryl, fixes hem right up. Sadly they don't learn from the experience! and have reoccuring evens.

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  21. My puppy swallowed the leg of a frog and started foaming for about few minutes and felt nauseated. i rinsed her mouth and she was fine after that. After 5 days from this incident she started vomiting whatever she eats and now she has become lean and am worried. here in my city that is Hyderabad, India, vets arent so caring and are commercial. it takes lot of time for the vet to find out what's wrong with the dog. in this case i trust internet more than a vet. can anybody suggest me some medicines to stop vomiting and what kind of food should i feed her?

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  22. My 7 year old Jack Russell just had a toad in her mouth and it scared me! Normally when a toad wanders in our yard, she normally just stands there and states at it but tonight when we went to evict the toad out of the yard, she went to put it her mouth and I don't know whether she licked it or what but she instantly backed away gagging. She never foamed at the mouth but I did my best to rinse her mouth out. She became a bit restless and about a 1/2 hour later she threw up a small pile of foam. I called a vet and described what was happening and he said that should be the extent of it. Now she's finally laying down. I just hoped she learned her lesson.

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  23. Why don't my dog learn not to bite big frogs ? He has done it twice already and was sick and throwing up, Thank you for your information.

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  24. My elderly Brittany became very ill two weeks ago — not eating or drinking, lethargic, trembling, teeth chattering. In the evening she began vomiting. That night she had three grand mal seizures. The next day she was absolutely back to normal and she has been fine ever since. Could this have been toad poisoning? There are lots of little toads hopping around right now. The vet could not find a cause for her symptoms.

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    1. I really couldn't tell you, I'm neither a veterinarian nor an expert on poisonous frogs/toads. But I'm glad to hear she's doing better!

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  25. My dog, a male mixed breed medium sized dog, ate 1 toad and bit another. He immediately started foaming at the mouth and that freaked me out, but at that moment I was concerned with getting rid of the toad, a nasty brown-ish one, out and away before my other dog had a go at it.
    When that was done he dissapered into the garden and since I had no idea what to do I just followed him around watching him, this carried on for a couple of mins until he seemed to stop foaming and decided to take a dip in our pool, at the same time he was alternating between that and rubbing his face against the ground as if trying to get rid of the taste.
    So I left to go inside and look up what I should do quickly, and I found your post; so I ran back out and after trying to get him to drink water one last time, he refused, I brought him into the bathroom shower and sprayed water into his mouth.
    Seconds after the first rinse he threw up a pile of dog food in one pile then in another a black-ish slimy thing (That I think might have been the toad, but I'm not sure because of the other fluids)
    After rinsing again and cleaning his paws and legs like you posted, I let him out and he already seemed stacks better, but it took a fair bit of coaxing for him to drink any water, and I'm still worried because he heaved again afterwards as if to be sick, but nothing came up because there was literally nothing in him.
    At the moment I'm keeping an eye on him but I'm still worried, after I got him to throw up the first lot he became, attached to me, I mean he started acting scared like he would if he were nervous.
    He isn't whingeing or whimpering but I'm still on edge. Overall he's more or less okay apart from that...
    Either way thank you for posting this, I didn't know what to do and this helped.

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    1. I'm so glad this post helped! I hope your dog continues to feel better.

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  26. We suspect my dog ate a frog or a toad two days ago because she was chasing a frog or a toad that night. We took her inside but the next morning she was vomiting and today she is eating and drinking but she isn't moving around too much and it seems to hurt when she does and her breathing sounds a bit odd. She is a Yorkshire terrier and about 5/6 years old (we found her on the street so we aren't too sure).

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  27. hi sday my maltase pet had caught a frog and was holding it in her mouth but we removed it within few seconds, in just two minutes of time we found lots of foam coming out of her mouth we immediately washed her mouth... n she s fine now but we are worried , s she fine do we need to inject her.. s all fine plz suggest.

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    1. I would highly recommend that you take your dog to a vet to get her checked out!

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  28. my dog ate a frog just 1 hour ago but she seems to be doing well. i washed her mouth out the second i could. so after i did that i look at the area the frog was at and there was a pregnant or bloated frog. no big signs of trouble though.

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  29. I believe my dog came into contact with a large toad. Or at least drank water they were in. Its not the first time hes gotten sick from this. But usually after a day or so hes back to his happy self. But its been almost 3days. And hes refusing water and food. If i do take him to the vet. What can they do for him that im not already doing???please help

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    1. You should get your dog to a vet as soon as possible! A doctor is better equipped to determine if your dog was, in fact poisoned, or if he's suffering from some other ailment. At the very least, they may be able to pump his stomach if there is still something toxic in there, or give him an IV drip to ensure he doesn't become dehydrated. It's been almost three days, get your pet to a doctor NOW!

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  30. Are there any long term adverse effects of toad poisoning? Our Jack Russell licked a toad on July 2. We followed all directions in blog including vet call. She is 11 yrs old and for the last two days constantly needs to pee. Two house accidents included. She has not had a house accident since her puppy days. Thank you for this blog.

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  31. My Siberian husky ate something (pretty sure it was a frog) and has been lethargic, vomiting has subsided after our veterinarian gave her Cerenia for nausea. It definitely has helped her. She vomited a good but before I found her sick so we never saw anything except foam. My daughter said she saw the frog in the food bowl and saw the dog throwing it and then swallowed since we tried to get the thing away from her. Appetite is suppressed but she is drinking water and urinating. Just concerned about the lethargy and no solid food intake. I have tried boiled chicken with broth and rice. She's normally not a picky eater so this is even more concerning. I'm gonna give her another 12 hrs to see if she will eat solid food. I left out for her these foods mentioned overnight hoping she will eat.

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  32. Early this morning I heard my Dog Blue (Husky) crying outside. I went out and found him in a state on immobility and a huge frog not to far from him bloody. I'm guessing Blue was chewing on the frog. I thought my dog was going to die, he could not walk, his tongue was turning a blue/black color, foaming at the mouth and panty heavily. I did what I could for him, rinsed his mouth out and sat with him until I though he was alright. Before I left for work he was walking around and drinking plenty of water. It's scary situation when Vet's are not readily available and only time and self help is all we had. Watch out for them frogs my Blue is getting better Thank God.

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  33. My golden retriever just bit a commin house frog and started foaming white substance.
    I was petrified and didn't know what to do but i took my phone and started typing where i came across your article.
    So i washed his mouth like ten times and kept wiping his mouth of fifteen times.
    I also washed his paws and legs as you instructed and gave him one full medium size bowl of water with pedigree twice.
    He ate them both and is now sleeping with my other Labrador and daschund

    He even stopped with his mouth foaming.

    Should i be relieved that it's all good

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  34. I just lost my pet yorkie and I can't stop crying I'm so sad. I had no idea what was happening to her. She was seizing and having a hard time breathing. My daughter walked her out tonight it was raining. We didn't see any frogs, but it's known to have frogs at night. All I know we brought Cina dog inside the house and she died in my hands. ������ I took her to emergency vet she was gone. I was told it's possible a frog poisoned her. Smh������

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  35. My terrier mix picked up a small frog this evening, we live in Mexico and it is rainy season. Thank goodness it was a small one, I know the large toads here are very poisonous. He started foaming at the mouth. My hasband picked him up and brought him in. No time to look up what to do, we took the hose rinsed out his mouth, wiped it out, cleaned up his paws and face. We forced three charcoal tabs down him, thinking it would absorb any poison he swallowed. He would not drink water so we gave him a bit of food with some water. He gobbled it right up. Right now he seems no worse for wear, tail wagging and happy as can be. We will monitor him tonight (it is night) and see how he is doing. Friend says we should give him water and peroxide to induce vomitting but since he is doing well I see no reason to do that.

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  36. My yorkie was playing with a toad and something got in his mouth. He began shaking his head and smacking. I took his toothbrush wet it with mouth wash and brushed his teeth. Washed his face he seems better now

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  37. Based on the symptoms of my 8month old puppy I believe he was in contact with a toad.this I believe happens 6 hours ago I have been giving him water and very little advil are there any suggestions to help him regain his strength to walk

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    1. Advil should never be given to a dog!!

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  38. My dog was poisoned by a frog last night. She is feeling ok right now. The problem is she is lactating mother dog. When can she feed her puppies??

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    1. I'm not sure this would affect her milk, but I would feel better if you consulted a vet about it! Please let us know what you find out!

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  39. My puppy bit s toad we live in Georgia in the mountains are the toad poisonous here in North Georgia

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  40. my dog just licked or bite a frog/toad, she foamed very little and just kept chewing nothing in her mouth. i bathed her, didnt want to take her outside in case we ran into the frog again so i just put a bit of water in my hand and tried to clean her mouth out. did as best as i could, she isnt acting weirdly anymore.

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  41. Tonight our puppy is getting weaker by a minute and ithink its time to say good bya we dont know what to do.....he ate a dead frog yesterday and we fed him sugar that said to help him. I wish we had more time to heal him.

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  42. I caught my dog flinging a very large poisonous toad yesterday (he is 11lbs). He began foaming at the mouth like crazy, I rinsed his mouth sideways with the hose while rubbing his slimy gums and trying to push all the slimy mess outward for at least five minutes. He began vomiting ALOT. We rushed him to the nearest vet and he is just fine now. I just want everyone to know the importance of rinsing the dogs mouth properly. To be honest it's far more important than getting to the vet. If you just grab your pet afterwards and drive to the vet your losing those valuable minutes where they need to be rinsed. There is NO ANTIDOTE for this. The vet did give my dog a shot but it was to prevent dehydration. I'm not saying don't go to the vet but do not omit rinsing at home (unless your pet is unconcious of course). We are scared to death now even on walks much less of leash in our yard as it is frog season here in south Florida and they are out of control this year!

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  43. My puppy just had a run in with toad. He started crying & couldnt walk. I didnt know how to help him. I googled & found your site. Followed your directions & it worked. Thank you for the help. My pup thanks you too. Hes fine now

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