Pet safety: Should you keep rubber ducky away from puppy?

What makes our lives easier and better might just make the furry members of our family sick, or maybe even kill them. The ASPCA recently came out with its Top Ten Pet Toxins of 2011, an annual list compiled by fielded calls into the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center in Urbana, IL.

Surprisingly, it's not just the obvious dangerous chemicals, such as rodent bait or antifreeze that harm Fido and Mr. Whiskers, though these earn the list's number 7 and number 10 spots, respectively. It's the everyday stuff we don't think about, like our prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications.

The distinction of top toxin goes to prescription drugs. The ASPCA call center received nearly 25,000 related calls last years, thanks to animals downing dropped pills. Not far behind are over-the-counter medicines at number 3 on the list.

Keep your pet alive and well by implementing this watch list at home:  

1. Prescription medication: leave this for the humans.
2. Insecticides: never use flea killers for dogs on cats, as some contain chemicals that can kill cats.
3. Over-the-counter drugs: Unless advised by a veterinarian, never use human medication to treat a pet.  Ibuprofen and acetaminophen can kill pets.
4. People food: Keep the Hershey bar to yourself. Chocolate remains a leading food culprit of pet toxicity. Too much of it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, high heart rate and seizures, in both dogs and cats. Xylitol, a sugar substitute found in most gums, is the second most commonly ingested food and can cause seizure and liver damage in dogs.
5. Household products: You name, they probably can't chew it.
6. Veterinary medicine: Dogs and cats may mistake their medicine for treats, especially if they're tasty, and ingest more than they need.
7. Rodenticides: Most bait is grain based and is attractive to dogs. Some pesticides can cause internal bleeding, kidney failure or seizures.
8. Plants: Four percent of poison control calls are about pets eating plants. The ASPCA maintains a list of toxic house and garden plants.
9. Lawn and garden products: Even some all natural products be can harmful to pets.
10. Automotive products: Products like brake fluid and antifreeze can be deadly to pets, causing kidney failure shortly after ingestion. Fortunately, the number of calls from these products has declined.

Keep out of reach

As with any toxin and vulnerable populations, look for ways to keep these out of reach of your pet. Some of these strategies are similar to child-proofing a home. Just as children don't understand that something may be dangerous, neither do your furry kids. So, when in doubt, put it out of reach.