# PSA - Play Dough is toxic to dogs



## Heather C. (Sep 25, 2013)

So, maybe you all know this, but I have had dogs for a lifetime and kids for 7 years and I didn't until today, so I thought I would mention it. 

Today Molly ate a hunk of homemade playdough. It happened in an instant; my son was playing with it and heard me start a book with my younger child. Dog was lying on rug, not near the table. Son left play dough unattended at table to listen to book on the couch, dog meandered over, countersurfed up to table and grabbed a huge hunk of homemade play dough and proceeded to run away with same. She was trying to gulf it down and wouldn't trade, even for cheese, so I grabbed her and opened her mouth and managed to get a lot out but not all (amazingly, she was good for all this, no growling or stiffening at all, she was wagging her tail even, she just really wanted to eat that play dough). 

Called the vet because I feared it could cause blockage, vet said actually play dough is extremely toxic because of the salt content, salt toxicity is irreversible and can kill a dog. Yikes. So we induced vomiting with hydrogen peroxide (hidden in ice cream, she ate it no problem) and out came the big green play dough chunk, all is well, pup is totally fine. 

So, just an FYI. I never would have imagined play dough could be so bad, its only flour, oil, salt and water, but the high salt content can evidently be very dangerous.

Heather


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## dezymond (May 3, 2012)

scary episode, glad to hear she coughed it up and proceeded to expel the rest later. Gotta keep those lids on tight!


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

Wow, thanks for sharing! I did not know it was toxic.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Just so people don't panic: I think that they'd have to eat a fairly large amount of play dough to have issues with salt toxicity. A little acorn-sized nugget or licking it off the floor shouldn't be a problem. It's if a dog ate a substantial amount that I'd worry. Dogs' kidneys are very prone to kidney issues, so I'm not surprised they're more salt-sensitive than we are, but I can't imagine that a pinch or two of play dough would be a problem.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Scary. I always thought play do was non-toxic. 

As sick as this sounds - I kind of want to nibble on some homemade play do to see how salty it is. 

How do you make it? I think it's got flour in it. 


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## CStrong73 (Jun 11, 2012)

OMG...Here I saw the title of your thread and immediately though "It's a good thing I always make my own play dough" thinking you were talking about store-bought.

Hadn't thought about the salt in the home-made kind.

I know Rocket has eaten bits off the floor, but like Tippy said, I can't imagine a few crumbs are going to hurt. But I'll certainly keep an eye on the big chunks when the kids have it out!

Jen, I don't have my recipe handy, but it's flour, water cream of tartar and salt. Maybe a little veg. oil. I forget the exact measurments, But here's something like 1 cup of flour and a quarter cup of salt.


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## Heather C. (Sep 25, 2013)

I wouldn't worry about the small chunks either. This was like a 1/2 cup sized ***** of play dough, at least that's what came up, all in one piece. My son had been making a play dough pizza and Molly grabbed the entire pie. I managed to get a lot of it out but a lot of it went down. Apparently the homemade kind is usually more salty than the store bought, so even more dangerous. This is basically the recipe I use:


1 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup salt
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
Food coloring
Saucepan
1 cup flour
*Directions*

Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar, and food coloring in a saucepan and heat until warm. Add flour and cook, stirring continuously, until desired thickness is reached. It looks gloppy at first but them firms up.
The cream of tartar makes this dough last 6 months or longer, so resist the temptation to omit this ingredient if you don't have it on hand.
Store this dough in an airtight container or a Ziploc freezer bag.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

I've been trying to wrap my brain around how SALT could be so harmful to a dog. 

Here's an article about it(emphasis is mine): Overview of Salt Toxicity: Salt Toxicity: Merck Veterinary Manual



> Excessive salt (sodium chloride, NaCl) intake can lead to the condition known as salt poisoning, salt toxicity, hypernatremia, or water deprivation-sodium ion intoxication. The last title is the most descriptive, giving the result (sodium ion intoxication) as well as the most common predisposing factor (water deprivation.) Salt poisoning is unlikely to occur as long as sodium-regulating mechanisms are intact and fresh drinking water is available.
> 
> Salt poisoning has been reported in virtually all species of animals all over the world. Although salt poisoning has historically been more common in swine (the most sensitive species), cattle, and poultry, there are increasing reports of adverse effects in dogs from acute excess salt consumption. The acute oral *lethal dose of salt ...in dogs, it is ∼4 g/kg*....
> 
> ...


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## Care54A (Jul 15, 2013)

A neighbor's yorkie once got extremely sick after eating too much ham because of the salt content. I hadn't even thought of playdough!


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

That is good to know!
A quick calculation for Kenzie who is ~50lbs=~23kg
1t salt=~5.69g
so for a 50lb dog the 4g/kg lethal dose is 92g salt
if 1t=5.69g, than 92g=16t
if 1/2C salt=24t than a dog eating 2/3 of the above recipe is at the lethal dose!


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## Mini golden (Sep 8, 2013)

My kids just had play dough out yesterday and I was pondering if I should be concerned about Shiloh getting some. Good to know! Ours is homemade, too. Shiloh has a nasty new habit now that she is tall enough to do it of getting her paws up on the table and grabbing food off the table and running with it before we can stop her. Might need to tether her during play dough sessions as well as meals until she is better at leave it, drop it and out.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Jennifer1 said:


> That is good to know!
> A quick calculation for Kenzie who is ~50lbs=~23kg
> 1t salt=~5.69g
> so for a 50lb dog the 4g/kg lethal dose is 92g salt
> ...


Great math!!! 

Bear's lethal dose would be 23 teaspoons

73 lbs = 33 kg x 4 g = 132 g / 5.69g = 23t

So if he ate the whole thing we would be in BIG trouble.


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## Heather C. (Sep 25, 2013)

Thanks for the math, Jennifer. My pup only weighs about 35 lbs at 4.5 months, and she puked up about a 1/2 cup chunk. I'm glad I called, I almost just let it go but Molly could have been very sick. I feel like we dodged a bullet. 

Mini Golden, my dog also just got tall enough to put paws/head on the table. She will not do it when we are there eating, she has learned "off" and figured out that its not ok to get up there when we are there. But if one of my kids leaves their seat for a second (which inevitably happens for a variety of reasons with young kids), Molly will take the opportunity to grab and dash. She does great in a down/stay near the table; the problem yesterday is that she wasn't near the table when my son left, she just kinda snuck over while I was reading, and there was no food out, just the play dough, so I wasn't thinking she would eat it (its soooo salty!). I would love to be able to block her from the dining room, but our house is one of those true open concept spaces; the kitchen/dining/living/office is really one huge space with no separate rooms. A tether might be a good option...


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

Yes, they are sneaking at that age!
I think that is about the age that Kenzie was when she stole a chicken cordon bleu from me!
I was at the table and one of the cats jumped up and as I turned to move the cat, she pounced and took off with the entire thing! Luckily I had taken the toothpicks out already! She scarfed that thing down whole sort of whimpering the whole time because it was freshly out of the oven! M


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## Mini golden (Sep 8, 2013)

Heather C. said:


> Thanks for the math, Jennifer. My pup only weighs about 35 lbs at 4.5 months, and she puked up about a 1/2 cup chunk. I'm glad I called, I almost just let it go but Molly could have been very sick. I feel like we dodged a bullet.
> 
> Mini Golden, my dog also just got tall enough to put paws/head on the table. She will not do it when we are there eating, she has learned "off" and figured out that its not ok to get up there when we are there. But if one of my kids leaves their seat for a second (which inevitably happens for a variety of reasons with young kids), Molly will take the opportunity to grab and dash. She does great in a down/stay near the table; the problem yesterday is that she wasn't near the table when my son left, she just kinda snuck over while I was reading, and there was no food out, just the play dough, so I wasn't thinking she would eat it (its soooo salty!). I would love to be able to block her from the dining room, but our house is one of those true open concept spaces; the kitchen/dining/living/office is really one huge space with no separate rooms. A tether might be a good option...


Shiloh isn't slick enough yet to wait for us to be gone from the table even. She's very bold, but it's very new. And unfortunately I have a three year old son who doesn't get it and I know he calls her to him and rewards her when I'm not in the room. So I need to train the puppy AND the three year old before I have any hope of success!

Our floor plan is fairly open, not many doors but wide entries between rooms. Tethering is our best bet for most situations. We don't want her crated all day, and like her to be near us and part of things, but free reign doesn't work well either. So we leash her to a certain area near us and it's a good middle ground.


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## Heather C. (Sep 25, 2013)

Hehe, mine are just 2, 4.5 and 6.5. I think training the dog will be MUCH easier than training the 2 year old. Every time I turn around she is secretly letting the dog lick her spoon, encouraging her to come up on the couch, asking Molly to bite her hands (which we are trying to get her not to do). The dog adores her; they are thick as thieves and full of mischief, both of them.


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## Jasradcliffe (Mar 1, 2014)

*Homemade Playdough is fatal*

Please take your dog to the vet ASAP if he eats homemade playdough!!! My dog Carter just died because he ate homemade playdough. His kidneys couldn't keep up with the amount of salt in the playdough and they failed after just 48 hours. He died overnight at the vets office while getting an IV. Not at home with me but in a cold kennel by himself. This has been so difficult. I don't want it to happen to anyone else's dog. Please seek treatment immediately!


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> Please take your dog to the vet ASAP if he eats homemade playdough!!! My dog Carter just died because he ate homemade playdough. His kidneys couldn't keep up with the amount of salt in the playdough and they failed after just 48 hours. He died overnight at the vets office while getting an IV. Not at home with me but in a cold kennel by himself. This has been so difficult. I don't want it to happen to anyone else's dog. Please seek treatment immediately!


I'm so sorry for the loss of your boy Carter.


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## Heart O'Gold (Jul 31, 2012)

I am so sorry for your loss of Carter, thank you for sharing his story. I had no idea that salt was so toxic, or that play dough contained so much.


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## Goldenhopeful (Dec 21, 2013)

I actually just made homemade play dough and along with the recipe it said how it's toxic to dogs (I used a whole cup of salt) so when we play with it we make sure Tucker is in his play pen. I tasted it and boy was it salty!!!!


Carter I'm so sorry for your loss- I was glad to see that when I made it the website with the recipe made sure to note that it is toxic to dogs! Definetly something to make people with kids and dogs aware of! Again, I'm terribly sorry for your loss.


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## am)2152011! (Jun 21, 2020)

If I wanted to make a toy out of play dough for my dog (It would dry out) would that be bad?


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

am)2152011! said:


> If I wanted to make a toy out of play dough for my dog (It would dry out) would that be bad?



Welcome!

Due to the salt content in play dough, I would advise against it.


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