poison ivy on dog

[lance]

Now that spring is here, I'm a little paranoid in taking Bandit in the large back yard I have for fear of him getting it on his fur, then me. I have gotten poison ivy 3 times in the past several years but not sure where.

I don't want to spray weed killer on some suspicous weeds for fear of Bandit eating it.

When I had my short haired Greatdane, I would wipe her down with wet towels of water. Since Bandit has a lot of fur I'm not sure it would be as effective. Is there anything, such as rubbing alcohol that might be more effective and try quickly. I hate to get Bandit all wet everytime we go into back yard.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Sue R]

You can most definitely get poison ivy from an animal that has had contact with it because the oils from the poison ivy can be present on the animal's coat, and transfer to you when you contact the contaminated coat. Some of the worst cases in our family (I and several of my children are very susceptible) have come from animals that contacted the leaves or even dormant vines.

 

Now, water shouldn't do much as the "active ingredient" in poison ivy is an oil. You might be more likely to spread the oil around by wiping. A "light" washing often only spreads the oils, which is why washing thoroughly with a "strong" soap is required to break up the oil and let it be removed by rinsing.

 

My opinion only - you can either spray the poison ivy (and it's not hard to identify) with something like Roundup to kill it. Or, you could also choose to pull it up. Dead or alive, the leaves, stems, and roots have the oil on/in them so you would need to use rubber gloves when pulling them up. And you NEVER should burn any poison ivy/oak/sumac material as the oils can spread in the smoke, and can be inhaled or get in your mucus membranes (eyes, nose, mouth).

 

If you spray a product like Roundup properly (follow directions - it needs to be used during a growing period to be effective, and given time of about a week to kill the plant and roots), it is relatively safe. I doubt that your dog would try to eat poison ivy anyway, and the likelihood of Bandit eating sprayed poison ivy should be minimal. That said, Roundup-type products are pretty safe, and break down on contact with soil so they aren't residual.

 

We get poison ivy under the trees in our yard on occasion. When I see it, I glove up with bread bags in several layers on my hands/arms, pull it up carefully (so I can get as much of the root as possible because if I don't, it just sprouts back up), and turn the bags inside-out to enclose the poison ivy I've just pulled up (kind of like the "glove" technique for picking up and disposing of dog waste), and put the bagged poison ivy in the trash.

 

Since I don't have well-established poison ivy in my yard (and it grows well around here), I can usually get it pulled up well as it is generally seedling (the Yellow-Rumped or Magnolia Warbler loves to eat poison ivy berries and is a vector for disseminating them). If your poison ivy is well-established, a course of spraying and then careful removal of dead stems and roots may be required to remove present material, and then you would only have to keep up with newly sprouted plants in the future.

 

Good luck with this!

[Dixie_Girl]

Is poison ivy/oak/sumac reactive in dogs? I am not allergic, but could my dogs or cat be?

[juliepoudrier]

Lance,

Sue has given some good advice. As someone who is very allergic to poison ivy, I am very aware of where it's growing and try to get rid of it whenver I can.

 

Dixie_Girl,

I have never heard of a dog or cat getting poison ivy. And mine certainly have gotten into it often enough. When they do, I don't worry about them--I worry about ME!

 

J.

[Sue R]

I have never been aware of any dog, cat, or livestock "getting" poison ivy (reacting to it like people do). My dairy goats used to eat it avidly, never had a problem, but could "give" it to me with a kiss or a snuggle after eating it!

 

Our cattle contact it at times (we've been the "recipients" of the allergic reactions, not them) as well as pets, and that's probably the most frequent way we contact it and regret it.

[KrisK]

I see poison ivy...I itch

Lance, if you don't want to use a chemical process like Roundup, you can also try covering the area with black plastic or heavy layers of newspaper to eliminate the light which will cause it to die off. You would have to leave the plastic/newspapers in place for a few days at least. Once it's dead, remove it following Sue's excellent instructions. (I've never tried the 'bag' method...I'll keep that for future reference for sure)

I don't know about the poison ivy in your area, but I do know that up here, it really grows well in poor soil conditions. My aunt has effectively eliminated poison ivy from around her property by improving the soil and planting good grass. That might be an option for you as well.

 

Good luck....

[Miztiki]

Our entire back yard (over 150 feet wide) and a small portion of the side is covered in poison ivy. Some of the vines are as big around as my lower leg.

 

 

It goes all the way up into the trees.

 

 

I'm very susceptible to it and had a non-stop rash from the time we bought our house until winter came. No rashes so far this year!

 

We had as much of it cut and pulled and sprayed as humanly possible but it's all over the neighbor's side, so it will always be a problem.

 

I discourage the dogs from going back there and if hubby works back there I'll have him strip outside the door, not let him touch a thing, and get him in the shower to wash it all off.

 

The oil is called urushiol (sp) and can remain active on an object for up to five years!

 

On human skin it's best to immediately wash with COOL water and use a MILD soap. Hot/warm water opens your pores and harsh soap irritates your skin, both of which make it easier for the oil to get under your skin.

 

As was said, NEVER EVER burn it. Not only can you get poison ivy in your lungs and throat, but anyone downwind could get it too, and someone like me would end up in the hospital in serious condition from it.

 

Animals do not seem to get poison ivy and as was mentioned, some of them will eat it, like sheep and goats.

 

If you have PI in your yard then the best thing you can do is have someone pull it out by the roots and dispose of it away from your house, then keep on top of new growth by pulling and spraying.

 

You can't wash your dog with soap and water every day (and neither can I), so really we are at the mercy of the vines until they are eliminated. I seem to recall that rubbing alcohol will not help, but you'll want to do a google search on that to make sure.

 

PI sucks, doesn't it?!

[Sue R]

Good point about the soaps, Miztiki! Maybe I shouldn't have used the word "strong". I meant that washing with a mild soap may just spread the oil. You need to use a soap (washing carefully and sufficiently) that will remove the oil.

 

When one of us has worries that we've been exposed, we take a shower or wash hands, legs, etc., with Dawn. Since Dawn is very good at breaking up oils, it seems to do a good but gentle job at removing the poison ivy oil (I can't spell it confidently, either).

 

I hate to "tempt fate" but I haven't had an outbreak for several years using Dawn when I've been concerned about exposure. I definitely handled some poison ivy last summer (slipped up when pulling some and wound up holding it in my hand). When I finished what I was doing (only a few minutes), I came in the house and immediately washed hands and lower arms with Dawn and tepid water - viola, no rash! My daughter, who is also very susceptible, has done the same, with good results.

 

I do always use multiple layers of bread bags, newspaper bags, grocery bags (these can sometimes have minor holes along the bottom seams, so be extra careful) or whatever plastic bags I use to avoid having an unfortunate hole popping up when I'm working on pulling poison ivy. Then, when I peel the bag off my hand and arm, and enclose the poison ivy, it's inside several layers when it goes into my trash.

 

When I wash clothes that may have poison ivy oil on them, I add some Pinesol to the washer as it is very good a breaking up and removing oily stuff. Seems to work for me. Don't forget that the oil will "linger" on clothing, boots, bedding, etc., so any of that stuff that may have the oil on it, should be cleaned or you may continue to be exposed.

 

Miztiki has some pretty impressive poison ivy - we have that around here but not in our yard. That's been kept under pretty good control by pulling. Down in Morgantown, where the elevation's lower and there seems to be no control practices along roadsides, etc., there are some monster vines.

 

Across the road from us, they had an old shed in the old orchard. The "tree" growing around and above it was poison ivy! The shed was knocked down and all was burned - thank goodness no one lives downwind for quite a distance!

[Keith Ramsay]

Originally posted by Sue R:

When one of us has worries that we've been exposed, we take a shower or wash hands, legs, etc., with Dawn. Since Dawn is very good at breaking up oils, it seems to do a good but gentle job at removing the poison ivy oil (I can't spell it confidently, either).

Excellent advice. DAWN is the best thing I have ever found at getting out the oils. As a side note also use COLD water as the hot water will open your pores and let the oils into your skin.

 

In general, the oil that causes poision ivy (PI) irritations can live just about anywhere. My ex, used to get really mad at me for bringing it into the house. Turns out she had gotten it on the backs of her legs and had it on the seat of her car and kept re-infecting herself.

 

All said... if you are just careful when you are outside, and remember to wash your hands, you should be OK. Unless the pup literally hits the vines (as pictured) or rolls in it, I doubt that they will pick up enough to bother you!

[Dixie_Girl]

Thanks for the reply. Glad to know the animals won't get it. Since I am not alergic, looks like all is well.............hmmmm forgot about DH. Wonder if he is?

[Tammy525]

We have had multiple cases of poison ivy turning into cellulitis with one of our boys (the dirty one who at 10 years old, if you don't stand over him in the shower he won't even use soap and comes out as smelly as he went in!) He itches and scratches and only gets thoroughly clean once a day with one of us hounding him and voila... cellulitis, wicked bacterial infections, multiple antibiotics, dressings... the cats and dogs have never contracted it. There were multiple areas of serious poisen ivy all over the property, some of those very thick and tall vines, like Miztiki has. We are having good luck with Round Up, but you have to really stay on top of it. We haven't had any problems with animals trying to eat the PI or the roundup.

[Joe Anne]

There is a common household bleach solution that can be made up and sprayed to kill off poison ivy. My brother mixed up a batch and killed off a bunch of it in my Mother's yard. I will try to get the info from him as to the strength of the solution. I would think you wouldn't have to worry about the dogs getting sick from this.

I'll check now... more later

[lance]

Hey Joe Anne,

I just bought some Ortho poison Ivy Killer today at home depot. Even though the clerk said it was safe for dogs once it tries. I'm still worried about using it. If I don't open it I can return it. Think I might want to try you mix when you post it.

[Joe Anne]

Ok, Lance: my bro said it is just plain bleach, not mixed with anything. He said do not get the lemon scented or anything like that, just the original plain Chlorox brand bleach. He said it may take several applications and he is not sure yet if it kills it so it won't reappear the next season or not. He sprayed our Mom's yard last spring, so I will have to check it out and see if it is coming up again or not. It worked for all of last spring, summer and fall... so we shall see. It's worth trying anyway. I don't blame you for not wanting to use something that could harm the dogs.

Good luck.. let me know if it works for you.

[Joe Anne]

Woooha Miz, that is some serious poison ivy!!!

 

FYI... in case there is anyone who dosen't already know. Do Not burn poison ivy ... if you even inhale a small amount of the smoke or it gets on you...you could be in serious trouble.

When I was working as a Respiratory Therapist, in the hospital we had a patient come in that had burnt the P.I. from his yard, and ended up inhaling some of the smoke. It's been a long time ago since that happened so I don't remember the entire story, but after we intubated him and got him some what stable, he was transported via medi-vac , to another hospital, with a very serious case of P.I. in his lungs!!!!!

This is extremly life threatening... so please everyone be very careful when messing with this stuff.

[lance]

Sue R, or anyone.

Can the dog be wiped down or washed with Dawn if I suspect he may have been exposed to poison ivy?

 

I bought the Ortho instead of Roundup. Do you think it's as safe to use.

I may spray weeds in yard Sunday morning.

[Sue R]

Lance - Roundup is no longer under patent so other companies than Monsanto can produce products with the active ingredient, glyphosate (although Monsanto has other formulations with glyphosate, that are under patent - like Roundup Ultra and Rodeo). So, Ortho makes lots of products so I can's hazard a guess at what you purchased but, if the active ingredient is glyphosate, then it should be similar to Roundup.

 

Now, do you watch your dog when he's in the yard? Does he go in and among the weeds in the area of the yard where you are concerned about poison ivy? In my limited experience, a dog that has only very slight contact with poison ivy probably doesn't pose much of a threat to you - it's the animal that lies, rolls, etc., in it that poses the largest threat.

 

Can you simply put up a barrier of sorts to prevent him from getting into the poison ivy? At least until you are able to spray, uproot, and remove it?

 

As for bathing a dog with Dawn, I wouldn't do it unless I had a compelling reason - namely, knowing the dog had a significant contact with poison ivy. Dogs can be quite sensitive and mild shampoos that don't strip the oils from the skin and coat are best.

 

Actually, I don't bathe my dogs at all - all I even do after farm work is to hose them down just where they need the mud and muck removed.

 

Utilize prevention rather than trying to "clean up" your dog after every trip to the yard. Keep your dog out of the areas of the yard (and other places) that have poison ivy if you can. Pursue a spray program - pull roots if you can after the plants are killed. Keep up a plan to kill or uproot new growth in the future.

[Miztiki]

I'm only temporarily awake (hubby just left) but no, don't wipe your dog's fur with dawn or any soap. Soap needs to be completely rinsed away or it can do damage to the coat. Any soap that makes contact with the skin can cause irriation too.

 

Not only that but Dawn is too harsh anyway. Like Sue said, prevention is best. Once it dies you will still want to remove it. Dead or not, it still has the oils in it.

 

Although there are wipes you can buy from the pet store that you could wipe the fur with, but I'm not sure if it contains any cleaners that would remove the oil.

 

Best wishes in removing that stuff.