Can you help us? Dogs are dying we cant find out what it is

Question
Hi my name is Anthony. My family as of last week had 4 dogs 1 chocolate lab and 3 dobermans (2 red and 1 blue). As of mid last week all of our dogs were throwing up so we brought them all to the vet and the vet said they will be fine after given medication but friday night our chocolate lab cocoa was throwing up again and died about 5 am saturday she was 6. And as of today our 1 red lab Autumn was put down by the vet due to liver failure and inflammed spleen she was only about 3. The others show no symptoms and are fine as of now. But we do not have anymore money. We have checked our house and yard multiple times for any toxins that they might have gotten into. i am crying right now i dont know what to do anymore i cant deal with anymore deaths and i cant sleep right now. Can you help me find out what is going on? please help me i am devistated we would have liked to pay for somekind of autopsy to find the cause but again we dont have anymore money. My guess is either they all ate a dead animal infected with rat poison but none of our neighers claim to have. or Something in the water we do not drink our own tap water out of the spiket. Another guess which may be it is a dog treat that had meat in the center that our chocolate lab loved that we just got before she died. i dont know the exact brand right now but i can find out if you believe this is it. Thank you please help :(

Answer
Oh Anthony,
I am so terribly sorry for your loss and pain. I know how devastating this can be. I am glad to hear that the other two dogs are okay so far.

Let me run a few things down for you that I know. First you know I am not a vet so I do not diagnose. But I can tell you what I know and have seen from 30 yrs of practice.

The most common poisonings we have seen in dogs are anti-freeze, which produces acute (sudden onset) vomiting and then kidney failure.

Snail bait is another not as common which can produce acute vomiting and liver failure.  Some kidney involvement is also found.

Warfarin poisoning, such as Decon, etc, takes days to show up and it presents as small bloody hemorrhages in the eyes, ears, gums, and other mucous membranes. There can be vomiting but they usually vomit blood.

Mushroom ingestion which can be acute and are definitely liver toxic and can affect the spleen and stomach. Death is due to acute liver failure.

Onion poisoning acts a lot like mushroom poisoning, is very uncommon and it's rare that four dogs would get into onions at once. Raisins and grapes are also toxic but again, it is usually kidney involvement.

So this narrows it down to just a few things. Aflatoxicosis causes massive liver failure and it's from eating grain that has a mold in it. More common (but rare) in an area like mine which is full of horses, cows and barns full of spilled grain.

It sounds to me like the dogs all got into some snail bait or some mushrooms on someones lawn. Now I have mushrooms on mine and my dog ignores them, so I don't think most dogs mess with them. That leaves the snail bait. I don't know where you live, but maybe a neighbor was having some snail issues and put some bait out.

I am just guessing of course. We have seen dogs get sick and die from toad poisoning, also, and if you live in Oregon or places by a lake blue algae bloom is extremely toxic to dogs if they ingest a small amount of it. So that is something to consider if they had been swimming in a pond or lake the day before. The treats you bought could be a culprit but that is a very rare thing. You cannot know it was them unless you get them tested. That costs money.

Toxicology on the dogs is very expensive. A necropsy, however, shouldn't be that much. It is hard to say if the will find anything. You can find decon in the belly sometimes, but your dogs didn't have any bleeding. You could ask for a partial necropsy- one where he just looks in the stomach to see if he can determine what they might have eaten.

Anthony,I am so sorry. I hope that this helps somewhat. You can't control everything that happens all the time, but you may want to think about getting some pet insurance for your other dogs. It can really help in times like these.

Keep an eye on the other dogs and call the company that makes the treats and see if any other pets have gotten sick on them. Then call your vet and ask about a smaller necropsy- ask if he would be willing to do one. Most vets look inside anyway- I can tell you that from being there!

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family tonight.