Why PetPoisonCalc exists
Every year, thousands of dogs eat something in the kitchen or backyard that turns out to be dangerous, and the moment a pet owner discovers it, the questions are always the same: how worried should I be right now, and does this need an emergency vet visit tonight or can it wait until morning? Search results for these questions are often inconsistent, written for a general audience rather than the specific dog in front of you, or buried behind unrelated content.
PetPoisonCalc was built to answer that first, most urgent question as clearly as possible: a weight-adjusted estimate of how serious a specific ingestion is, built from published veterinary toxicology data and documented clinical case reports, with the immediate next step spelled out. It is a triage tool, not a diagnostic one, and every page says so.
How the calculators work
Each calculator converts the amount of a substance ingested into a dose per kilogram of the animal's body weight, then compares that figure against published toxicity thresholds for that substance, drawn from veterinary toxicology references, poison control case data, and peer-reviewed literature cited on every calculator page. The result is sorted into one of three urgency tiers: caution, urgent, or emergency, each paired with specific guidance on what to do next.
The thresholds used are deliberately conservative. Where published research shows a range, PetPoisonCalc favors the lower, more cautious end of that range, because individual animals vary widely in sensitivity and because under-reacting to a toxic ingestion carries far greater risk than over-reacting. Several of the calculators, including grapes and raisins, are explicit that no safe dose has ever been established in the literature at all.
What this site is not
PetPoisonCalc is not a veterinarian, does not perform a physical examination, and cannot account for a specific animal's age, breed, pre-existing conditions, or individual sensitivity, all of which materially change real-world risk. It does not replace a call to your veterinarian or to an animal poison control center, and it should never be the basis for deciding to wait and watch when a calculator result, or your own judgment, suggests something is wrong.
The content on this site is maintained by the PetPoisonCalc editorial team, who research and cite the veterinary toxicology sources linked on each calculator page. It is reviewed for accuracy against those published sources but is not a substitute for individualized veterinary advice.
Questions, corrections, or calculator requests
If you spot something that looks inaccurate, have a source you think should be reflected in a calculator's thresholds, or want to suggest another ingestion hazard for us to cover, visit the contact page. Corrections grounded in published veterinary literature are always welcome and are reviewed promptly.