Should I worry about my dog getting a small amount of secondhand smoke (tobacco)?

[nancy145]

So my family got a dog recently, and I take him outside for a bit about 2 out of every 3 days. If I smoke a cigarette around him when I take him out will it have a significant effect on his health? I never smoke inside, and he has a fenced in area outside, but it isn't like a closed area or anything. I don't blow the smoke at him or anything like that too, always away from him, so he's just around it. My sister and mom are mainly responsible for him, I only take him out 4 or 5 times a week, and don't smoke more than one cigarette at a time. Could this have any negative effect on his health?

 

[MrRoot]

Most likely not but I have heard about dogs getting COPD because their owners were heavy smokers and smoked inside the house too.

 

[touchofgrey92]

I have a wonderful 12 year old German Shepard who has been exposed to secondhand smoke for years and he is doing ok.

 

[T. Calderone]

Hey Nancy, glad to see you have a new member of the family! Second hand smoke is a health threat to pets just like with people. I've often thought about this myself because my dad is a heavy smoker and we have always had dogs. I imagine if it burns my eyes, it probably irritates animals as well. I had one dog who would seem to get annoyed from cigarettes and he lived to be 15. The one we have now sits out there in the smoke filled room and it doesn't seem to bother him as long as he's getting petted. It's good that you are a considerate smoker and I think your little guy will be okay since you do it outside.

 

[Larimar]

I only smoke outside as well and I normally smoke and let my bernese mountain dog use the bathroom at the same time. Because you are outside I see no harm , lots of fresh air . Its funny when my dog sees me put out my cig he runs back to the door because he knows to come in If you have birds you should never smoke around them though , their respiratory system is a lot more sensitive than ours .

 

[JessFR]

I've had this thought before myself.

I'm sure that exposure to smoke would increase their cancer risk like it would any animal. What I'm not sure about is how that translates into more tangible terms. How much added risk?

I'm not sure. Every now and then probably isn't worth worrying about. But significant exposure is another matter. I'd suggest limiting their exposure.

 

[BehindtheShadow]

Agree with everyone here.

I had my special boy who lived to 16 despite me being a smoker but I also only did it outside when he went to the loo

 

[Keif' Richards]

Uh... I'm sorry dude, but this is kind of out of our domain. Please don't take it personally. I have a dog and she is the second love of my life, the first love of my life is just a little bit sweeter . The thing is though, this doesn't really concern drug use or Harm Reduction in a direct manner. You will get better information from your veterinarian or from Google.

In general, try not to smoke around your dog, but as far as I know, it's really not a major concern. Not to be morbid, but dogs don't have decades to develop these issues like we do. We have decades of smoking, directly introducing smoke into our lungs and it still takes time for us to experience complications from smoking. I'm closing this because it's just not what we handle here.