Copper (coins, supplements and pipes) in Pets

Copper causes liver disease in some dog breeds and acute illness from supplements, while copper coins mainly pose blockage risks. Learn the difference and what to tell your vet.

What It Is

Copper is an essential trace mineral, but too much damages the liver and, in a sudden release, red blood cells. The Merck Veterinary Manual explains that in dogs copper-associated disease is mostly chronic hepatitis, often due to an inherited defect such as in Bedlington Terriers, while acute copper poisoning follows swallowing large amounts of soluble copper.

Where Pets Come Across It

Mineral supplements and livestock feeds, copper-based fungicides and algaecides, foot baths for livestock, and old copper coins (US pennies minted before 1982 are mostly copper). Copper pipes and wire are not readily absorbed unless they corrode.

Which Animals Are Affected

Sheep are by far the most sensitive species. Among pets, dogs, especially breeds such as Bedlington Terriers, Labrador Retrievers, Dobermans and West Highland White Terriers, can develop copper-associated liver disease.

Published Toxic Dose

There is no owner-usable acute threshold for metallic copper objects in dogs in the sources below; Merck links acute toxicosis to soluble copper sources such as supplements. A swallowed copper coin mainly poses a risk of gut blockage and irritation. The calculator gives no risk tier for copper objects.

Signs and How Soon They Appear

Acute: vomiting (sometimes blue-green), diarrhoea, abdominal pain and, later, jaundice and dark urine. Chronic liver disease: weight loss, poor appetite, drinking more, and yellow gums, often only noticed late.

What to Do Right Now

Call your vet if your pet swallowed a coin, metal object, copper supplement or copper-containing garden product. Take the package or note the coin's date. Do not induce vomiting at home. If your dog belongs to a breed prone to copper liver disease, ask your vet about screening.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources and References

• Merck Veterinary Manual: Copper Toxicosis in Animals
• ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center

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