Do You Have A Dog?
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Do You Have A Dog?
Xylitol is toxic to dogs.....
I know some of you have dogs.....so please read this!!! Share it with your friends who have dogs. From a friend.......
This was checked this out on Snopes & it is true. Here is the link to further
information:
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/xylitol.asp
Last Friday evening, I arrived home from work, fed Chloe, our 24 Lb.
dachshund, just as I normally do. Ten minutes later I walked into the
den just in time to see her head inside the pocket of Katie's
friend's purse. She had a guilty look on her face so I looked closer
and saw a small package of sugar-free gum. It contained xylitol. I
remembered that I had recently read that sugar-free gum can be deadly
for dogs so I jumped on line and looked to see if xylitol was the
ingredient. I found the first website below and it was the one. Next,
I called our vet. She said to bring her in immediately.
Unfortunately, it was still rush hour and it took me almost 1/2 hour
to get there. Meanwhile, since this was her first case, our vet found
another website to figure out the treatment . She took Chloe and said
they would induce her to vomit, give her a charcoal drink to absorb
the toxin (even though they don't think it works) then they would
start an iv with dextrose. The xylitol causes dogs to secrete insulin
so their blood sugar drops very quickly. The second thing that
happens is liver failure. If that happens, even with aggressive
treatment, it can be difficult to save them. She told us she would
call us.
Almost two hours later, the vet called and said that contents of her
stomach contained 2-3 gum wrappers and that her blood sugar had
dropped from 90 to 59 in 30 minutes. She wanted us to take Chloe to
another hospital that has a critical care unit operating around the
clock. We picked her up and took her there. They had us call the
ASPCA poison control for a case number and for a donation, their
doctors would direct Chloe's doctor on treatment. They would continue
the iv, monitor her blood every other hour and then in 2 days test
her liver function. She ended up with a central line in her jugular
vein since the one in her leg collapsed, just as our regular vet had
feared.
Chloe spent almost the entire weekend in the critical care hospital.
After her blood sugar was stabilized, she came home yesterday. They
ran all the tests again before they released her and so far, no sign
of liver damage. Had I not seen her head in the purse, she probably
would have died and we wouldn't even had known why.
Three vets told me this weekend, that they were amazed that I even
knew about it since they are first learning about it too. Please tell
everyone you know about xylitol and dogs. It may save another life.
I read this info in a brochure at my veternarian's office. I've never given my dogs chocolate, but didn't realize that the deadly stuff is in ALL sweets. My oldest used to steal entire packs of gum out of my purse and eat them when he was younger, and from vet's brochure, xylitol is also in gum. I had sent out the info from my vet to all my friends because it made me more aware. I hadn't read this particular story, but got the info in a different way.
Thanks for sharing this with everyone.
Be careful fertilizing lawns, too. One of my best friends just lost her pit/mix because her dh fertilized the lawn and Kaya ate some grass (he loved to eat grass!). He was one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met. Poor thing was sick for 3 days, but they didn't put 2 and 2 together until it was too late.  You have to baby-proof with pets just as much as with kids.
Thanx for the info.
I'll have to tell the kids. They are the gum chewers. She got into someone's gum a long time ago, but never got sick. I don't know if it had xylitol in it or not, because I don't remember which kind it is.
Every dog I've had, has gotten into some chocolate, at some point, but it has never been enough to make anyone sick, either.
I don't have a dog currently, but when I was a kid my mom's toy poodle at a 1lbs. box of valentines chocolates. She was a teacher and one of her kids got it for her. She left it in the center of the dining room table, but I forgot to push one of the chairs all the way under so he did it while we were at school the day after valentines day. He didn't even get sick... We were all scared (especailly me since i felt like it was all my fault) it was going to kill him or make him really sick. Never threw up or anything. Crazy. And that is why none of my animals get any people food, well occasionally my can gets a can of tuna but that is it (but that is normally only when she runs out of food).
But thanks for the info I didn't know that it was in all sweets.. I will have to let my friends know.
We have our lawn professionally fertilized and treated as well. They always leave a flag when they've been here, as well as a note in the door reminding us not to let pets/kids on the lawn until it's dry. I always wait way longer than necessary, but it still bugs me because I know one of my dogs was a cow in his former life ( )and grazes throughout the day on the lawn. Fortunately though, I think it's on the few long strands that pop up here and there on a fenceline or right at the landscaping, and I don't think those really get the treatment on them.
Twizzlers:
Corn syrup, wheat flour, sugar, cornstarch, Contains 2% or less of Palm oil, salt, artificial flavor, glycerin, citric acid, potassium sorbate (preservative), artificial color (red 40) and soy lecithin.
Hershey Bar:
Ingredients: SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, COCOA BUTTER, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, MILK FAT, LACTOSE, SOY LECITHIN, PGPR, VANILLIN, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, AND MILK
Twix Bars
Milk chocolate, Enriched Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil, Sugar, Salt, Cocoa Powder, Soy Lecithin, Baking Soda
I don't think Xylitol is in every candy.
Grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure in dogs too.
The onion family (onions, leeks, chives) and garlic, can cause fatal anemia in dogs and cats. (This includes people food in which onions or garlic are an ingredient, especially the gravy.) Many recommend giving garlic to dogs and cats to help prevent fleas, but Scott (who is a vet tech) is absolutely opposed because of the risks.
Yeah, no onion or related onionoids. They're hemolytic; i.e. they "break up" blood. As far as I know, Old World primates are the only animals that can tolerate onions and related vegetables.
Here's a short list of things that are toxic to dogs:
http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dtoxin.html
And I do mean, a short list. There's much more, but the page I linked covers the more common canine toxins.
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