For Dog Owner--Important

M

MissL

Cathlete
I received this in an e-mail this morning.

Written by:
Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary Clinic
Danville , Ohio

This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet. My patient was a 56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1AM on Wednesday but the owner didn't call my emergency service until 7AM.

I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal failure but hadn't seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me - had heard something about it, but.... Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give I V fluids at 1 1/2 times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.

The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine over 5 ( 1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an IV catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids. At the point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care.

He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values have continued to increase daily. He produced urine when given lasix as a diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medicat ions and they still couldn't control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220.. He continued to vomit and the owners elected to euthanize.

This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk. Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our ex-handler's. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.

Even if you don't have a dog, you might have friends who do. This is worth passing on to them.

Confirmation from Snopes about the above...
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/raisins.asp

MissL
 
Wow! Thanks. I never give my dog any food that's not specifically for dogs but I'll take extra care to make sure raisins or grapes are out of his reach.
 
Thanks for posting this! I know other foods are bad so I looked it up and this is what I found:


Toxic Foods for Dogs

*Chocolate - seizures, labored breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, tremors, fever, accelerated heart rate, arrythmia, death, Unsweetened baker's chocolate is most toxic due to high levels of Theobromine.
*Coffee/Cocoa/Teas - seizures, labored breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, tremors, fever, accelerated heart rate, arrythmia, death
*Onions/Garlic - discolored urine, diarrhea, vomiting, hemolytic anemia, labored breathing, liver damage
*Mushrooms - excessive drooling, abdominal pain, liver damage, kidney damage, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, coma, death
*Grapes/Raisins - vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, lethargy
*Raw Salmon & Salmonoid Fish - carries a bacteria that if left untreated can be fatal in 7 to 10 days. Symptoms include high fever, gastrointestinal upset, dehydration, enlarged lymph nodes
*Macadamia Nuts - locomotory difficulties, tremors, paralysis, labored breathing
*Nutmeg - seizures, tremors, central nervous system problems, death
*Alcohol - slow respiratory rate, increased urination, staggering or a wobbly gait, excitement, depression, disorientation, behavioral changes, hypothermia, seizures, cardiac arrest

Other potential toxic foods:

Pear pips
Potato peelings and green looking potatoes
Rhubarb leaves
Mouldy/spoiled foods
Yeast dough
Hops
Tomato leaves & stems
Broccoli

found at: http://www.8pawsup.com/articles/dogtoxicfoods.html
 
Thanks for the list of foods. I knew about chocolate, but I had no idea about the rest. Of course, I think only the select few people who should not own dogs feed them alcohol. Can you imagine? My dog has no problem with brocoli, though. She actually adores it and eats a TON of it when I make stir-fry or order Chinese (no sauce), and she's never had any problems. In fact, it helps her when she gets backed up (if you know what I mean).
 
Broccoli? Newfoundlands are known for their love of broccoli. Georgie enjoys a stalk or two when I am eating it, well I guess not anymore, better be safe than sorry!
 
Thanks Missl and Jill ..

I am going to print this out for DH .. he thinks he can feed my babies anything ..

the only one I did not know about was mushrooms and salmon ... YIKES .. sometimes we have put some sauteed mushrooms leftover on top of their dogfood ... :eek: ... (I beg DH not to put human food on top of their dogfood .. but he swears it won't hurt them ... and it is a "treat" for them) .. NEVER AGAIN!

I would die if I hurt one of my babies!!!;(
 
Just a note of caution - if you do research you see a lot of "MAY CAUSE... in LARGE quantities..." Even chocolate in SMALL quantities won't hurt a dog. And I have not heard broccoli - my vet told me it was good for dogs. So, who knows.

I understand that it's much better to be safe than sorry, and that you don't want to take risks with your furkids. All I'm saying is if your DH tops the kibble with a touch of dinner that has mushrooms or onions, don't panic.
 
Double post, so I'll use this one to point out a fabulous article on toxic foods - pointing out why they are toxic and why some are not. This is their list:

- Alcoholic beverages
- Avocado
- Chocolate (all forms)
- Coffee (all forms)
- Fatty foods
- Macadamia nuts
- Moldy or spoiled foods
- Onions, onion powder
- Raisins and grapes
- Salt
- Yeast dough
- Garlic
- Products sweetened with xylitol

Link: http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dtoxin.html
 
Thanks Christine .. that makes me feel better! I used to work for a local vet and actually saw a Rotti that got into the hershey chocolate kisses .. and had chocolate poisining .. although the owner discovered him behind the chair w/the ENTIRE bag of kisses ... w/little shreds of kisses tin foil and him looking really guilty .. she rushed him straight in ... and by the time he got there he had just started throwing up . . luckily the vet was able to administer charcoal and IV fluids and he was fine!

BTW .. LOVE the new avitar .. TOO CUTE!!
 
Broccoli actually is good for dogs in moderation! Just too much (10 % or more of their daily total food intake) can cause problems. It also should be blanched/steamed, dogs can't digest raw broccoli.

Garlic is also good in moderation, the only breeds that could have a problem with garlic are Akitas and I think either Basinjiis (sp?) or Jindos even in small amounts.

Persimmons and avocados (all parts of it) are toxic to dogs, persimmons can cause blockage of the intestinal tract and avocados due to the high fat content can cause pancreatistis.

I also heard that almonds are not good for dogs either.

I also heard that the skin of turkey can cause problems, however, I have been feeding raw turkey drumsticks for years and have never seen a problem. My dogs also get bloodwork done every year, due to the fact that I don't give heartworm medication and don't give booster shots, other than rabies. All of the blood work has always come back just fine.

Chocolate is not as big a threat as commonly thought. My Labrador Jake, ate a HUGE bag of Hershey's Kisses and had no problems other than pooping out the silver wrappers and a frantic doggie mommie :)

Here are the amounts that can cause problems

1 oz per 1 lb of body weight of milk chocolate
1 oz per 3 lbs of body weight of semi sweet chocolate
1 oz per 9 lbs of body weight of bakers chocolate

It is almost impossible for a 50 lb dog to eat enough milk chocolate to be in serious trouble. My vet told me that in her 20-year career she NEVER had a single dog with problems from milk chocolate, the only problem was that the owners needed first aid and oxygen because they were scared for their fuzzy friends.

Salmon is fine and healthy for dogs as long as it is cooked or canned, only raw salmon can cause problems to a dog due to a bacteria. You also should never feed your dog any other raw fish or shellfish, however, cooked or canned is fine. But not more than once or twice a week.

Bones are fine as long as they are raw, cooked bones (especially chicken) splinter and can get stuck in the dogs' throat or intestines. I personally don't feed any of the rawhide bones, greenies, pressed bones, smoked pigs ears, smoked bones, splinters or chunks can come off and cause serious problems, but I feed raw food and raw bones, they are soft and don't splinter and I have fed them for 10 years without any problems.

If your dog ever ingests anything that they shouldn't give them a slice of bread and about 1 TBSP of Hydrogen Peroxide (make sure you have one that is still fizzing a little bit) and start moving them, meaning, take them for a walk, if they don't throw up, continue giving them Hydrogen Peroxide (up to 4 times more) every 20 min. or so and continue walking them until they throw up.

This is from the Poison Control Center for Animals and my vets' recommendation.

This only goes for foods that they shouldn't eat, or like mine ate a whole box of doggie multi vitamins which could have been a problem because of the iron. If they ingested anti-freeze or any chemical, get them to an emergency vet right away!!

But first and foremost, don't freak out! Most dogs are very resilient.
 
Thanks for that! And don't forget that a dog's size plays a large role. We have large dogs so they will not be as affected as a small dog eating certain things. The most interesting we've come across was after one of them ate some crayons. It was a colorful backyard!
 
Another biggie to wtach out for are corn cobs. Corn cobs can cause obstructions. We always walk them out to the outside trash.

Was Xylitol listed? It's also very bad for dogs.

Colleen
 
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