PSA: Raisins are toxic to dogs

[divingbiker]

Since many people don't know this, I thought I'd share. Don't let your dog eat raisins! How do I know this? My dog is in the emergency clinic on a IV in hopes that he doesn't go into kidney failure.

My 1.5 year old cocker spaniel Sammy got my pet sitter's raisins off the counter and ate some before she caught him. They were the little boxes, and based on how many were left, she estimated that he ate 16.

She called the vet, and they told her to give him a tbsp of peroxide to induce vomiting. That didn't work, so she got him to drink and then tried the peroxide again. That still didn't work, so she took him to the vet.

16 raisins is about half the toxic dose for a dog Sammy's size, but apparently the reaction to raisins varies from dog to dog so they recommended treatment since it causes kidney failure.

The vet got him to vomit, but no raisins came up. So they put him on an IV and gave him activated charcoal. Because my vet isn't staffed 24 hours, he was taken to the emergency vet to be on the IV until tomorrow. The kidney damage will show up in 48 hours.

So I wait. I'm visiting a friend out of town, but fly home tonight so I can pick him up tomorrow. He was having such a good time with the pet sitter, going to a dog park for the first time. He'll be crazy after two days in a cage.

The silver lining is that I have pet insurance for Sammy. This escapade will be over $2000 I'm guessing, so we'll see if the insurance premium was worth it.

This has been quite a week. I just had to euthanize my older dog AJ on Monday. He had a tumor on his ear that wouldn't stop bleeding, and he couldn't have surgery because of his heart disease. :-( I'm ready for a bit of peace.

[ClockworkOrange]

Am so sorry to hear about Sammy, special hugs to him and hope he will soon be up and about wagging his tail.

BTW I never knew about raisins being harmful/toxic to dogs, I am going to make sure I tell any of my friends who have dogs about this.

What a sad week for you, so hugs to you too.

Clock

[OakLeaf]

(((((divingbiker & Sammy)))))

I'm so sorry for your loss of AJ. Hope Sammy is feeling much better soon, and thanks for the heads up!

[7rider]

Oh, no....
So sorry to hear about Sammy. He is such a rascal. I hope he's okay.
And I didn't know about AJ. That's too bad. You did so much for him.
(((Hugs)))

[Bike Chick]

Oh, Diving, you've had an awful week! So sorry about AJ AND Sammy. Hope he gets better and you get him home.

[DebSP]

So sorry about AJ. Hope Sammy comes through this fine! Hugs to you. And thank you so much for the warning. I think my husband has fed our dogs the odd raisin that has fallen on the floor. Probably not enough to harm a 45 lb. dog but I will give him the heads up!

[bmccasland]

((((((Divingbiker))))))
Hope Sammy pulls through. Please keep us posted. Sorry about AJ.

[shootingstar]

Wow, may Sammy pull through.

Didn't know about the raisins, chocolate, grapes, onions as highly toxic to doggies.

[Roadtrip]

Chocolate is not as toxic to your critters as something like raisins, but keep in mind another VERY toxic item for your pets is sugar free gum, in particular Zylitol which is the artificial sweeter. It can cause massive liver damage in as little as half a pack of gum for a 70-80lb doggie. I've heard some of the little guys only eaten a few sticks of the stuff and was enough to be fatal.

Please keep your gum up and away from your furry family members.\

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/xylitol.asp

Shannon

[Eden]

I hope Sammy is OK.

Don't forget that all of these items are toxic to cats too - and they generally weigh less, so in smaller amounts.

[NbyNW]

Hope Sammy comes out of this okay!

[nancielle]

Sorry to hear you've had such a difficult week with your dogs .

I hope that Sammy (and you!) pull through this ordeal ok.

Lots of things, I've learned since becoming a pet owner, can be toxic to our animals. Here are a couple of links that list some of the more common items:

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals...s_to_pets.html

http://www.peteducation.com/article....+1659&aid=1030