Poisonous To Dogs

[souperman]

Was sent this through the e-mail today, worth a read for dog owners.....




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

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 IV 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 medications 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. Onions, chocolate, cocoa and macadamia nuts
can be fatal, too.
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

[ciderally]

very very intresting...and worth knowing...thank you for posting

[Kevin Milkins]

My Boxer bitch likes the odd grape so will keep an eye on that one.
Very informative.

[the_count]

yes very informative thanx for that souperman, makes me shudder just thinking about the number of chocolate covered raisins we used to give out dog :eek:

[carasmam]

Better hide that bar of fruit and nut folks.:eek:
We had a thread around Christmas time with all the goodies that weren't good for our four legged friends, might see if we can get a list together and ask Moira to make it a stickie at the top as it good to know these things.
What do you all think ?

[ciderally]

Better hide that bar of fruit and nut folks.:eek:
We had a thread around Christmas time with all the goodies that weren't good for our four legged friends, might see if we can get a list together and ask Moira to make it a stickie at the top as it good to know these things.
What do you all think ?

yes like the sound of that...good idea

[Lavenderblue2]

Thank you for that Souperman - yes it is shocking when you see all the things that are poisonous to our precious pets. Here are a few more:-

Avocado
Broccoli - in large amounts
Chocolate (all forms)
Coffee (all forms)
Fatty foods
Macadamia nuts
Mouldy or spoiled foods
Mushrooms
Onions, onion powder
Raisins and grapes
Salt
Yeast dough
Garlic
Products sweetened with xylitol – sugar free sweeties etc.

Some of these we already know about.
My little doggy loved it if I gave her a bit of broccoli stalk - Not anymore it's not worth the risk!!

LB

[shazzap]

After reading what is poisonous to dogs i was wondering if anyone kows if any seafood is?

My dog likes prawns & tuna.

[BazzaG]

Thanks for the info, my younger Lab loves eating alot of those foods so i better stop him now

[carasmam]

That reminds me I still haven't weaned Cara off her coffee :eek: She's been having a droppy from the bottom of my cup for the last 13 years, maybe it would be too big a shock to her system to stop it now though:roll:

[ciderally]

That reminds me I still haven't weaned Cara off her coffee :eek: She's been having a droppy from the bottom of my cup for the last 13 years, maybe it would be too big a shock to her system to stop it now though:roll:

i have a little coffee/tea addict here as well....no way i could stop her

[veekay]

I heard about this some years back ( before my org days) and as with chocolate my dogs have never had grapes or raisins since

Good idea posting here lets everyone know

[Lavenderblue2]

After reading what is poisonous to dogs i was wondering if anyone kows if any seafood is?

My dog likes prawns & tuna.

I read this today Shazzap - although this comment is from America - it is still raw Salmon all the world over. LB

Salmon (Raw) Poisoning Disease
This is primarily a problem in the Pacific Northwest and California. But if you feed a raw meat diet it can be a problem anywhere.
It is caused from the infection by a rickettsial organism, Neorickettsia helminthoeca. SPD has been known since the early 19th century in North America. It had been observed that dogs that ate raw salmon frequently died however the connection between the fluke and the rickettsia was not established at this time.(1) It is unusual in that the rickettsial organism does not directly infect the dog but is instead carried by a parasite, a trematode (flatworm or fluke) called Nanophyteus salmincola through two intermediate hosts first: freshwater snails and salmonid fish (salmon, trout and steelhead).

Nanophyteus salmincola are found to infect freshwater snails particularly Oxytrema plicifer. The infected snail forms part of the salmonid species food web and is ingested. Neither the fluke nor the rickettsial organism act as pathogens in the fish. The dog is exposed only when it ingests the secondary host - an infected fish. After the dog ingests the fish, the encysted fluke larvae burst and embed in the dog’s intestinal tract and the rickettsia are introduced. The cycle continues when ova are excreted in dog feces to infect snails.

It is necessary for your dog to eat raw salmon to get salmon poisoning disease.
A sudden onset of symptoms occur 5-7 days after ingestion of fish. Initial symptoms include lethargy and anorexia. Peaking of temperature between 104-107 in the first two days and then slowly returns to normal. Persistent vomiting by the fourth day. There is bloody diarrhea within a few days of vomiting onset. The diarrhea is often bright yellow color. There are enlarged lymph nodes.

In the acute stages, gastrointestinal symptoms are quite similar to canine parvovirus. Nasal and ocular symptoms can resemble canine distemper. If left untreated, SPD has a mortality rate of up to 90%. Treatment is supportive to maintain hydration as well as antibiotic therapy to kill the disease producing organism. Dogs that survive are immune.


It is preventable by cooking all fish before feeding your dog. If you are outdoors hiking or camping or live near streams and rivers were salmon spawn, keep a close eye on your dog on don't let your pet run free to insure that no fish carcasses are ingested. Please see your vet immediately if you suspect your dog has ingested raw salmon.