Xylitol Warning to Dog Owners

[grego]

Two nights ago, my Sister almost lost her dog due to Sugar Free Gum Containing "Xylitol"

Apparently this is Poisonous to Dogs, even in relatively small amounts.

Sudden death can occur from a "blood sugar crash" due to the Xylitol & a slower death can come from Liver Damage.

My sister's dog is out of the woods on the first, but it's still wait & see on the Liver Problems.

This is Not a Hoax. A web search on "dog eating sugar free gum" will lead you to tons of information

See for example: http://www.diabetesdaily.com/edelman...ol-sugar-s.php

I know that there are a lot of dog owners on this board, so spread the word.
I was amazed that I have not heard about this before!

Watch out for your kid's packs of sugar free gum left lying around.
Stride & Orbits Definitely contain Xylitol

Also, Xylitol is used in many Diabetic products like cookies & other treats, so Beware!

[Cheju]

Thanks, Grego. This is something most of us are not aware of.

Cheju

[Toddzilla68]

Thanks Grego,
I am a diabetic and the thought of losing my best friend to something that I thought would be safe is to say the least disheartening.

[SamRiley]

Thank You!

I've loved all of my dogs dearly but they can be pretty stupid when it comes to "food".

Dogs have a sweet tooth. We had a Springer who ate an entire bag of marshmallows and Italian chocolates, bags, wrappers and all (separate events thankfully).

[adson]

thanks for the info ..

I had never heard that ...my daughter always eats that gum

you may have just saved my springer some serious problems...

[grego]

So, as I said my sister's Min-Pin is out of the woods, at least in the near term

The initial emergency veternary care (~$1,700) involved inducing vomitting (and optional char-coal treatments).
Next, (which is were the cost runs up) involves IV's & Hourly blood tests for sugar levels & liver function for 24 hours straight.

If the dog makes it through this, the dog can go home, but addition blood tests must be run every 48 hours for up to two weeks to see if the liver is shutting down.

So, this pretty serious stuff.

As SamRiley stated, dogs can be pretty stupid, especially when it come to sweets!

With all of this synthetic Crap that are are putting into food products these days, you need an advanced degree just to figure out what you should and should not be feeding yourself & your family... Now we have to consider what we keep in our house that may be a serious health threat to our pets?

[Capt. John]

If it can do liver damage to dogs and even kill them...what the hell can it do to people and young kids ?? Any research on human effects ??

[SamRiley]

There are many things that we eat that are toxic to dogs.