xylitol and dogs

[TogaGirl]

Hello! Not completely Atkins related, but I just went through a nightmare and wanted to warn people not to allow their dogs near any products containing xylitol. About a year ago I read, and learned about the dangers of xylitol to dogs somewhere on the internet. It scares me to think if I hadn't read that post, my two little puggers, (yes, I’m a nerd) Pugsley and Honey-Bump may not be here today. So I just wanted to pass along some information on the dangers of xylitol in the hopes that it will help someone out who was previously clueless like myself. Xylitol is an artificial sweetener found in many sugarless low carb gums, candies, baking goods etc. (I use it to make amazingly yummy almond flour “sugar cookies”.) Even in very small amounts this sweetener can be deadly to dogs (just a few pieces of gum could be very harmful to a 65 lb dog) you can imagine what it can do to tiny pugs, mine being 12 and 17 lbs respectively. It can dangerously lower their blood sugar within 20 min-48 hrs of ingestion and can cause seizures, liver damage, and death. Here is a link to more information.

Popular sweetener is toxic for dogs - USATODAY.com

Anyway, my nightmare started last Thursday evening. I hopped in the shower not even thinking of the pack of trident sugarless gum in my gym bag on the kitchen table. Ten minutes later I emerged to find the pugs had gotten on the table, knocked over the bag, and removed the gum from a pouch inside the bag (resourceful little buggers they can be). I found them sniffing at the empty pack on the ground. Remembering the post, I frantically looked at the pack and realized it did contain xylitol. The pack was an 18 pack; I had had it for about a month and I estimate there were about 10 pieces left. I found 5 remaining in the bottom of the bag so about 5 were unaccounted for. I went into panic mode and immediately administered 3% hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting (I knew about this from my vet before as Bump had a fun romp in some dark chocolate at my boyfriend's house one day). Bump vomited and I could see two pieces of gum and could smell it as well. (Now I'm laughing at the thought of myself frantically sniffing my dog's vomit) Of course it was 10 o'clock at night (all pets wait till the vet is closed to have an emergency) and I had to give the doggy ER a call and they said it was important to bring them over right away. To make a long story short, the hospital again induced vomiting and found 3 wrappers in Bump and one in Pugsley. They stayed overnight at the hospital and were hooked up to IV catheters and had their glucose levels tested all night as well as given fluids. At about 5 am Puglsey's glucose levels went dangerously low (in seizure territory) and Bump's dropped as well. It’s scary considering he only had one piece. Both were put on dextrose and their levels returned to normal. This process was repeated the next day at their regular vet along with full CBC tests to check for liver damage. Thank goodness they got their IVs out the following sunday and today went for their final CBC tests and it seems we are in the clear. Needless to say this was a VERY expensive pack of gum $2000+. It's so scary to think of what could have happened to them if I didn't know about this issue or if I didn’t realize they had ingested the gum.

Hopefully this will help someone out as well! Not saying not to use this sweetener, but it’s a good thing to be aware of!

[Desertthorn]

Thanks for the warning. I didn't know that at all

[sallyseachange]

Wow! Good to know. Thanks.

[Chicklady]

I'm glad your pups are OK. I never heard that about xylitol. I had heard about chocolate and grapes.

[sadie147]

Yes I had heard this as well...Glad to hear your pups are ok!

macadamia nuts are extremely toxic to dogs as well which i was surprised to hear....

[dewdropinn]

This happened last weekend to my 1year old german shorthair. While I was in the shower, and my husband was on the computer she managed to open a pack of sugar free gum and consume half of it. She is about 45 lbs. I looked up on the net the harm and about freaked. I did look again at the ingredients and it contained no xylitol, thank goodness. We monitored her and she seems to be fine now. But yes, very scary, and very expensive!

[Mickkey]

Love the name of your dogs... how cute! Thanks for the info.

[keriann_forgoodthistime]

thanks for the information!!! I've actually heard this too - and I too have a pug (and we're getting a golden retriever within the next month too...) and would die if something happened to my booger (aka Petey).
I have a BAG of xylitol in the pantry along with a bag of splenda & eurythritol (although i don't think those are as harmful).

Just need to make sure I keep Petey and the new dog as FAR from those bags as possible! Thanks again for the info and I hope your pugs are good now! :P

[TogaGirl]

Yup "the kids" are doing just peachy... munching away on bones on the floor at this very moment. Just wanted to get the word out; a lot of people have never heard of this. Unfortunately the vet says they have seen several dogs pass away from this because their owners were not aware of the dangers.