Since a lot of us own are dog lovers,,,just a heads up to dog owners about this ingredient in sugar free gum.. apparently it if fatal to dogs so if your dog is a snooper or gets into stuff, maybe a check of your gum type, if you keep it around would be in order.. losing an animal to something like this and never knowing why can be so sad,
The xylitol causes dogs to secrete insulin so their blood sugar
> drops very quickly. The second thing that happens is liver failure. If that
> happens, even with aggressive treatment, it can be difficult to save them.
i am sure a vet on this site could clarify or elaborate,,
I've heard this too. Unfortunately, in the past few years both my young son and wife have been diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes. As more and more people are diagnosed with diabetes (type-2 especially), xylitol is becoming more recommended and more often used, so I could see why this might be a problem.
My father was a veterinarian, and I have been around my fair share of sick animals. Large amounts of chocolate, sharp bones, and xylitol are all possibly fatal. If your dog ever consumes these, you can get them to vomit by pouring a shot of hydrogen peroxide down their throat(a turkey baster works best). Continue this every minute until they barf. Usually, though, the first shot does the trick.
Kim, you're right on about xylitol. I work as a toxicologist at a poison center (human and animal) and have seen my share of xylitol poisonings in dogs. We also use peroxide as an emetic, but you need to make sure it isn't expired otherwise it's useless. Also, there is no need to do this every minute until they vomit. Give H2O2 based on the dogs weight and only 2X separated by about 10 minutes. Table salt on the other hand is a big NO!! This is an "old school" emetic and really is not advised. Electrolyte imbalance can occur from this one.
A few other things that people don't realize are potential toxins are grapes, raisins, onions and garlic.
Posted by Fred Stearns on July 25, 2008 at 10:12 PM
When I hear a report like this, I check it out with snopes.com. So far, I have found them to be reliable. In this case, they are in 100% agreement that xylitol is toxic to dogs. They go on to list to approximate lethal doses for dogs of different sizes. The are at http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/xylitol.asp.
Discussion
4 repliesThe xylitol causes dogs to secrete insulin so their blood sugar
> drops very quickly. The second thing that happens is liver failure. If that
> happens, even with aggressive treatment, it can be difficult to save them.
i am sure a vet on this site could clarify or elaborate,,
posted just as a heads up
A few other things that people don't realize are potential toxins are grapes, raisins, onions and garlic.