Re: [pyrnet] Onions and Grapes and Raisins Oh My!

[Julie Johnston <raven4luck@home.com>]

While doing a www.dogpile.com search for toxicity and onions, I came upon
this site.  Dogpile is a nice compilation of search engines and offers a lot
more results from varied sites.  Plus it says "Fetch" instead of go and
since we're all dog lovers...

Julie

http://www.vetinfo.com/doginfo.html

Grape and raisin poisonings in Dogs

Recently, there was a letter in the AVMA Journal from Dr. Gwaltney-Brant and
others at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center discussing grape and raisin
poisoning in dogs. Apparently, grapes and raisins can be toxic to dogs when
ingested in large quantities.

The grapes and raisins came from varied sources, including being eaten off
the vine directly. The dogs exhibited gastrointestinal signs including
vomiting and diarrhea and then signs of kidney failure with an onset of
severe kidney signs starting about 24 hours after ingestion of the grapes or
raisins. The amount of grapes eaten varied between 9oz. and 2 lbs., which
worked out to be between 0.41 and 1.1 oz/kg of body weight. Two dogs died
directly from the toxicity, three were euthanized due to poor response to
treatment and five dogs lived. Due to the severity of the signs and the
potential for death, the veterinarians as the poison control center advocate
aggressive treatment for any dogs suggested of ingesting excessive amounts
of grapes or raisins, including inducing vomiting, stomach lavage (stomach
pumping) and administration of activated charcoal, followed by intravenous
fluid therapy for at least 48 hours or as indicated based on the results of
blood tests for kidney damage.
  

I have fed my dogs a few grapes every now and then for years, so I don't
think there is a need to panic if a dog eats three or four grapes but if the
whole bunch is missing from the table one day, it would be good to think
about watching for any signs of a toxic reaction.

Michael Richards, DVM
6/5/2001 
-- 
"Be strong, believe in who you are; be strong, believe in what you feel."
"Speak true!" 
Melissa Etheridge

http://homepage.mac.com/raven4luck/


> From: Carol Brescher <carol@pyr.uniflex.net>
> Reply-To: pyrnet-l@pyrnet.org
> Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 09:52:27 -0400
> To: pyrnet-l@pyrnet.org
> Subject: [pyrnet] Onions
> 
> Hi Tea,
> 
> Onions can be toxic to dogs. It causes Heinz bodies anemia.
> My recent readings on this claim that Tylenol can do the same thing.
> 
> The older findings indicated that to cause this, a dog must consume
> a large amounts of them - or a moderate amount over a period of
> time (the effects are cumulative). And while I don't remember
> the percentage, I calculated that an average Pyr (at 100 lb)
> would have to eat a full pound of onions to reach the toxic stage. Some recent
> reports indicate that certain breeds are more susceptible - particularly
> the Japanese breeds.
> 
> Onions are very powerful anti-oxidants and I have aways cooked
> with them. As a result my dogs have always eaten them as part of
> their meals. We never had a problem, but again, the amount is
> minimal - perhaps one medium onion for 4 portions. And not
> daily.
> 
> I do not know what the signs you need to watch for, but I do know
> that the reactions is not immediate. If you go to yahoo and search
> on dogs+toxic+onions you may be able to find that answer.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Carol
> www.naturaldogfood.com
> 
> 
>> 
>> Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 08:46:49 -0400
>> From: tea4c@yahoo.com
>> Subject: Re: [pyrnet] Onions
>> 
>> Thanks Linda,
>> 
>> We really do try to keep them on just dog food -- I didn't know that about
>> onions or my vet would have had a late night call -- the same he got when
>> Zack ate Mitch's chocolate frosted brownie.  ( You see the problem is not in
>> training the dogs, but training the husband about counters.<VBG>).
>> 
>> Are there symptoms I should look out for -- and would one large onion cause
>> the problem -- (there were three dogs, but my guess is Casey got the lions
>> share)?
>> 
>> One again thanks for the heads up -- Always glad for information.
>> 
>> Tea
>> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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