Dog owners warned against sugar-free items

[Miss Mary]

Since many S2K members have dogs, here's a warning I was not aware of.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15066760/

Dog owners warned against sugar-free items
Commonly used artificial sweetener can cause canine liver failure

Updated: 7:10 p.m. ET Sept 29, 2006

NEW YORK - Keep those sugarless treats out of Fido’s reach. Veterinarians warned Friday that a commonly used sweetener might cause liver failure in dogs, and perhaps even kill them.

Their report in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association appears to strengthen the suspected link between the sugar substitute xylitol, thought to make dogs sick, and possible liver failure.

Xylitol, a naturally occurring product, is found in many sugar-free chewing gums, candies, baked goods and toothpastes.

Researchers Sharon Gwaltney-Brant and Eric Dunayer with staff at a poison unit of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Urbana, Ill., gathered information on eight dogs treated between 2003 and 2005 after eating products containing xylitol.

Each dog became ill, and five died or had to be put down because of liver failure, possibly from ingesting xylitol.

One dog who had to be euthanized had eaten four large, chocolate-frosted muffins containing about 1 pound of xylitol.

“People don’t think sugar-free gum can kill their dog. I didn’t before I got into this. But this is something people should be aware of,” Gwaltney-Brant, who co-authored the study with Dunayer, said in a statement.

Gwaltney-Brant said for dogs, ingesting even a small amount of xylitol can trigger significant insulin release, which drops their blood sugar and can be fatal.

“A 22-pound dog who consumes one gram (0.03 ounces) of xylitol should be treated,” she said, adding that further studies were needed to definitely establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

[Lindaloo]

Well they are not supposed to be eating chocolate muffins or people food period!

[Miss Mary]

Linda - yep, I know! But they do, as you and I are well aware of. Here's an example: my BIL who is disabled from the stroke, allows his service dog to eat the crumbs off his shirt and chair and consequently, you have to watch this Golden closely at family functions. He was standing up with front paws on my kitchen counter last Thanksgiving, going to town on the turkey carcass. I was going to make soup out of it. Now we all tether him to the chair Jay is eating or sitting at. Which is sad but that way we know the dog isn't eating people food. Anyway, b/c the owner is so lax about this, this dog has lost all his training just about. Very sad. I don't think my BIL has any sugar free foods in his kitchen, thank goodness. I will mention this warning to him though.

Hope only receives canned no-salt green beans, with her dry dog food. And Flax seed oil from the Health Food store, mixed in. Occasionally she'll have part of a banana but that's about it.

[O Town]

And how about dogs who love to get into the garbage. Errrr . My dogs tip over the can last night trying to get the chicken bones from our dinner last night. Probably got one too. We don't ever give our dogs people food on purpose but sometimes they just get into things so this is good to know. One year my moms dauchsaund unwraped the Chrismas boxes she had under the tree with cookies in them my mom spent days baking for family and friends. He only got into 1 but then ate like the whole container. He didn't move much for the next 2 days because he was so bloated.

Thanks for the info, I will pass it along.

[Bobbie Lee]

Our dog only gets canned food if we've gone out for dinner and come home with no leftovers. The rest of the time, Her Poochness gets people food. She eats exactly what we eat, and there isn't much she doesn't care for! While she gets a variety of meats, seafoods, starches (potatoes, rice, noodles), vegetables, and fruits (which she prefers on the side, please, as opposed to on her plate), she especially loves chicken and peas. And she'll come running from the other end of the house when I say, "Mary, would you like a glass of milk?"

Think about it -- what did dogs (and cats, for that matter) eat before the invention of dry dog food? That's only been around since the 40's or 50's. Dogs came across the continent with the covered wagons -- no dry dog food then. They had the leftovers of what their people ate. Maybe that's where the phrase "lickin'-pot hound" came from?

Mary's vet is VERY pleased with her excellent health. When vets advise against people food, they're trying to avoid a pet receiving only junk food. Mary doesn't get junk food beyond a few crumbs and a bowl-licking. She just wants a taste. Dogs' sense of smell is VERY keen, and it torments them to sniff the aromas coming from the kitchen and then not get any of their own. Mary is very well-behaved -- when dinner is on the table, she comes to the edge and sniffs a preview, then lies down at our feet until we're done. She doesn't get up until her plate is prepared.

I can tell you from experience that a dog who eats people food has MUCH more love and devotion for his people, and more fiercely guards his territory, lest any other pooch tries to horn in on the great life he has. And he'll leave the garbage can alone.

Okay, I'll step down from my soap box now.

[Lindaloo]

Well Bobby I disagree with you. I have NUMEROUS pets and I never give them people food and they are just as loving as the next.

Second, your dog may be healthy but I bet you she is overweight. If that is your dog in your avatar then yeah, she is definitely overweight. Dogs cannot digest people food like humans can. You are killing your dog everyday by giving her people food.

So you go right ahead and believe the 50's and 60's covered wagon hoopla. Those dogs probably did not live past their prime.

It amazes me that some claim to love their animals but yet post stuff like that. Please everybody, do not listen to that, you are asking for trouble when your dog reaches their senior years, rotten teeth and all.

I would not want your vet for my animals doctor.

[JenBayles]

Another little-known factoid: dogs shouldn't have onions. It can cause hemolytic anemia.

Unbuffered aspirin can cause a stomach rupture - my vet used to recommend aspirin years ago, but after one dog died after 2 doses, he switched to Tylenol for OTC pain meds.

Access to too much animal fat can cause pancreatitis. We lost our old dog Travis to it after he got into some pork ribs. NOT a pretty way to die for dogs or people.

If you want to make your own dog food, most vets recommend simple boiled chicken - no seasoning added, with some cooked rice mixed in. There are several internet pages out there with nutritional dog food recipes.

[GalvestonDuck]

I've heard grapes can be bad for them also.



Gotta admit, I did have to laugh at the weird coincidence of Bobbie's avatar being up before this post was even started and then she, of course, was one of the repliers.

[Bobbie Lee]

Her Poochness is not overweight; she's a golden retriever/greyhound mix, and what you see in the avatar is lot of furry excess skin that only comes into play when she's running around outside and chasing squirrels. She catches them, too.

Duck caught me, though -- here I claim no junk food for Mary, and she's got her head in the Doritos bag.

[azsnowman]

Well they are not supposed to be eating chocolate muffins or people food period!

AMEN!!! *hangs his head in shame however*....we feed our pups table scraps, not a LOT mind you and they only get them at supper time, I mean, HOW can you IGNORE those BIG, BROWN, ROUND, GOOGLE eyes starring at you with drowl coming out their mouths?

[Lindaloo]

Her Poochness is not overweight; she's a golden retriever/greyhound mix, and what you see in the avatar is lot of furry excess skin that only comes into play when she's running around outside and chasing squirrels. She catches them, too.

Duck caught me, though -- here I claim no junk food for Mary, and she's got her head in the Doritos bag.

Excess skin? That sounds like stretched skin.

[Lindaloo]

Well they are not supposed to be eating chocolate muffins or people food period!

AMEN!!! *hangs his head in shame however*....we feed our pups table scraps, not a LOT mind you and they only get them at supper time, I mean, HOW can you IGNORE those BIG, BROWN, ROUND, GOOGLE eyes starring at you with drowl coming out their mouths?

I understand and they will play you for the scraps. lol. But in their senior years and their eyes still twinkle and are still playful you will be so happy to still be able to look into those big beautiful brown twinkling HEALTHY eyes.

[Bobbie Lee]

Excess skin? That sounds like stretched skin.

Okay, Lindaloo, what's your point? Do you believe badgering me will change my mind? You disagreed with my first post in this thread, and I'm sure you won't change your mind. I was merely offering my experience. And while I don't understand how any animal would have "stretched" skin when it has never been overweight, I'm sure you can chalk that up to my general ignorance.

It amazes me that some claim to love their animals but yet post stuff like that.

Franky, I'm surprised that a moderator of such a large message board would be so rude. Disagreement is one thing. It's completely unnecessary to be nasty.

[Lindaloo]

What part of my question did you not understand? It was a question.

Let me tell you something, I rescued a Pomeranian that was not being cared for. It was obvious that the owner fed her whatever the heck they wanted. She was in her senior years and when she started having trouble, they put her out on the street! I took her into my home and got her healthy which included SEVERAL trips to the vet for surgeries and for oral care. So, please do not post information that it is OKAY to feed your animals people food because that is false information! I became quite fond of that old girl and because her owner thought it was cute to feed her people food I had to suffer by losing her because of it. I do feel better knowing I at least added a few more years on to her life and she LOVED ME for it.

If you feel I was rude, then that is okay too. Badgering is a pretty strong word to be accusing me of for asking you a question.

[Miss Mary]

A dog named Mary.....cute. I did a double take reading your replies Bobbie, b/c of the name. LOL

I have to agree with Linda though, dogs should not have people food.

The only reason our Golden receives canned no-salt green beans is she was about 20 lbs overweight one January. She develped a nasty rash on her stomach. Hope would not leave it alone. A Vet appt was necessary. He took one look at it and said her skin was extremely dry, and more importantly very overweight. If she remained that weight we were looking at a knee blowout and surgery. Also carrying her to the yard to do her business, on a rug with 2 people manning the ends of the rug. The Vet painted me a very sobering picture.

Long story short, he got thru to me - big time. She went on an immediate diet. No tablescraps (occasionally she got white rice or a piece of white bread or a biscuit). Instead of 4 cups of dry food combined everyday, it was 3/4 cup am and pm. Hope would stand by her bowl and bark at me, as if to say hey didn't you forget something here? A Golden board I read had wonderful tips on keeping their stomaches full - you add no salt green beans or carrots.

Each day she receives the 1.5 cups of dry food, about 1/2 cup of GB's and a tablespoon of Flax Seed oil.

No more people food. Except for the occasional banana chunk (a suggestion on the Golden board).

I've read that dogs should never ingest:

Chocolate
Tylenol
Salmon

Please add to my list, anyone.

Mary

[coriolis]

Salmon? That's what bears eat.

Of course the bears have to fatten up for winter.

Our dogs spend too much time running laps around the house to get fat. Up the steps, down the steps, round and around they go.

We'll give them an occasional small piece of meat. Other than that, it's Alpo.

[Miss Mary]

Ed - here's why I've heard, farm raised salmon is often very high in mercury. Wild caught Salmon might be okay but the salmon warning I read for dogs, probably was aimed at the fishery/farm raised fish and not those caught in the wild. Either way, we eat a lot of salmon and I never give Hope any of it.

[coriolis]

That makes sense Mary. Thanks.

Now I'm wondering about Salmon for us. I get the cans that say "Alaska" salmon when I make "crabby patties." So I guess it's ok. I've been known to eat it right out of the can when I didn't feel like making anything.

[Regit]

Miss Mary,

I worked in animal care for several years and will be happy to add some foods/plants/household items to your list.

These are only things that can cause acute and rapid onset health problems. If I added everything that was bad for dogs, I'd be here all night.

Chocolate (Tiny amounts ok, but can easily overdose)
Tylenol
FISH - There are several types of fish oil poisonous to dogs, so avoid fish altogether
Broccoli (can easily overdose)
Grapes/Raisins
Foods high in iron (liver, spinach, etc), except when ordered by vet for anemia.
Nutmeg (HIGHLY toxic)
Onions (HIGHLY toxic)
Potatoes
Coffee
Tea
Rhubarb
Alcohol
Anything containing Yeast
Animal Fat Trimmings
Mushrooms
Poinsettia
Nuts
Garlic
Any baby food
Marijuana
Tobacco
Citrus

I might add some more later on when I think of it.

[coriolis]

Can dogs inhale marijuana?