Protect your dog!

Post Reply New Topic

I love cats and dogs. My dog will eat almost anything. Therefore it is common for me to give my dog table scraps. I ran across an article this morning that contains a word of caution.

You should always be careful about what you let your dog eat — case in point, a common sugar substitute found in everything from chewing gum to peanut butter can be deadly for man's best friend, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This week, the FDA warned pet owners about the dangers of xylitol, a type of sugar alcohol that is sometimes found in sugar-free foods. Although the substance is safe for humans, it can be poisonous for dogs. Over the last several years, the agency has received reports of dogs being poisoned by eating foods that contain xylitol.

Many of the poisonings occurred when dogs ate sugar-free gum, the FDA said. But xylitol can also be found in other food or consumer products, including sugar-free candy, breath mints, baked goods, sugar-free (or "skinny") ice cream, toothpaste, cough syrup, and some peanut and nut butters.

When dogs eat xylitol, it is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and causes a rapid release of insulin, the hormone that helps sugar enter cells. This insulin spike may cause dogs' blood sugar levels to plummet to life-threatening levels, a condition known as hypoglycemia, the FDA said. In humans, xylitol isn't dangerous, because it does not stimulate the release of insulin.

Signs of xylitol poisoning in dogs — including vomiting, weakness, difficulty walking or standing, seizures, and coma — typically occur within 15 to 30 minutes of consumption, and deaths have occurred in as little as 1 hour, the FDA said.

Source: This common sugar substitute can be deadly for dogs, FDA warns

Thanks for the warning jimmy m.

I have a fridge magnet that lists the following: (I should take a picture but I'm feeling lazy)

Top Ten Household Toxins for Dogs

1. Grapes and Raisins
2. Xylitol (sugar substitute) ***
3. Onions and Garlic
4. Chocolate (the darker it is, the more toxic)
5. Macadamia Nuts
6. Rat poison (who wouldda thought?)
7. Household cleansers and detergents
8. Uncooked bread dough
9. Home-made Playdough
0. Mouldy kitchen trash or compost

My vet had a giant poster warning about xylitol.What worries me is some unknowing person might spit a piece out on the ground and a dog eat it.You might not even know your dog has consumed it.
So gum chewers, put gum where it belongs,a trash can.

A teenage girl (I think she was 12 or 14?) who was living in my nearest town died through chewing too much chewing gum. No, she didn't choke or ingest it... It was found it was due to an overload of one of the ingredients which was said to be ok if people didn't chew gum frequently. Her mum wrote to the local newspaper to try to raise awareness. While the local newspaper took on the story, the larger national papers didn't seem to notice?

Thank you, jimmy! This is very informative. I am a cat and dog lover myself, but don't have any indoor pets now. They have all passed due to old age.

When I was a kid I would often stuff my face and see how many pieces of gum I could chew at once. It's scary thinking I could have been poisoned for something like that.

But as a kid most of the gum I chewed was bubble gum that had good old harmless sugar in it.

Of course, gum was banned at school because kids are stupid and stick their used gum everywhere but in the trash can where it's supposed to go. Also it's very annoying to the teachers having to hear you answer a question with a big wad of gum in your mouth.

When I started junior high school, many kids were smoking right on the school grounds, and that's more dangerous than any gum. And smokers need to learn not to flick their cigarette butts on the ground, too.