Raisins Are Dangerous

[Guest tigerlily]

 

 

 

 

 

 

-If you have a dog... PLEASE read this and send it on

 

Written by:

Laurinda Morris, DVM

Danville Veterinary Clinic

Danville , Ohio

 

This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen

At MedVet. My patient was a 56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix

That ate half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM

On Tuesday.

 

He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1AM on Wednesday

But the owner didn't call my emergency service until 7AM.

 

I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal

Failure but hadn't seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her

Bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service

At MedVet, and the doctor there was like me - had heard something

About it, but.... Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National

Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give I V fluids at 1 1/2

Times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.

 

The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less

Than 27) and creatinine over 5 ( 1.9 is the high end of normal). Both

Are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an IV

Catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and

The BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after

A liter of fluids. At th e point I felt the dog was in acute renal

Failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor

Urine output overnight as well as overnight care.

 

He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values have

Continued to increase daily He produced urine when given lasix as a

Diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still

Couldn't control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased again,

His BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very

Elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150,

Skyrocketed to 220.. He continued to vomit and the owners elected to

Euthanize.

 

This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who had no idea

Raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog

Of this very serious risk. Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or

Grapes could be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or

Raisins as treats including our ex-handler's. Any exposure should give

Rise to immediate concern.

 

Even if you don't have a dog, you might have friends who do. This is

Worth passing on to them.

 

Confirmation from Snopes about the above...

 

Http://WWW.snopes.Com/critters/crusader/raisins.asp

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest Mags123]

Esp with greyhounds - no onions or salt either! Any one else know this?

[Guest GiJenn51]

It has been posted many times.

[kronckew]

we need a sticky thread that stays on the top of the list here, on foods that are dangerous to dogs, like raisins and grapes, onions, macadamia nuts especially as they can kill quickly in small quantities, and a number of others like chocolate that are also dangerous but require more.

[Guest RosiesMom]

we need a sticky thread that stays on the top of the list here, on foods that are dangerous to dogs, like raisins and grapes, onions, macadamia nuts especially as they can kill quickly in small quantities, and a number of others like chocolate that are also dangerous but require more.

Agreed. This sort of thing is essential, and there are many lists out there that have some "iffy" items on them...the information here is always time-tested and reasonable.

 

W

[Guest Tigonie]

I think it is most useful to have a food list with a small bit of information about what the problem is with the food, e.g.:

 

Grapes - Can cause renal (kidney) failure. Even one serving of raisins can be harmful.

Raisins - Can cause renal (kidney) failure. Even one handful of grapes can be harmful.

 

Honestly, I don't know what onions, macadamia nuts, chocolate, garlic, etc. actually do to dogs, though I know they are "bad" foods. We were just talking on another thread recently about a list of food "bad" for dogs, which included liver, cheese, and some other strange items. Considering some commercial dog foods and dog treats contain liver, there was some general puzzlement about why that was on the "bad" list. Our guess was cheese had to do with potential lactose intolerance (causing flatulence) and/or high fat content potentially leading to obesity.

 

If I saw the reason for not feeding my dog something was "potential lactose intolerance," that's WAY different than "potential for renal failure."

 

Also, some idea of what constitutes a dangerous quantity would be helpful. For example, a dog eating one or two grapes is not going to keel over, but a handful or more might make a pup really sick. Same kind of thing with chocolate. I know lots of people have hopped on here to ask about their dog eating a milk chocolate candy bar, which is way less of a problem than the dog eating the same amount of baker's chocolate.

 

Maybe I'm just too into the "why," but I do like to feel educated about the things I do or don't do for my dog. I also want to know what constitutes an emergency and what I might expect to be the problem.

[greyhoundlov]

we need a sticky thread that stays on the top of the list here, on foods that are dangerous to dogs, like raisins and grapes, onions, macadamia nuts especially as they can kill quickly in small quantities, and a number of others like chocolate that are also dangerous but require more.

 

Look under Greyt Information on the main page. There is tons of stuff there.

[MarcR]

I think it is most useful to have a food list with a small bit of information about what the problem is with the food, e.g.:

...

 

That's why I like this list: Food list

Edited September 5, 2007 by MarcR

[kronckew]

this site is in thread on page two of the greyt info section

 

Linky

 

still think it needs to be a sticky (pinned) at least there, but in foods or medical would be better.