Xylitol - the sweetener that's poisoning our dogs

Posted by Clare Bristow

emergency-first-aid The mass pet food recall in the United States is focusing our minds on what we are feeding our dogs, and I for one am looking hard at all food labels before giving any food to Fritz and Zoe.

I read today that Xylitol a sweetener found in many chewing gums, candies and baked goods is extremely poisonous to dogs.

The ASPCA has reported that it is treating an increasing numbers of dogs that have eaten products containing the artificial sweetener. Xylitol is a relatively new, but increasingly popular, product to the US marketplace and knowledge of the effects it has on dogs is increasing all the time.

Like chocolate, products containing Xylitol can have a sweet smell that dogs find attractive, and given their tendency to rummage and gobble, it only takes a packet of chewing gum left in an open bag for your dog to eat it and become very ill.

Two or three sticks of chewing gum containing Xylitol can prove toxic for a 20 pound dog.

Symptoms of Xylitol poisoning

Within 30 minutes of ingesting Xylitol your dog can become very seriously ill; however the symptoms can take 12 hours to emerge if only a small quantity has been consumed.

Xylitol causes a very quick drop in your dog's blood sugar level and typically he will start vomiting, which can be followed by a loss of co-ordination (he'll tend to stagger around), lethargy, collapse and seizures.

If you think your dog has eaten a product containing Xylitol, take him to your vet immediately - this product can prove fatal in a very short space of time if not treated.

Some common products that are known to contain Xylitol include:

Jell-O puddings
Trident sugar free chewing gum
Altoid mints
Some brands of toothpaste, nicotine gum and vitamins and dietary supplements.

Read all food labels carefully; your dog is most at risk if it eats a product that has Xylitol listed as the first ingredient.

that don't contain

Did you enjoy this post? Subscribe to the Dog Topics feed to be notified every time a new post is added to this blog.

Keywords: dog health information, dog poisoning, dog safety, Safety at Home, symptom of poisoning in dogs

Filed Under Safety at Home, Blog

5 Turkey Tips for Thanksgiving

Comments

2 Responses to “Xylitol - the sweetener that's poisoning our dogs”

Brenda on January 31st, 2008 3:39 pm

Splenda, Nutrasweet & Sweet & Low are all CHEMICAL sweeteners (made by pharmaceutical companies) , and in most cases neurotoxins — toxic to YOU — the Xylitol is better for humans, because it's natural. So really, all you need to do is keep the Xylitol AWAY from your dog. We use Xylitol all the time, we put it away in the cabinet, and GEE WHIZ…the dogs dont get it. Maybe pet owners should just be responsible with ALL things that are toxic to dogs - don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.
Clare Bristow on January 31st, 2008 10:40 pm

Brenda, thanks for your comment.
I agree that we need to be responsible and keep toxic things away from our dogs rather remove all the dog toxic products from our houses - there wouldn't be much left in them if we did that!