Non Vw. Dogs Issues

[egspot]

If you have a dog... PLEASE read this and send it on.  If you don't have a dog, please pass along to friends who do.  

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.  H e 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.

T he 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 I.V. 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 the 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.

Onions, chocolate, cocoa and macadamia nuts can be fatal, too.

Even if you don't have a dog, you might have friends who do. This is worth passing on to them.

 
 

[blarneyman]

This is somewhat old (2004), but it is true! There are many \"people\" foods that are potentially toxic to dogs, cats, etc. The best food you can give your pet is a top quality pet food. It has everything in it the animal needs.

[doubledoor]

The best thing you can do for your dog is feed it RAW. Even the best dry kibble is not the best for animals!
But back on topic very sad story

[blarneyman]

The best thing you can do for your dog is feed it RAW.
 

Up for debate It depends on who you talk to. I spent about 6 years in the pet food industry and I won't feed raw.
Just my opinion  

[berliner]

it's interesting what differences there can be between different dogs;it's common knowledge that chocolate is bad for dogs,but my dog murray got two pounds of purdy's off the dresser(god knows how)and ate the whole works(he apparently had difficulty with the tinfoil wrapped ones)he showed no ill effects and carried on as normal,but murray always was a special dog.

[vanBoven]

our dog eats rocks and passes them    i think he will be fine  

[blarneyman]

it's interesting what differences there can be between different dogs;it's common knowledge that chocolate is bad for dogs,but my dog murray got two pounds of purdy's off the dresser(god knows how)and ate the whole works(he apparently had difficulty with the tinfoil wrapped ones)he showed no ill effects and carried on as normal,but murray always was a special dog.

Was it milk chocolate? That tends to be less toxic than dark chocolate. It also depends on the size of the dog.

[blarneyman]

our dog eats rocks and passes them    i think he will be fine

You don't happen to have a Lab do you? One of ours used to eat rock as well. One of them got stuck and we had to have surgery done to get it out. It kind of messed up her intestines a bit. The smooth rocks don't seem to do much damage. Ours ate some 3/4\" crushed rock (sharp edges). Sometimes they can be as dumb as a rock  

[vanBoven]

yea he is a old lab. once in a while he lies in the same place all day and we think maybe he gets one stuck once in a while