Liver Failure in Dogs Caused by Sweetners

[NutterlyUts]

I have just been passed this information by a friend whos dog is currently fighting for his life because of this.

Xylitol, which is a sugar substitute found in many things including gum and toothpaste can cause liver failure in dogs. Brack (the dog mentioned above) ate some without his owner knowing, and it was only because of an ace vet that the cause was even known. There are no warnings on packets which Brack's owner is almost definately going to campaign for.

The scientificky stuff is outlined below:
www.cababstractsplus.org/veterinarysciencedemo/articles.asp?ArticleID=16106&action=display&openMenu=relatedItems&SubjectID=110

(P.S, Feel free to cross post this everywhere you can think of)

I'm sure my dog ate a gum with it in the past and fortunately he is OK. But ill be more careful in the future. However... as these products are, clearly, produced solely for human consumption I doubt she will succeed in her campaign.

Thats the scary thing about it.. A lot of dogs get people food, whether fed it or by chance.

As I understand it, most dogs wouldn't come to any harm eating such foods, my gran's old dog almost lived on choclate buttons, toast and tea (with sugar in it) but some dogs may have a reaction to it.

Things to avoid are chocolate (the doggy variety is fine though), grapes, raisons, some nuts (I can't remember which ones off the top of my head).

And while we are at it some others things to avoid are cooked bones (raw bones are fine) and cleaning solution that turns white when added to water (dettol for instance, make sure floors are completely dry before letting cats and dogs back in the room) anti-freeze is another absolutely lethal one that many people leave in the garage on the floor.

It has taken years for allergen warnings labels to be extensively introduced, even when those foods where for human consuption and could kill some humans if mislabeled. Perhaps she would like to look at that process as an example of what to expect or the way to go about it?

Oh the raisins and grapes! I read that half a pound of raisins will be enough to kill a GS.

Wonder what it is about the grapes and raisins?
My Labrador had a serious allergic reaction about three years ago, we didn't know what the hell it was when it happened, but her head and face swelled to about three times the normal size, her eyes were swollen almost shut, she looked horrific. Rushed her to an out of hours vet, he said it was most likely a cleaning product or something similar. The only thing I can think of is that I'd bleached the toilets that day, and she must have had a drink from the loo, which she's done before. I make sure the seats are down now.