Xylitol Dangers

Every sweet has its sour

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Humans are always making resolutions. It's a new year, time to make promises, resolutions they call them. Maybe humans just have toooo many choices. Us dogs, not so much. We don't decide to get up in the morning, or eat, or play, or run.... it just happens. What else is there to worry about? Humans decide what we eat, when we exercise.....

Humans are always making promises to exercise more, spend less, eat less, eat healthier........ they just have way toooo many choices!

Another common trait of humans is instead of settling for what they have they change everything to make it better and faster. Sometimes this works well, other times not so much. Have you heard about the telephones that burst into flames while they're talking on them?

So instead of just skipping sweets, or maybe eating less of them, humans decided to create a substitute for sugar. In theory what a phenomenal idea, eat to your hearts content without all of the added calories. One such product on the market is called Xylitol. This sugar substitute is used in many products such as sugar-free gum, peanut butter, nicotine gum, toothpaste, and chewable vitamins (see the unbelievable list at the end of this page). You can buy bags of the substitute at the grocery store and use it to bake muffins, cakes and cookies without the guilt of sugar!

But did you know that this product is toxic to your dog? Xylitol causes an overproduction of insulin (tricks the body into thinking it is sugar) and your dog's blood sugar levels drop extremely low (hypoglysemia). The first sign is vomiting, usually within 30-60 minutes of xylitol ingestion but can be seen as far out as 12 hours. Poisoning progresses rapidly from ataxia, lethargy, collapse, seizure and death without medical intervention. Acute liver failure is also a very real outcome for your dog.

Dogs that are suspected of ingesting Xylitol should be seen by a veterinarian immediately. Because symptoms develop rapidly,  immediate detoxification, I.V. sugar supplementation, monitoring of blood glucose and potassium levels, liver protectants and supportive care should be provided to the patient quickly.

We have compiled a list of common places to find Xylitol, great care should be taken not to allow pets to have contact with any of these items:

Medications:

nasal sprays

vitamins

fiber supplements

Dental Products:

toothpaste

chewing gum

breath fresheners

dental floss

mints

mouth sprays

mouth wash

Food:

drink powders

peanut butter

instant coffee

barbecue sauces

ketchup 

candy

chocolates

pancake syrup

pudding

Personal Care items:

baby wipes

baby diapers

nose and face wipes 

sunscreen

lip balm

makeup

makeup remover

Pass this information to anyone you know that has a dog and uses sugar substitutes such as Xylitol. It could save their pet's life.

Ta ta for now

Oli

Xylitol poisoning

Xylitol Poisoning

Xylitol is an all natural sugar substitute made from birch tree bark, corn cobs, and beets. Hard to imagine not gnawing on that stuff!
Sweet like sugar but 40% less calories. No wonder the human population is gobbling up the stuff guilt-free.
Beware, a small amount of this ingredient in a dog can be deadly. Two or three sticks of gum can kill a 20lb. dog. According to the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), if you bake with Xylitol powder, 1 cup has 190g of Xylitol. Use 1 cup of powder making 24 cupcakes, and 2 cupcakes could kill a 50lb. dog! yikes!
Within 30 minutes after consuming this ingredient a dogs blood sugar will dramatically drop. Vomiting, weakness and seizures as the sugar level continues to plummet. Liver failure and death are common outcomes unless immediate veterinary intervention occurs.
This is really scary stuff, especially since you humans never know what we are inhaling from one moment to the next! The world is my breakfast bowl... what can I say I'm a Labrador Retriever!
People, read your labels! Sure it might help you lose weight, but you will be a lonely skinny person without us!
A few products to avoid or use with caution:
Jello-sugar free puddings
Altoids
Orbit gum
Trident
Ice Breakers
Tom's of Maine Toothpaste
Biotene Toothpaste
Spry products
Xylo Sweet
Tic Tacs

Xylitol is showing up in more and more products everyday, even children's vitamins. Because it has great bacteria killing properties it is popping up in dental products.
Please don't buy these products unless you have to. We can't read but we love to eat, and we love you.
Tata for now

pretty poison

From a dog's perspective I don't quite understand why my mom can dig in the dirt but I can't! She spends hours digging things up, then she turns around and buries it? Very strange behavior. But then when I join her she becomes very upset. Guess this is what humans consider as their "alone time".

I learned this week at Small Animal Veterinary Emergency Services that dogs and cats digging in the garden could be a deadly act. So many of those pretty flowers and plants poking out of the ground are extremely poisonous. Beyond the neatly trimmed edge of the flower bed lurks wild mushrooms. Haven't you noticed right after a good rain the lawn in your yard is sprouting fungus?

My dad, known as Dr. Kelly to most people, spends much of his time in Lebanon, New Hampshire working as a detective. He is a really smart guy when it comes to medicine, but between you and me he isn't smart enough to talk to me!

 The veterinary staff works against the clock everyday to try and save pets that have eaten a poisonous product or plant. So how can this be prevented? Check out the ASPCA's website to learn more about which plants are poisonous and which aren't. They even have pictures! Some of the plants you probably have never even heard of but did you know that the tomato plant and onions are poisonous to us?

Call your veterinarian immediately if you suspect that your pet has eaten a poisonous plant! Timing is everything.
Tata for now

HoHoHo...Oh No

Wow, the year is coming to an end. January means my 1st birthday! I love the holidays but once again I have to wonder about human's traditions. This month my humans lugged a 15 foot tree into our house. Then they decorated the tree with shiny things and bright lights. I thought about lifting my leg on it (I have perfected that stance) but decided last minute it would be a bad idea.
S.A.V.E.S. has been so busy. With the holidays brings many different hazards. Chocolate has been a huge offender. So many dogs have been admitted to the hospital for ingesting this candy. I have to say, my sister got a bar for Christmas and it sure does smell good.

The substance in chocolate that is so harmful to pets is called Theobromine. Different types of chocolate contain different levels of this substance. Unsweetened (Baker's) chocolate contains 8-10 times more Theobromine then milk chocolate. White chocolate contains the lowest amounts and is usually least likely to cause poisoning.
The toxic dose of theobromine (and caffeine) is 100-200mg/kg (1 kg=2.2lbs.) though there have been even smaller doses that have been found to be harmful.
Theobromine levels-
Dry Cocoa= 800mg/ou.
Unsweetened chocolate= 450mg/ou.
Semisweet chocolate= 150-160mg/ou.
Milk Chocolate= 44-64mg/ou.
**so the size of the pet, type of chocolate, and the quantity consumed determines the danger
Within 12 hours of eating the chocolate your pet may become excited, nervous or tremble. Vomiting and diarrhea and excessive thirst and excessive urination may occur. As the symptoms progress, muscle spasms, seizure and even death are possible.

When the pet arrives at the hospital the first thing the staff does is try and get the pet to vomit. Intravenous fluid therapy and anti-seizure medications are commonly used. Another useful bit of information, unborn and nursing offspring are also susceptible, Theobromine crosses through the mother's placenta and into milk!

Chocolate is not the only culprit for pets this holiday season. This pile of vomit came from a pet that had eaten 4 boxes of raisins. Grapes and raisins are toxic to pets. Raisins are a dried grape, and since their dried the toxin is concentrated in the fruit. Ultimately your pet's kidneys are damaged if the patient goes untreated.
Within the first 24 hours your pet will show signs of anxiousness, then stop drinking and urinating as the kidneys fail. The medical staff firsts induces vomiting, then administers activated charcoal to absorb the toxin. Intravenous fluids help flush the toxins out of the body and support the kidneys.
p.s. only induce vomiting if instructed by your veterinarian. 3% Hydrogen Peroxide is commonly used to induce vomiting at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 10 pounds body weight (1 teaspoon- 5 mls). Remember to watch your pet closely for vomiting, we have been known to re-eat our vomitus if allowed to (yea, yea, you humans do some pretty gross things also).
So people, don't leave your Godiva's laying around, we dogs love chocolate! And the next time you bring your moldy grapes out to the bird feeder, remember, the cold wind blows and down will come grapes and raisins in all. TaTa for now.

dog run dog, beans and arson dogs

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So the summer is coming to an end. My brothers and sisters are back to school (jail as the affectionately refer to it as) and it is very quiet at home. I wish it would have lasted a bit longer. Haven't been swimmig in a while because mom says without much rain the pond is probably full of bacteria. The last thing I need is another infection! My eye is slowly healing and Soph doesn't point and laugh at me as much.

I got a new collar from West Leb Feed and Supply. Sam calls me "Olivia" when I wear it but I don't care! Mom says she loves poppies and it is the prettiest collar she has ever seen. I am only allowed to wear it when I am not going to get dirty (she's kidding right?).
Next weekend is Dog Run Dog and we are all participating in the run. The S.A.V.E.S. staff will be riding bicycles and looking for injured or overheated dogs or their owners with Dr. Kim Jones of Stoneybrook Vet. Hospital. I think me and my dad are going to run in it. Dr. Padgett's fiance is visiting from Scotland and I think he is going to run with Doogan! Check out their website for more information and an online registration form.

I love beans. Pick m' right off the stalk when moms not looking. She says their good for me! Some vegetables and fruits that I shouldn't eat though are avocado, grapes, mushrooms, onions, cherry pits, peach pits, and raisins.

There are a lot of plants in the yard that we should avoid, that could kill us. Some of the common ones are Azaleas, Lily of the Valley, all of the Lily family (unfortunate for a young kitten patient at the emergency hospital this week), the bulbs of daffodils, narcissus and hyacinth to name a few. Check out Healthypet for more ideas and helpful hints to keep your best friends healthy.

I was reading this really interesting piece in Bark about arson dogs (yes I can read, Soph helps me with the tough words). So I'm sure you have heard of the insurance company "State Farm is Therrrrrrre". Well an interesting bit on how they use dogs (mostly Labs because of our curiosity, energy, tracking ability, and easy going nature, yea, yea and we train easily being motivated by food!!) to sniff out arson. They explain that it would take a person 17 times washing their hands in order to remove what a dog would be able to detect as arson forming agents. More then 200 arson dogs working today can sniff out tiny amounts of anything from lamp oil to lighter fluid in a crime scene flooded with water, snow, mud, or lots of fire debris. State Farms Arson Training Organization teamed up with Maine Specialty Dogs and the Maine Criminal Justice Department to provide the arson dogs for the insurance company. If you want to read more about the arson dogs check out the article in February/March issue of Bark.
Well hope you have a great week and really hope to meet you at the DogRunDog race on Sunday in Norwich, Vermont. Tata for now