Stay away from grapes and rasins........

[jas'smom]

I knew grapes and rasins were bad for dogs but did not know how bad!!! Just thought I would pass this on…





Why?

The toxic principle is unknown. Grapes contain low amounts of tannins compared to acorns, a known kidney toxicant in large animals. Grapes lack significant amounts of Vitamin D, another known kidney toxicant. It is unlikely pesticide residue is involved due to the wide variety of grape types involved. So far the majority of toxicosis reports have been in dogs. However, feeding grapes or raisins to cats and ferrets should also be discouraged, as poisonings have been reported in these species as well.

How Many Would Poison Your Dog?

The minimum toxic dose is approximately 0.3 oz/kg body weight. This would correspond to about 2 grapes per kg body weight, or roughly 1 grape per pound of body weight.

15 lb dog = 12-14 grapes could be deadly
25 lb. dog = 23 grapes could be deadly
50 lb. dog = 50+ grapes could be deadly
75 lb. dog = 75 grapes could be deadly

Raisins, having lost their water content are considered more toxic at 6 raisins per kg of body weight, or 2-3 raisins per pound of body weight. Think how many raisins are in ONE small snack pack of raisins – maybe enough to kill your dog.

15 lb. dog = 30-45 raisins could be deadly
25 lb. dog = 50-75 raisins could be deadly
50 lb. dog = 100-150 raisins could be deadly
75 lb. dog = 150-225 raisins could be deadly

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms appear 6-24 hours after the dog eats raisins or grapes (average is 12 hours). Initially, symptoms are gastro-intestinal signs, followed by kidney problems.

Vomiting is usually the primary sign, with diarrhea, depression/lethargy, anorexia, colic, dehydration and sharply decreased urine output. The course of the toxicosis is anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks. Dogs with kidney problems have a guarded to poor prognosis.

Diagnosis is based on history of recent exposure and clinical signs. On bloodwork, the kidney values are increased. Typically BUN, creatinine, phosphorus and potassium are elevated (sometimes serum calcium as well). The urine sediment will have hyaline casts and the urine specific gravity will be either hyposthenuric or isosthenuric (diluted to the concentration of water of less concentrated than water) at SG 1.006 to 1.010.

Treatment

If the raisins or grapes have been ingested within 2-3 hours, vomiting should be induced followed by activated charcoal to limit further absorption. Treatment is based on preventing further absorption if appropriate and maintaining urine output & electrolyte balance. The vet may also give an osmotic cathartic (to speed up GI passage of toxin without absorption). The animal should receive an isotonic saline solution IV at twice maintenance rates for 48 hours. Anti-nausea medication, diuretics and peritoneal dialysis may be needed in some cases.

[fruitandnutz]

There seems to be far more awareness about this recently. We stopped feeding grapes about 2 years ago, when we read something about their possible toxic effect.

Anyway, as it intimates on this link from the ASPCA, until just a few years ago feeding grapes/raisins was not uncommon, and not seen as something to worry about unduly.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post this link, but just in case I am here it is....
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=grapes
I've also seen similar articles on other US dog-sites which specifically ask that we dog owners tell as many people as possible about this potentially fatal danger. Thanks to the original OP for raising the awareness!

[LisaS]

a few years back, when clicker training taking over all training links on the 'net - I remember reading one or more sites where raisins were suggested as a training treat - small, soft, etc. - seemed to be a perfect fit -

my guess is that many people took this advice and then vets started seeing many cases of dogs w/problems from raisins and then the alerts about safety went out - where in the years before this was suggested - who would have ever given dogs a large number of raisins?

[LUVMYROTTNBOY]

Oh, I had a girl (Sugar) who got into the trash once. She ate grapes and bad chicken, the vet was more concerned about the grapes over the rotten chicken. Now It makes sense. I was just told, grapes were bad but not why. She was fine after the incident. I feed grapes all the time to my bird, so now I will keep a closer eye out to make sure Zeiss does not eat the leftovers.

[targonrotts]

we had our first case here at the clinic years ago.mix shepherd ate 1 lbs of grapes from kitchen counter.about 3 days later,, owner called us that dog was lethargic and vomitted once.we told her to bring in.her BUN -what measures kidney/urea function was way up high.he was put on fluids and hospitalized. we attempted to save dog, but it was too late.the numbers stayed high and the dog crashed.owner opted to put to sleep.