Dr. Kim Donovan says its important to keep pets away from harmful foods, such as Halloween candy.
There are many products in our households that can be toxic to our pets and our children. If you have pets or children, be very aware of what is in your surroundings and what is within their reach.
Let all family members know what may cause harm to your pets so they can make sure these are placed out of reach.
Halloween is an especially important time to heed this warning. Many dogs tend to get into the Halloween candy which can cause symptoms ranging from vomiting and diarrhea to seizures and coma, therefore warranting a visit to your veterinarian. Most of us are aware that chocolate can be toxic to our pets. But have you heard about xylitol? Xylitol is a sweetener found in a lot of sugarless or sugar free products. For example, some sugarless gums, baked goods, and candies can have enough xylitol in them to potentially cause serious problems for dogs.
If your dog has ingested a product containing xylitol, symptoms that you may see indicating toxicity would be vomiting, weakness, seizures, uncoordination (acting like intoxicated), and coma. In dogs, xylitol causes a sudden increase in insulin release causing a rapid decrease of glucose in the blood called hypoglycemia. This same phenomenon does not occur in humans after ingestion of xylitol. The symptoms in dogs may occur right away after ingestion of xylitol or it may take as long as 12 hours before any signs occur depending on the amount of xylitol that was ingested.
If you know your dog ingested a product with xylitol, call your veterinarian. If no symptoms have occurred yet then the treatment plan may include the induction of vomiting and giving your dog small frequent meals and/or giving a sugar supplement. If it has been too long since ingestion, then inducing vomiting won’t help. The goal of inducing vomiting is to get the ingested material back out of the stomach before it has time to be absorbed. Administration of intravenous glucose and monitoring potassium levels are needed in many cases. Serious liver problems can occur after the ingestion of xylitol therefore, a complete blood panel should be done. Remember xylitol toxicity can be fatal.
Not only is it important to keep candy away from your dogs at Halloween but don’t forget to keep your Christmas stockings and Easter baskets out of reach of your pets also.
Remember too that lots of people carry gum and candy in their purses and/or backpacks which dogs can sniff out and ingest.
If your pet ingests a potentially toxic substance then contact your veterinarian and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 1-888-426-4435 for immediate assistance.
Kim Donovan, D.V.M., is an associate veterinarian at Oakhurst Veterinary Hospital in Seminole with 12 years experience and a special interest in feline medicine.
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