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 , OH     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.  He 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 IV fluids at 1 & 1/2 times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours. The 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 IV 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 grap es 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.

One pound deer – he is beautiful!! This tiny deer was delivered by Caesarean section at a wildlife hospital after a car killed his mother. Little Rupert, who is so small he can fit in an adult’s hand, was born after vets failed in their battle to save the mother. At just six inches tall and weighing just over a pound, he is now in an incubator in the intensive care unit at Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Buckinghamshire.  He has only recently opened his eyes. Ler Stocker, founder of Tiggywinkles, said "rupert’s mother  had very severe injuries.  We brought him out and got him breathing, and then he went into an incubator on oxygen.  He is now being fed by a tube. Staff member are optimistic that rupert, now five days old, will make a fll recovery.  "Deer are very, very tricky, but this one has spirit. He’s an extremely feisty little guy and quite pushy, "Mr. Stocker siad.

 Natural Pet Care at its finest? In nature we expect certain couplings. The natural way for a dog to care for her puppies is by nursing her own puppies. How about throwing into the mix another animals offspring. Is this a play on the words "natural pet care"? Princess, a Shih Tzu dog, is nursing three female puppies along with a newborn squirrel that she has adopted as one of her own. Doug Thomas, the owner of Princess, said the abandoned squirrel was found near his Agoura Hills property.  Ventura County Star, Sept. 09, 09 This story brings to mind that age old question: Is man really dogs best friend? We can laugh about it, but I see countless households with only one dog, no other animals and the humans that live with the dog. Whose idea is that anyway? Some people think I have gone overboard, I have SIX lovely dogs. Maybe by most standards that is a large group of dogs. I am a breeder of French BullDogs so therein is part of the reason.  But, I can easily imagine life with less, however, never just one. Even though they look to me as their Queen Bee who feeds them, puts them to bed and walks them everyday, there is nothing I can do to replace the expereince they have amoungst themselves when they play and cuddle. Sure, I realize that some people live in apartments, and two dogs might be too much, but have you ever considered the delight your dog would have with a cat?  This picture represents the possibility that any other animal could be a companion for your dog. I have heard of Hippos in the house, horse, ducks, ferrets, birds and now squirrels. I hope only that this article will reflect upon you single dog owners to reconsider why you have only one animal? Whose idea was it anyway?

The day began with my dog eating the leftovers of a chocolate Éclair!  How much did she eat? How long ago? How much chocolate was in that frosting?  In my anxious state, knowing only that Chocolate is BAD for a dog, I knew that I needed to do something. But what exactly? These are the kind of things that a book can tell you on the page, but until you go through it, experience it, feel the emotion associated with the experience, only then will you commit it to memory.

I had my guide book, Vet Secrets Revealed. I could very easily look things up in there. Like , how do I make my dog throw up? I knew this, but not the dose by heart. I also know that chocolate is BAD for the dog, but how much is really toxic.  Did I need to be worried, or was it just not enough?

What I learned will now be committed to memory.  We survived the chocolate. But I do feel a need for one place to tell you the whole truth because I could not find it all that way.  My Vet Secrets book revealed how to make the dog throw up, the dose and the after ingredient. Another two sites on-line gave me minimal details about chocolate quantity toxicity.  The on- line resources said to go to the vet to get a shot to make her throw up. The Vet book doesn’t talk specifically about chocolate,  only poisoning in general.  So what is the whole story.

Theobromine is the stimulant in chocolate that is similar to caffeine. In the worst case scenario you dog can experience problems with the heart and the nervous system, making him terribly sick and in severe cases it could cause death.

Different kinds of chocolate have different doses of theobromine.

MILK CHOCOLATE ; roughly one square is equal to 1 ounce which has 45 mg of Theobromine. The toxic dose would be at one ounce eaten per pound of body weight. So, if your dog weighs 10 pounds and eats a whole entire candy bar, 10 squares, this is very bad. If your 100 pound dog eats a candy bar, this would be only 1/10^th the toxic dose, and hence not so bad. You wouldn’t have to panic.

SEMI SWEET chocolate has 260 mg. per ounce. It is toxic for each ounce per 3-6 pound of body weight. So, this is much stronger.  A 10 pound dog could only ingest 2 squares (2 oz.) having the same toxicity level of an entire milk chocolate candy bar.

BAKERS CHOCOLATE is much stronger yet, containing 450 mg. per ounce, being toxic at only 1 square (1 oz.) per 10 pounds of body weight.

COCOA BEANS have 450-1500 mg per ounce.  They become toxic at one ounce ingested per 10-33 pounds body weight.

If your dog eats chocolate at a lower does than these measurements than probably you will have a dog with digestive upset such that vomiting and diarrhea may occur.  This can happen right away or maybe not until the next day.

My suggestions is this:

If in doubt do the following two things;

1)      INDUCE VOMITING

2)      FOLLOW with  ACTIVATED CHARCOAL.

Dose the hydrogen peroxide at 1 teaspoon per 10 pounds.  Remember the shot you could go to your vet and get? This works splendidly. Dose the dog once. My 30 pound dog got 3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon).  Remember that 5ml. is 1 teaspoon. It is easiest to take up in a syringe. They often have ml. measurements on them.  Squirt into the back of the mouth. If you don’t have a syringe, soak it up in bread. My dog hated it that way, but I have heard it can work too.

If no reaction, dose ONLY 1 MORE TIME, same dose.  I have never not had it work for various reasons that I have had to induce vomiting. But if after 2 doses there is no result then I would GO TO THE VET.

Optimistically speaking, after the dog throws up, give activated charcoal capsules.  I have never been actually able to find a dose on this. I looked everywhere. I have experimented with this. Basically, not any dog has ever had an adverse reaction to any dose I gave. Today I gave 2 capsules. If we use that as a gauge, how about 1 capsule per 15 pounds. Charcoal is entirely NON TOXIC and absorbs, like a sponge, any bad stuff inside the stomach or the intestine. Think of your water filtration system, it is full of charcoal.  It removes chlorine from the tap water and will remove other things from your dogs tummy.

So, be safe and ALWAYS have Hydrogen Peroxide and Activited Charcoal in your medicine cabinet, with a syringe on standby.

Here are some interesting articles that I stumbled upon today. Just sharing. In a hurry. My daughter was in an accident. She will be OK but I have extra responsiblities to be with her. But I wanted to pass along a good read. Go check these out.

Alternative/Natural Remedies for Pets : Whole Dog News

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