As I wrote in my Thursday post, I’m recently returned from a trek up California’s Mt. Whitney. To my 
thinking, every day spent in nature is to be treasured. I told you too about the portly little marmot that’s a Poster Rodent for my fight to cut carbohydrates and calories in the diets of our pets–both dogs and cats. I lay out a path to better nutrition and dog health in my new book Dog Dish Diet (about to be released by Riparian Press).
But not everything animals eat is about nutrition. A mountain guide told me a strange fact about marmots. It seems they love to chew radiator hoses and drink antifreeze. I found this so surprising, I did some research and found several sources that reported marmots to be “immune” to ethylene glycol (the chemical in most antifreeze). Now I hope you know about the dangers of ethylene glycol because it causes kidney failure in dogs and cats, as well as children. And one of the reasons it’s so dangerous is that it’s naturally sweet.
As for the marmots, I couldn’t find any scientific studies, so I’m wondering if after their sweet antifreeze cocktail, their kidneys failed in a few days (just like dogs and cats) but they did not have an owner to observe it.
Toxins Come in Many Forms
Speaking of toxins, when I came back to work, a worried owner brought his dog in to be checked because it had eaten some grapes. In case you didn’t know, grapes and raisins can cause kidney problems in some 
dogs and cats, but no one seems to know how many grapes or raisins are dangerous. Not wanting to take any chances, I gave the grape eater some charcoal to absorb any grape toxin that might cause problems. I know my dogs have eaten a few grapes in their lives, as have many of yours, no doubt, so let me give you a rule of thumb to apply: Unless your dog or cat has eaten a large bunch of grapes or box of raisins, the probability of poisoning is low.
Snail Bait, Chocolate and D-Con…Oh My
Since we are on the subject of toxic stuff, let me throw out a few of the poisonous chemicals and foods that cause the most problems…in other words, what I see in our clinic most often.
- Topping my list is snail bait or metaldehyde poisoning. This garden pesticide looks a bit like kibble and must taste okay because dogs will gobble it up if it is heaped in a big pile. The first symptom is uncontrollable shaking. If you know your dog has ingested snail bait, and it hasn’t been more than an hour or so, you can attempt to pour a couple Tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide down her throat to induce vomiting. Warning: Do NOT try this if they are down or tremoring violently. At that point they need emergency treatment.
- We all know chocolate is dangerous for dogs. Here’s a little formula that will help you evaluate the potential for chocolate poisoning: It takes 1/2 ounce of milk chocolate for every pound of your dog’s weight; 1/10 ounce of dark chocolate for every pound; and 1/5 ounce of baking chocolate for every pound. For example, a 30-pound dog may have symptoms if it ate 15 oz. of milk chocolate, 3 oz. of
dark, or 1.5 oz of baking chocolate. Frightened owners usually rush their dogs to emergency clinics after their sweet-toothed ones have eaten a small amount of milk chocolate and shows no symptoms. The truth is, I have only seen a couple dogs affected by the caffeine-like chemical in chocolate. If your dog eats a lot of milk chocolate, or smaller amounts of the other (more pure forms) of chocolate, induce vomiting or take him to the vet. If it just ate a small piece of milk chocolate, it probably will not have any reaction, so you can save your money.
- The third most common poisoning I see is from mouse and rat baits (brand names include d-Con and Kaput). The active ingredient is Warfarin. Be very careful not to put this poison within the reach of dogs or cats because within a week of eating it your pets can bleed to death. Caught early, there is treatment–Vitamin K and a blood transfusion–but it’s costly. If you go out in the garage and find your dog eating mouse or rat poison, make them vomit and check to see if the blue pellets are in the vomit. I recommend playing it safe and checking with your vet about a prescription for Vitamin K as soon as possible.
- Finally, be careful of sugarless chewing gum with XYLITOL. Just a bit of this chemical can cause sickness and could lead to liver failure in some dogs. And while we’re on the subject of chemicals, when dogs find human medication lying around, they will often eat it. So keep your meds up and out of reach.
Some of you may have seen avocados on many lists of dangerous foods. This one I have trouble with. It’s possible if your dog ate a whole bowl of guacamole it might get sick…I might too if I ate too much. I’ll tell you the truth, my dogs love avocados. Naturally I control how much they get…as I do with everything they eat. Bone Appetit!
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Another awesome and educational post… still waiting for that BOOK!
I remember that when I was a kid our Kerry Blue Terrier used to help herself to the bowl of M&Ms that my mother kept in the living room. At that time we didn’t know that chocolate was potentially dangerous. But I guess the M&Ms were milk chocolate, and our dog never had a problem. In fact once we realized that Tallulah had been in the bowl (the candies were sticky) she usually got to finish the rest of the bowl…over time. Is that about what you’d expect or were we particularly lucky?
In fact, in my experience few dogs have severe symptoms to small helpings of milk chocolate. Milk Chocolate contains smaller amounts of theobromine, the caffeine type drug in chocolate then baking chocolate and dark chocolate. Many people rush dogs into the emergency clinic after they scarf up a square, bar, m&m, or kiss, when the weight and amount eaten need to be considered before seeking veterinary help.