The Problem:
My dog ingested xylitol in gum. The xylitol causes dogs to secrete insulin so their blood sugar drops rapidly. This can cause acute liver failure. This results in depression, loss of coordination, and seizures.
Within 30 minutes of consuming a small amount of a xylitol, the ASPCA says, dogs can experience a dramatic drop in blood sugar, and they usually begin vomiting, become lethargic and can have difficulty standing or walking. Symptims can be seizures, develop internal hemorrhaging and lesions and suffer liver failure. As few as two or three sticks of xylitol gum could be toxic to a 20-pound dog, the ASPCA says.
Here's What I Did:
I took rufus, a poodle, to the vet immediately. They were able to induce vomiting and got him on a glucose drip. I got him to the vet about 1/2 hour after he eat the gum.
Here's The Results:
He turned out ok, but as I looking into xylitol more, there are hundreds of cases like this each year, and many dogs die. Often, people don't know that their dog got into something like gum (dogs, like mine, will eat it wrapper and all).
The owner may not know its a critical situation, or be able to tell the vet what happened.
Other Stuff:
Its important to keep artificially sweetened gum away from dogs of any kind.
