** XYLITOL WARNING **

AdamT

Well-known member
This is a notice for dog owners, and presumably all other pets, in case you are like we were, and did not know.

Xylitol is an artificial sweetener used as a sugar substitute found in many things, including chewing gum. It is very toxic to dogs and “Xylitol is quickly absorbed into your dog’s bloodstream where it causes the pancreas to release insulin which can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), seizures, liver failure, and even death. It only takes 10-60 minutes for these effects to take place, so time is of the essence.”

Yesterday evening my two kids (6 & 4) went over to their grandparents house to play with a new game they had got for them. The kids had been outside playing the game then went inside for a drink. They had just got a new pack of Icebreakers ice cubes chewing gum earlier that day and had it with them and left in in a chair in the garage. One of my in laws black Labrador Retrievers found the gum container and was in the yard eating the chewing gum. We took the gum from him and threw it away and thought he may have trouble passing it but was completely unaware of the danger of this particular ingredient.

The package originally had 40 pieces and there was about 5 left in it when we took it from him. So he probably had the opportunity to eat 25-30 pieces of chewing gum taking off for some the kids had chewed. After taking the gum container from the Lab, he ran and played fetch like he normally does. About 30-45 minutes later, he was lying on the porch but seemed maybe a little fatigued. We let him inside and he layed down and went from seemingly normal to in very bad condition rather quickly and ultimately passed away.

This was a perfectly healthy 75-80lb black lab that had just turned 1 year old on the 10th of August. From the time he had a noticeable problem to time of passing was no more than 45 minutes. Once we figured out that this was a serious issue we called a vet, tried to induce vomiting, and were heading to the vets office when he passed. Where we live, the closest vet office is about 15 minutes away, but the one that is open after hours for emergencies is probably a good 40 minutes away. One of the vets we called and normally do business with came in and had another vet that works with him come in also but unfortunately we were too late and Willie passed before we made it. Both vets spoke of this ingredient as being highly potent and toxic, even in small amounts.

I honestly don’t think it would’ve made a difference if we had got there while he was still trying to fight it. If we had known about the danger of this ingredient, and could have taken him to the vet immediately after he ate it or got him to vomit before his body absorbed so much, maybe the outcome would’ve been different. We are all sad, especially my two kids who feel like it’s their fault that their fetch buddy is gone. If you see this and it happens to you, you’ll know to take action fast, hopefully preventing a similar outcome.
 
Thanks for passing this along. I had no idea.
Sorry you lost your dog especially in this way.

It would seem this ingredient could not be good for humans.
 
Adam, thanks for the heads up. I am currently raising 2 Labs that are 3 1/2 months old and had no idea about this. And also sorry about the dog.
 
Back
Top