Grapes can cause serious harm to dogs, who can die from ingesting them. As delicious as they are, grapes and raisins should never be given to your dog. Not only are they easy to choke on, but your dog can also suffer from renal failure if they snack on many of them. This is why you should keep grapes away from your dog at all times.
This Means You Should Keep Grapes Away From Your Dog, ALL GRAPES
We are talking about all kinds of grapes. None are safe to eat. Whether it’s seeded or seedless, homegrown or commercial, green or red, non-organic or organic, they are all dangerous to dogs. They are all the same in this respect. They can poison your pup. Even products that contain grapes, such as trail mix and raisin bran cereal, can be toxic to dogs, so beware of them as well.
Grapes, Killer of Dogs
How does grape toxicity present itself?
Grape toxicity results in the failure of your dog’s kidneys. The first indications of kidney failure include vomiting and loss of appetite, both of which may happen within 24 hours of exposure. They do not know which toxin is responsible for the damage to the kidneys. They think the guilty toxin is in the meat of the fruit instead of in the skin or the seeds.
How many grapes does it take to poison a dog?
It takes fewer raisins than it does grapes to be fatal because of their concentrated state. Toxicity is weight-based. How sick your dog will be for the same number of grapes eaten depends upon how much your dog weighs. It takes fewer grapes eaten to kill a small dog than needed for a larger dog. But, whatever the size of your dog, you must keep grapes away from your dog!
Experts think that these fruits have either salicylate or mycotoxin content. Either of these can compromise blood flow in dogs. Then the kidney suffers from a significant deficiency in the amount of blood flowing through the organ.
Vets have yet to agree on how much of a loss it takes to be fatal. Death most likely depends on two things. The combination of how many grapes are eaten and how quickly the dog is treated afterward is the determining factor. His weight is another contributing factor.
Signs and Symptoms of Toxicity
Before grape toxicity progresses to the more advanced symptoms of kidney failure, such as anuria (lack of urine production) breathing difficulty, seizures, tremors, and lethargy, earlier signs and symptoms occur. They are as follows:
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Dehydration
- Abdominal pain
- Oliguria (abnormally insufficient urination)
- Hyperactivity
- Fluid cessation (will not drink water)
Grape alternatives to feed your pup
If you wish to feed your dog something vegetarian, you can skip grapes entirely and opt for some equally sumptuous alternatives. One excellent recommendation is sweet potatoes. You can either bake or roast these earthly delights, and most dogs will readily gobble them up.
Aside from sweet potatoes, there are many safe fruits and vegetables your dog can enjoy eating. Please refer to this list of safe-to-eat foods:
- Apples without seeds or cores
- Blueberries
- Bananas
- Green beans
- Cantaloupe
- Carrots
- Cucumbers
- Pumpkins
What would you do if you thought that your pup had eaten either raisins or grapes?
If you think that your dog has eaten raisins or grapes, call your vet without delay. Or, you immediately contact the animal poison control agency, Pet Poison Helpline. Your dog must receive immediate treatment to stop the condition from continuing on to death.
To be most safe, keep grapes away from your dog’s reach. Unless, of course, you don’t want to commit to keeping your house entirely grape-free for the sake of your pup. Either way, the point is to ensure your dog’s utmost safety proactively. It is better to prevent the illness than to try to treat it.
Aside from grapes, many other human foods are also toxic to canines. You should also acquaint yourself with these other foods as well. There is nothing more distressing than watching your precious dog suffer from poisoning. When it is due to your negligence, it is almost unbearable. One of the worst offending foods is chocolate.
When should you act?
You must be prepared to take action at the earliest signs of food poisoning. Do not wait until your dog has difficulty breathing before you make an emergency call or driving your dog to the vet’s clinic. Labored breathing is usually an indication that toxicity has reached a potentially fatal stage.
Vet checking out a pup
Keep your veterinarian’s contact details on hand. They will ask the breed of your dog, his age, weight, and the general health of the animal Further, they will need to know when he ate, what he ate, and how much he ate.
Expect to be asked about any symptoms you might have seen. It will be useful if you can tell them how many breaths a minute the dog is taking as well as the pulse rate. Mention if he has vomited or not. They will also want to know how soon after he ate the offending food he vomited and how many times. When the last time he urinated is vital to mention as well.
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Can my dog be saved if he has eaten grapes or raisins?
When a dog ingests grapes, it is treated as an emergency. The sooner your dog is treated, the better chance he has to survive. If he is treated by the vet within the first 2 hours after eating the raisins or grapes, he has a much better chance of living.
If he has not vomited within the two-hour window, they will most likely try to make him vomit the toxic food. They will induce vomiting and treat him with activated charcoal.
After the dog has emptied his gastric contents, they are likely to start intravenous fluids and keep them running for 48 hours or more. Blood work to monitor how well his kidney function is doing should be done periodically for approximately 72 hours.
Basic blood chemistry panels and urinalysis are likely to be done, as well as is an ultrasound. They will watch your dog very closely for the next few days, depending on how ill he is at that moment.
Is every time a dog eats a few grapes serious enough to need a trip to the vet?
Any time a dog eats grapes or raisins, it is considered a potentially fatal event and is very serious. The dog will need to be seen by a vet even if you do not notice any symptoms at the time. The sooner they are seen and treated, the better the chance of their survival.
Better than early treatment is prevention. Keep in mind that it is our responsibility to prevent our animals from coming to harm by keeping known poisons out of their reach. Now that you are aware that grapes and raisins are poisonous to dogs (and cats), this is one risk of harm you can easily prevent.
Photos courtesy of Pixabay
