you may not have even heard of xylitol but with this common sugar substitute
sweetener becoming more and more common xylitol poisoning is a very real risk
this common pet poison can even be deadly and only a tiny amount needs to
be eaten hi I'm Dr. Alex from ourpetshealth.com helping you and your pet to
live a healthier happier life so if we're just meeting for the first time
consider subscribing and hitting that Bell notification to make sure you don't
miss out on future videos just like this one so xylitol is a common sweetener
that is used in sugar-free foods unfortunately while safe for us xylitol
is incredibly toxic to dogs much more so even than cats
now xylitol poisons our dogs by triggering a large release of insulin
resulting in a very rapid drop in their blood sugar level often within 30 to 90
minutes of eating it now although it can take up to 18 hours depending on what it
was exactly that was eaten its effects then last for around 24 hours or even
longer a very low blood sugar level can lead to seizures coma and death now
that's not all though because xylitol poisoning in dogs can also cause
irreversible liver damage if an even larger amount is eaten and our patient
lives for long enough for this liver damage to take place so initial signs of
toxicity all relate to that low blood glucose level and include weakness
lethargy in-coordination vomiting and increased breathing rate and this then
this quickly progresses to seizures to collapse coma and death
now if liver failure occurs later on then jaundice with yellowing of the gums
vomiting diarrhea and inappetence are just some of the things that may be seen
but by this stage your dog will definitely already be undergoing
treatment or they won't be alive unfortunately and by this stage we have
a very very sick dog but where will you find xylitol well as manufacturers
attempt to cut down the amount of sugar in their foods
xylitol is actually becoming more and it's found in a huge range of products
and for a long time sugar-free gum would have been the main concern but now
xylitol can be found in anything from sugar-free baking to sugar-free ice
creams and yogurts sugar free sweets gum chocolate some peanut butters even some
honeys artificial sweeteners various sugar-free condiments as well as protein
bars and powders and that's really a lot of food has the potential to be
incredibly dangerous so to make matters worse xylitol has also found in some
skincare creams and cosmetics it's found in toothpastes and mouthwash and
human medication and supplements and it may even be present in some active wear
clothing to make matters doubly worse depending on where you live xylitol
it might not even be on the ingredient list it may instead say sugar alcohol of
which xylitol is just one possibility the other ones not being so much of a
concern anything labeled sugar-free natural sweeteners or no added sugars
should really have the ingredients double-checked so then make matters
tripley worse the amount of xylitol in the product it doesn't even have to be
stated which can then make it impossible to know for certain whether or not a dog
has eaten a dangerous amount or not so given how dangerous this pet poison
xylitol can be it would then have to be assumed that toxic dose have been
consumed and so treatment should be started really it's better unnecessary
treatment than risking death and this then brings us on to how much actually
needs to be eaten well the answer is not a lot and in fact probably not a lot is
more than enough the real answer is a scaly tiny amount so let's say your dog
is 10 kilograms or 22 pounds they would only need to eat one gram of xylitol
to suffer low blood sugar and 5 grams to then go on to suffer from liver failure
so to put this into perspective a single piece of sugar-free gum can contain
between one and one and a half grams of xylitol one and a half tablespoons of
xylitol containing peanut butter also contains about this amount so a larger
dog a sixty pound or twenty-seven kilo Retriever would only need to eat a tiny
3 grams and that's not much again when you might have a 500 gram bag in the
cupboard or use 2 cups to make a cake and so a 1 and 1/2 grams in our
piece of gum might be enough to poison a 20 kilo dog and 22 grams of xylitol
containing peanut butter may be more than enough to poison a 10 pound or four
and a half kilo dog the risk is very real so if there's any chance that your
dog is eating something containing xylitol take them straight to your vet
because it works so quickly any delay could be deadly so if you want
to learn about the other common pet poisons you really need to be aware of
then check out my videos link below which are all about the top poisonous
foods for dogs and cats as well as the poisons that you might have in the house
and garden a little bit of pre-planning can go a long way to preventing a
poisoning situation as always if you have any questions then please leave
them below and I'll try my best to answer you I'd love to read them also
remember to subscribe so you don't miss out on my future videos and until next
time i'm dr. alex from our pets health because they're family