[News] Xylitol in Sugarless Gum is Deadly to Dogs

[Winston's Mom]

I got this email from a friend of mine this morning........

This is true: snopes.com: Xylitol Deadly to Dogs

Warning to all dog owners - pass this on to everyone you can. Last Friday evening, I arrived home from work, fed Chloe, our 24 Lb. dachshund, just as I normally do. Ten minutes later I walked into the den just in time to see her head inside the pocket of Katie's friend's purse. She had a guilty look on her face so I looked closer and saw a small package of sugar-free gum. It contained xylitol. I remembered that I had recently read that sugar-free gum can be deadly for dogs so I jumped on line and looked to see if xylitol was the ingredient. I found the first website below and it was the one.
Next, I called our vet. She said to bring her in immediately.
Unfortunately, it was still rush hour and it took me almost 1/2 hour to get there. Meanwhile, since this was her first case, our vet found another website to figure out the treatment. She took Chloe and said they would induce her to vomit, give her a charcoal drink to absorb the toxin (even though they don't think it works) then they would start an iv with dextrose. The xylitol causes dogs to secrete insulin so their blood sugar drops very quickly.
The second thing that happens is liver failure. If that happens, even with aggressive treatment, it can be difficult to save them. She told us she would call us.

Almost two hours later, the vet called and said that contents of her stomach contained 2-3 gum wrappers and that her blood sugar had dropped from 90 to 59 in 30 minutes. She wanted us to take Chloe to another hospital that has a critical care unit operating around the clock. We picked her up and took her there. They had us call the ASPCA poison control for a case number and for a donation, their doctors would direct Chloe's doctor on treatment. They would continue the iv, monitor her blood every other hour and then in 2 days test her liver function. She ended up with a central line in her jugular vein since the one in her leg collapsed, just as our regular vet had feared.

Chloe spent almost the entire weekend in the critical care hospital. After her blood sugar was stabilized, she came home yesterday. They ran all the tests again before they released her and so far, no sign of liver damage. Had I not seen her head in the purse, she probably would have died and we wouldn't even had known why.

Three vets told me this weekend, that they were amazed that I even knew about it since they are first learning about it too. Please tell everyone you know about xylitol and dogs. It may save another life.

[mel Vincente]

WOW how scarey, Thank God Chloe is ok. Thank you for the info. I did know that sugar free gum was bad(deadly)but was unaware of that ingredient..is that like sorbitol and the many other names that it is disguised under??

[JohnnieWalker]

What a lucky dog! If you would not have caught her "stealing" she would be gone. I've never heard of sugar-free gum being toxic to animals, but then again I would not have guessed that they would eat it! Good to know and thanks for sharing your story. Hope, Chloe is feeling better now. Good luck to both of you and have a great weekend

[Raja's Mom]

Thank you so much for sharing this story, I had no idea! As I sit here typing I am chomping away on Orbit gum... I look at the itty-bitty ingredients label and low&behold, Xylitol!!! Raja likes the smell of the gum and always likes to sniff at the package when I'm taking out a piece. Now I know to put it up where they can't get to it.

So, thank you again!

[cgennawey]

Last year Gertie, my 6lb pom/chi ate some Orbit gum. I happened to walk into my living room and found the chewed up empty package. I immediately smelled our 3 dogs breath and Gertie had the scent smell. We rushed her to the emergency vet and had to pump her stomach and give her the charcoal drink. She puked her little brains out and 3 gum wrappers came out. They were able to catch it in time. I knew some sugerless gum was toxic if it had an ingredient starting with an x. That's all I knew and I don't know how I got this info. The vet was also surprised I knew this info because he had just received a fax with this toxic info the day before. Gertie did not have a habit of snooping thru my purse. The week before we had found Molly a bassett hound, who had a terrible habit of getting into things. We now know she was the one who got my purse and pulled everything out. Molly chewed up my ipod, vonzipper sunglasses and gertie took off with the gum. We still chew sugerless gum in our home but nothing with with the x.... ingredient.

A righteous man regards the life of his animal.... Proverbs 12:10

[grandmatoall]

How scarry for you. Thank heavens you acted fast and they were able to save your little angel. Thank you for the information. I have learned so much on this site. It is amazing.

[GoofyBritt]

Ya know. I've seen dog treats (online) that have zylitol in them. Why in the world would anybody put that in a FOOD/Treat for dogs??!!

I've learned to read the ingredients to see what the first few ingredients are and to see if *any* type of sweetener is in there such as zylitol. I hope we can all learn from this thread. I know I sure have. I remember seeing this thread a few weeks ago somewhere, or a similar one...

Good luck everyone!

HUGS
Brittany

[emilyann]

Wow, I didn't know this. Lilly has gotten ahold of some of my gum by snooping through my purse before but thankfully she only started to open the package and had only gotten like a piece not even the size of an ant. I'm definitely going to stop getting gum with this in it. Sooo disturbing as there are so many people who don't know about this.

[mel Vincente]

Yes, I have seen dog food with sorbitol in it and that is bad as well. Who the yeck knows why these companies would add it??? Scary.. They have learned to disguise it under many different names too.

[Yorkieforme]

Thank you so much for sharing this story...I have passed this to all the dog owners I know!!

[xlaurenashley]

wow. thank god shes okay. two of my dogs got a hold of some macadamia nuts. hours later both of them seemed like they were paralyzed so my boyfriend and i took them to the vet. as soon as we said that they consumed some macadamia nuts, the vet told us he would have to call the ASPCA. My dogs could not even stand. I would try to stand them up but they would just collaspe. The vet had to inject some fluids and give them an enema to detox all the toxins. It took about 24 hours for both of them to recover completely. I also received a booklet stating many things that are toxic for dogs including chewing gum, grapes, and macadamia nuts, who would;ve known....

[Lovely05]

I glad your dog is healthy. I did not know that Xylitol is poisonous to dogs. Thank you for sharing your story with us. Well, I am not buying sugarless gum again.

[MrsPeanut]

Wow you guys are all so lucky...thanks for the information..

[nygee]

Thanks for sharing your story! That was great timing on your behalf, otherwise it could've been tragic..

[roxies_mom]

In the mornings I eat a Dannon Light yogurt. I always let Roxie have a little taste when I'm done. She loves it and it's never hurt her but it has splenda in it. Is that dangerous too?