# Raisin poisoning



## Tim Martens (Mar 27, 2006)

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Written by:
Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary Clinic
Danville , Ohio

This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet. My patient was a 56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1AM on Wednesday but the owner didn't call my emergency service until 7AM. 

I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal failure but hadn't seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me - had heard something about it, but.... Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give IV fluids at 1 times ma! intenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.

The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine over 5 ( 1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney
function in the bloodstream. We placed an IV catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids. At the point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care. 

He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values have continued to incr ease daily. He produced urine when given lasix as a diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still couldn't control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220.. He continued to vomit and the owners elected to euthanize. 

This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk. 

Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our ex-handler's. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern. 

Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary Clinic
Danville , Ohio[/FONT]


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## ann schnerre (Aug 24, 2006)

thanks Tim--i looked over at my daughter and said "don't EVER give the dogs grapes or raisins", she said "why not", i said "cause you'll kill 'em". 

she said "i didn't know that", i said "i'm here to educate you" (she's 15 ).


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

ann freier said:


> thanks Tim--i looked over at my daughter and said "don't EVER give the dogs grapes or raisins", she said "why not", i said "cause you'll kill 'em".
> 
> she said "i didn't know that", i said "i'm here to educate you" (she's 15 ).


Google this:

DOGS, GRAPES


This pattern was first recognized in 1999 and was reported widely by Poison Control starting in 2003.

I'm not sure why it just isn't getting out there. 

Maybe if we each make a point of passing it along to a fellow owner or handler (as Tim has done; thank you, Tim) .... maybe we can all help to avert these needless tragedies.

And add apple cores, avocados, and green tomatoes (and the tomato plant itself), because they too seem not to have hit the public consciousness the way chocolate did.


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Apple cores?! We've always given the apple cores to the dogs.  Off to google search.... Thank you Connie!


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## Hil Harrison (Mar 29, 2006)

I had heard of the rasin poisoning before and its one of those not knowing things that really can kill a dog. Great Tim you posted it up here.


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## Mike Schoonbrood (Mar 27, 2006)

Cujo stole a pancake with raisins in it off the kitchen counter once.

I called poison control on my vets reccomendation and they told me to immediately give him a tablespoon of peroxide to get him vomiting, then bring him to the vet for activated charcoal treatment.

The vet was amazed that my picky-eater Cujo was the only dog they've ever seen that licked out the bowl of icky yucky black charcoal mixed with a can of dog food :lol:

While they say 7 or more, there is no actual number, its about the dogs natural tollerence. Some dogs can eat grapes all their lives with no negative effects, other dogs can eat 1 raisin and have a reaction. I didnt want to take that chance myself, it was worth the $150 bucks to not have to worry about my dog dying over a pancake.


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## Tim Martens (Mar 27, 2006)

who eats pancakes with raisins? damn eupropeans...


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## Mike Schoonbrood (Mar 27, 2006)

:lol: Dutch Pancakes, big and thin, with raisins, taste really good. Kinda like french Crepe's I guess.


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

I have had dogs grazing on the grapevines out back when I worked at the kennel, and dogs that ate 5 pound bags of MM's, so maybe it is just to flukey to really freak about.


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## Tim Martens (Mar 27, 2006)

Mike Schoonbrood said:


> :lol: Dutch Pancakes, big and thin, with raisins, taste really good. Kinda like french Crepe's I guess.


one of the best meals gregg and i had was a little cafe in dordrecht. we both got dutch pancakes with apples and cinnamon. of course we topped it with powdered sugar. mmmmmmhhh.


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## Mike Schoonbrood (Mar 27, 2006)

I love Dutch specialties, but "healthy" isn't in their vocabulary :lol:


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## Hil Harrison (Mar 29, 2006)

Mike Schoonbrood said:


> I love Dutch specialties, but "healthy" isn't in their vocabulary :lol:


:lol: :lol: of couse its not we say "gezond":lol:


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## Mike Schoonbrood (Mar 27, 2006)

I saw the owner of a dutch frituur shop saying that they werent going to switch to using healthier oil to deep fry their foods because people come to them to eat good food not healthy food, if they want healthy food they should cook at home.

I guess I am spoiled, Orlando is tourist central, it has the best service industry in the world, I can eat healthy food in good restaurants for about the price it'd cost me to cook food at home. When I moved into my house it was 2 years old, had 2 built in ovens and both had never been used with the original tags hanging on the inside :lol:

Ofcourse then I move into this house in Belgium, and what do I find? I find a professional deep fryer built in with huge ventilation ducts exiting out the roof so I can deep fry belgian fries and krokets all day long and never smell it in the house.

What a difference...... :lol:

When I was staying at a hotel looking for a house in Belgium, the first 2 nights I ordered room service, but it was about 30 euros each time so the 3rd night I figured it might be cheaper to go out and eat somewhere else. I went into Brussels and went to the worlds greatest restaurant specializing in mussels (on someones reccomendation)... 40 euros later I realized maybe room service wasnt as badly priced as I thought :roll: No frituurs in Brussels and barely anybody that speaks anything besides French unelss you go into the grote markt, so I had lots of bread butter and hagelslag in my hotel room 

I've gotta say, Carrefour has the worlds greatest smoked breakfast bacon! I have always had a hard time finding bacon that's actually salty in Orlando. Hormel Black Label is about as good as it gets, Boars Head bacon is hit or miss, when its hit is REALLY good.... but the Carrefour bacon, wow, its consistently good! If only I could bring back about 75lbs of bacon when I move back to Florida :lol:


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

My dog has a small kennel at my summer job where he stays when he can't be with me. It is on the outside of the staff housing building. Yesterday I went to his kennel to get him out at the end of the day and there were some grapes in there.

I am quite sure some staff thought that they were giving my dog a treat and ment no harm, and my dog did not eat them. (he won't eat or drink in the kennel) Really pisses me off because everyone has been told to ignore the dog and not to feed it! 

I guess I need to put up a sign? One more week of work there and then we switch venues/jobs anyways.....people are so much harder to deal with than dogs!


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

I have found that "everyone" knows better than the owner of the dog. I have seen people that have been told not to stick thier fingers in a certain kennel because the dog will bite them, go ahead and do so with you standing right there telling them no, don't do that. Then, when their fingers are bloody, and torn they look at you and say, "I cannot believe he bit me".


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Jeff Oehlsen said:


> I have found that "everyone" knows better than the owner of the dog. .


Yes, so true. Today it got worse. I had to stay late at work and I got a call on the radio that the guy in staff housing had brought my dog inside because he was 'shivering'. :-x 

We have had no issues for the last 3 months and now all of a sudden everyone is a dog expert.

Some days it would pay to have a really kennel agressive Mal!


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