The holiday season is here and I want to take time to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and may the New Year bring you good fortune. With holidays come foods and sweets. All of this food is great, except for our waste line, and what about those pets?
What we eat is not always safe for them. Dogs and cats have a different physiology and some of our foods cannot be tolerated by their system. A great example of this is grapes and chocolate. Grapes and the dehydrated form, which is raisins, are and can be lethal to dogs. Chocolate can be lethal also, but the lethal dose of chocolate is one ounce per pound of body weight.
Now, everything with toxicology is dose related. With some things a very small amount can kill you and others are like chocolate, an ounce per pound of body weight. But, before we reach that toxic dose of chocolate, normally with the chocolate comes a lot of sugar and carbohydrates. These other sweets can cause a raging upset stomach and pancreatitis. This will show up as diarrhea and maybe vomiting. And with the pancreas we could cause a malabsorption, maldigestion syndrome or diabetes. This will depend on which side of the pancreas is damaged worse, the exocrine or endocrine, and how much damage.
Another problem is bones and chews. If your pet crunches these up, he will probably get sick. If they will grind or soften before swallowing, he will more than likely be fine. If bones do not grind up, they cause splinters in the stomach and bowel. These splinters cause what we call Garbage Can Gastritis. Now, if they are chunks and move down to the lower bowel and the rectum, they can cause an impaction. The only bones that are legal for your pet to chew on are the big round leg bones. I have seen problems from ribs, shoulder bones and definitely pork chop bones.
If you are at home and you notice your pet has eaten something that they shouldn’t have, there is a home remedy you can use. The stomach of a dog empties within about 30 minutes after eating something. Therefore, if they shouldn’t have eaten it, we only have about 30 minutes to make them throw it up. This can be done with old fashion peroxide. Give 1 ml or cc per pound of body weight down the mouth or until they throw up. Now, this treatment can be a little hard on them. I have seen dogs throw up from the heels, which is what I needed in that case. And they will not feel very good the rest of the day or night. Normally, the next day they are fine. Don’t forget to call your veterinarian and consult with them about what has happened.
Dr. Tim E. O’Neill, DVM, owns Country Veterinary Service in Farmington, Ark.
