Why No  Raisins and Grapes For Dogs

Recently, the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) has documented approximately 140 cases of dogs exhibiting potential poisoning from raisins and grapes. These dogs are believed to have ingested varying amounts of raisins and/or grapes from varied sources, including directly off the vine.

I know they like them, they even beg for them.  While many animals will avoid naturally the foods that are not good for them, dogs don’t do that!  They like what we like, even if it kills them!

Clinical symptoms can include gastrointestinal signs like vomiting and diarrhea to life-threatening kidney failure which starts about 24 hours after ingestion. The amount of grapes ingested in these cases varied between 9 oz. and 2 lbs., which worked out to be between 0.41 and 1.1 oz/kg of body weight.

Because there is the potential for death with this type of poisoning, veterinarians and poison control centers are developing aggressive treatment for any dogs believed to have ingested large amounts of grapes and/or raisins. These treatments may include the following: induced vomiting, stomach lavage (stomach pumping), and administration of activated charcoal followed by intravenous fluid therapy for at least 48 hours or as indicated based on the results of blood tests for kidney damage.

The ASPCA is continuing to investigate raisin and grape poisoning and kidney failure in dogs. However, since much is still unknown, they recommend that owners not feed any amount of raisins or grapes to their pets.