Xylitol is present in more foods than one would think

While more dog owners have heard about xylitol, they’re still thinking it’s mainly in food products such as sugar-free gum, candy, and other foods. Yet, Xylitol turns  up in all sorts of surprising places such as deodorant, peanut butter, personal lubricants, sleep aid pills (i.e., rapid dissolve melatonin tabs), shaving cream, toothpaste, bakery goods, chocolate, yogurt, pudding, jello, energy bars, protein powder, liquid prescription medications. dental floss, mouth rinse, nasal sprays and skin care products.

    How Xylitol can Cause Death in our Dogs

The dog’s pancreas confuses xylitol with real sugar and releases insulin to store it. The insulin removes real sugar from the bloodstream and the dog can become weak, and have tremors and even seizures starting within 30 minutes of eating it. Other symptoms of hypoglycemia include poor coordination and vomiting/diarrhea. Dogs who become hypoglycemic after eating xylitol will need dextrose supplementation in a vet hospital for 12 to 24 hours, sometimes longer.

Liver failure (and death) can also result from xylitol ingestion, and symptoms can take as much as eight hours to show up. In most cases, the liver enzyme elevations are mild, and dogs recover completely with a little help from medication that protects the liver. However, very large doses of xylitol in dogs can lead to liver failure, which is a much more serious and possibly fatal condition.

Read the article below to learn what Dr. Khalsa adds to the treatment in a dog with severe Xylitol poisoning and learn how this patient goes from (truly) deaths edge to up, eating and home in just a few hours!