#XylitolAHiddenDangerToDogs
I share this, because it happened to us, and by some amazing miracle, we avoided serious harm!
So often we read warning stories because something horrible has happened. This is a warning story because we got lucky!
Xylitol - Have you heard of it? Did you know it is extremely toxic to dogs? Did you know that it’s now being put in more and more products, because it’s “Keto” or “Low Sugar” friendly?
What is Xylitol?
Xylitol (pronounced Zy-Li-Tall) is a type of carbohydrate called a sugar alcohol. They are water-soluble compounds that occur naturally in many fruits and vegetables. Xylitol is also commercially produced from birch bark and corn cob for use as a sweetener to replace calories from carbohydrates and sugars. Xylitol has been approved for use in food by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 1963.
Why is Xylitol popular?
Unlike sugar, Xylitol is slowly and incompletely absorbed in the small intestine. This makes it, and other sugar alcohols, helpful for people with diabetes. Once absorbed, it can be used for energy while using little or no insulin, which means the impact on blood sugar is minimal.
What can Xylitol be found in?
It is a popular ingredient in food. Especially foods that claim to be low sugar or a sugar free alternative:
Candies, such as Gum and Mints
Jams, Jellies and Honey
Nut Butters, including Peanut Butter
Yogurt, Pudding & Jell-O
Baked Good and Desserts
And, also dental care products, as it’s been shown to reduce the amount of bacteria in our mouths.
Toothpaste
Mouthwash
Fluoride Products
The list is never ending, because these days it’s being used more and more!
Even in Ice Cream…a treat you might think is okay to give your dog!
Xylitol Goes by Other Names!
Yep, to make it even more confusing, when reading an ingredient list, Xylitol can also be called birch sugar, wood sugar, birch bark extract or even artificial sweetener!
But, it’s Natural!
Yes, Xylitol is found naturally in many fruits and vegetables like blueberries, strawberries, mushrooms, and cauliflower. It’s also found in other plants and agricultural materials like birch bark and corn husks. But the concentration in these items is very, very small. So low that it’s almost non-detectable. There is no need to stop feeding blueberries, because of the tiny amount of naturally found Xylitol.
So, What’s the Problem?
The problem is that Xylitol is poisonous and deadly to dogs!
In both humans and dogs, blood sugar levels are controlled by the release of insulin from the pancreas. In people, Xylitol does not stimulate the release of insulin from the pancreas. However, in dogs, Xylitol triggers a large release of insulin which causes the blood sugar level to drop quickly and dangerously; this is called hypoglycemia.
Hypoglycemia can occur within 10 to 60 minutes of ingesting Xylitol. Untreated, hypoglycemia can quickly be life-threatening.
Xylitol can also cause liver damage and even liver failure in dogs. It is unknown how this happens, but it appears to depend on how much Xylitol was consumed.
It doesn’t take much, and it can happen quickly! A dog only needs to eat as little as 0.045 grams/pound to experience hypoglycemia from Xylitol ingestion. Liver damage occurs at a much higher dose of 0.11 to 0.22 grams/pound. Most chewing gums contain 0.2 to 1.0 grams of xylitol per piece, which means only one piece of gum can cause low blood sugar in a 20-pound dog, and as few as 2 to 4 pieces of gum can cause liver damage and failure.
Symptoms of Xylitol poisoning in dogs (due to low blood sugar or hypoglycemia) may include:
Vomiting
Weakness/Stumbling
Loss of balance/Lack of coordination
Lethargy/Sleepiness
Tremors/Seizures
Collapse/Coma
Signs that Your Dog Has Ingested Xylitol
If you think your dog has ingested Xylitol, take him to your vet or an emergency animal hospital immediately…don’t wait for symptoms! If you happen to have the packaging of what they ingested, bring that with you, as well!
Your vet will try to maintain your dog’s normal blood sugar levels, which may include IV fluids with supplementation. Most dogs are hospitalized for observation for 12 to 24 hours. Bloodwork is checked and rechecked to monitor liver values for 72 hours after ingesting Xylitol. If the liver values are normal at that time, then there should be no long-term damage.
What Happened to Us?
I was aware that Xylitol was a danger to dogs. I didn’t quite know the details that I know now, but I knew it was to be avoided at all costs. We have a few items in the house that have Xylitol in them, but I’m always very cautious about using them, and never drop anything on the floor.
What I didn’t know is that Xylitol is also used in medications!
This past Fall, we were in the middle of a cross country trip, and Pebbles was struggling. Her anxiety was off the charts and being in the car was very upsetting to her. We still had hundreds and hundreds of miles to drive to get home, so a solution needed to be found.
Talking it through with our vet, we decided that giving her Gabapentin would be a good option. With her heart murmur and canine dementia, it seemed to be the safest option.
Gabapentin is an anticonvulsant and analgesic drug that is commonly prescribed by veterinarians to treat seizures, pain, and anxiety in dogs. It is a human medication, and its use in veterinary medicine is “off-label,” meaning it is not FDA-approved for pets. However, it is frequently used in veterinary medicine.
The listed side effect of Gabapentin for dogs is…sedation! The level of sleepiness varies from patient to patient. Veterinarians will prescribe a starting dose, and if this results in the dog becoming a little too sedate, the veterinarian will taper the dose down to the most effective one.
Given Pebbles struggles in the car, sedation wasn’t really a negative side effect in our eyes.
We stopped at the next major town that had a Walmart, and our vet called in the prescription to the Walmart Pharmacy. They knew they were filling the prescription for a dog. The bottle had Canine printed directly on it.
We administered the liquid Gabapentin and Pebbles relaxed into a slumber. Whew! Much less stress for all of us!
Over the next four days, she received a dose each morning before we hit the road, and a few doses in the evening when she was struggling.
On day five, we received a phone call from our veterinarian’s office. Walmart had contacted them to say the Gabapentin they had given us contained Xylitol and we should discontinue use immediately!!
Our minds were blown…all of us, even our veterinarian. How was Pebbles still alive? Was the Xylitol dose so small it didn’t affect her? Is there something going on in her body that made her resistant to the blood sugar drop? Was it just God watching over her? We’ll never know. All we do know…it’s a miracle!
Upon further research, it appears to be quite common for pharmaceutical products to be a potential source of Xylitol for dogs. From the American Veterinary Medical Association, “For instance, the liquid form of gabapentin contains Xylitol, although FDA-approved gabapentin capsules and tablets do not. A pharmacist also might use products containing Xylitol when compounding medications if he or she doesn’t know to avoid using it.”
Moral of the Story
Xylitol could be hiding in anything! It’s our job as pet parents to be as knowledgeable as possible and to double/triple check anything we give our dogs!
The Gabapentin that our vet carries is Xylitol free, so the thought never even crossed his mind. This was not the first time that we’ve gone to a human pharmacy to fill a prescription for our pups, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. But now, without hesitation, we will clarify that all meds are Xylitol free!
I even found that Xylitol is in most Melatonin supplements, a supplement that is highly recommended for dogs with CCD (Canine Cognitive Dysfunction or Canine Dementia). Just another reminder that it could be in anything! Be cautious, be aware and be safe!