How harmful are raisins to dogs?

Question

Please help me! I just found out that raisins and grapes are harmful to dogs. I have been giving my 20 lb dog a few raisins here and there for almost a year now. Less than 10 a week, but just as a little snack. I know it can cause kidney or renal failure, but he is fine right now and I haven't given him any for over 24 hours. If symptoms were to occur, would they happen within 72 hours or could they happen in the future? I am really scared about my dog, so please answer!

Answer 1

there isn't much known about the grape/raisin toxicity right now.  Vets warn owners of this because there have been some cases of dogs developing renal issues after eating them.  It doesn't happen in every dog and in every case.  Also it doesn't seem dose dependenet, a large dog may get very sick from one grape, or a small dog may be fine with several.  So-probally not the most deadly thing, but why risk it.  

Your dog sounds like it is probally fine, especially since it was ok in the past:

signs of kidney issues can include: increased or decreased urination, vomiting, decreased food intake, weight loss, increased water consumption.

This is from a vet info site (vin.com)

Grape toxicity

Last updated on 1/3/2006.

Contributors:

Mees Dekker, MS, DVM

Linda Shell, DVM, DACVIM (Neurology)

Synonyms:

Raisin toxicity

Disease description:

Ingestion of grapes or raisins has been associated with acute renal failure in dogs. Anecdotal evidence suggests that cats may also be affected. The exact cause of renal toxicity is unknown. 3,4 Fungal, pesticide, and heavy-metal etiologies do not seem likely at this time. Recent unpublished data indicates that the toxic component is water-soluble, and within the flesh of the grape/raisin, not the seed. Thus, the current thinking is that grapeseed extract may be safe to use.

Ingested amounts have varied from 0.41 to 1.1 oz/kg in one study. 1 The lowest recorded amount that caused acute renal failure was 0.7 oz/kg for grapes and 0.11 oz/kg for raisins. However, not every dog or cat is susceptible and some dogs can tolerate large quantities of grapes or raisins without any clinical signs. Thus there may be unnknown patient risk factors in those that develop toxicity. Currently, there is no information about whether or not grape juice might be toxic.

CLINICAL SIGNS

Clinical signs usually begin several hours after ingestion. Vomiting and lethargy are preceded by signs of oliguric and anuric acute renal failure within 24 hours. Partially digested grapes and raisins might be seen in the vomit, fecal material, or both. There have been cases of gastrointestinal signs continuing for several weeks post ingestion. 2 Early and aggressive treatment is indicated, but even so the prognosis must remain guarded once anuric or oliguric renal failure develops.

Etiology:

Grape ingestion

Raisin ingestion

Clinical findings:

Abdominal pain

ANOREXIA, HYPOREXIA

Anuria, urinary shutdown

Cachexia, weight loss

Depression

DIARRHEA

Nausea

Oliguria

PAIN

VOMITING

ZZZ INDEX ZZZ

Diagnostic procedures:     Diagnostic results:

Serum chemistry   Azotemia

    Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) increased

    Hypercalcemia

Treatment/Management/Prevention:

SPECIFIC

1) In cases of recent ingestion, begin decontamination procedures by inducing vomiting with one of the following:

Apomorphine: 0.04 mg/kg IV or 0.08 mg/kg IM, SC or crush up one tablet and place it in conjunctival sac; flush remainder of tablet out of sac as soon as emesis occurs.

Hydrogen peroxide 3%: 5-10 ml PO, may be repeated once.

Ipecac syrup: 2.2 ml/kg PO once. Dilute with equal parts water, administer by stomach tube before administration of charcoal.

2) If vomiting does not yield results, then use gastric lavage. Maintain a patent airway with intubation and control respiration. Activated charcoal (see below) can be used.

3)Activated charcoal: Mix into a slurry at a dose of 1 gram/ 5 ml of water; recommended dosage is 10 ml of slurry/kg PO. Administration can be done via naso-gastric or oro-gastric intubation: great care should be undertaken to ensure that no aspiration will occur during or after the procedure, since activated charcoal in the lung can be life-threatening. In some animals, addition of food to the charcoal may entice the animal to eat the charcoal slurry. Rapid administration of activated charcoal can cause vomition: constipation or diarrhea may be a side-effect. And stools will be black in color for a few days. Oral medications should not be given within 3 hours of activated charcoal administration.

4) IV fluid therapy for 48-72 hours at 1.5-2 x maintenance after correction of electrolyte imbalances and dehydration

5) Monitor for azotemia, hypercalcemia, hyperphosphatemia for 3 days post ingestion. If no signs of azotemia by 3 days post ingestion, it is unlikely that renal failure will develop.

6) If azotemia develops, treat as an acute renal failure case using fluid therapy, diuresis, peritoneal dialysis, or hemodialysis.

Answer 2

The raisin / grape poison thing seems to be playing out as an urban legend.  They are not really poisonous.

A fax and some e-mails were sent in a frenzy a few years ago supposedly by a veterinarian who diagnosed a dog with renal failure that also "by the way" ate a lot of grapes.  It was raisins in some of the forms of the rumor.

A lot of people fell for it.  Since then some research has been done in the area and no toxic effects have been found in grapes, nor raisins.  It is suspected that perhaps certain individual dogs may have a strange reaction (like an allergy) but no one has ever proven that.

I still eat grapes and share with my two dogs as I have my whole life.

Answer 3

you should contact your vet and ask. I use to feed my dog grapes years ago b.c. my grandma always fed her dogs grapes. We didnt know how harmful they were.  It could cause problems right after they eat it, or years from now. Its unpredictable. Take your do gto the vet to get a full exam.

Answer 4

Dogs are actually Omnivorous.they need alot less meat protein then cats, ferrets or snakes & feeding a high animal protein diet to a dog will take a toll on the dog's health.a dog is designed to to digest a wide range of plant and animal products.Dog's must eat more then muscle meat.they need plenty of carboyhdrates &fibre from vegetable matter and only a very small amount of fat.there protein can come from both plant and animal products.the other things to consider are sources of mineral such as calcium, phosphorous and of cause vitamins.

Dogs are they Carnivores? Are they really like wolves, hyenas, jackals? or Are they more like us? Is it foolish to feed them only meat? Should they be fed what there human family eats? The Truth encompasses a little of each.

In the wild, other hunting animal that seem similar to dogs, such as Wolves, hyenas eat fruit,leaves,grasses,dig for roots and even obtain vegetable matter from the stomach of their prey."

Cooked grains are nearly 100% digestible for dogs. There really isn't a

lot of question about this based on the results of feeding studies. I am not

sure why people come to the conclusion that grains are not good for

dogs.

Feed a good quality dog food.

the brand is Up to you that you choose.

dog food analysis person DOES NOT HAVE a DEGREE in Veterinary Nutrition!

Grapes & Raisins have recently been found to cause vomiting, shaking and acute renal failure,their toxic properties have not been fully examined.Meanwhile,its best not to feed them in any amount.

Book-NIBBLE MUNCH CHOMP-The Art & Science of feeding your pet. by Dr. Sarah Herbert. Senior Vet at Lort Smith Animal Hospital.

Answer 5

i gave my dog grapes too in till i found out that they were bad a large amount will hurt your dog less then 10 is nothing. just dont give him anymore

Answer 6

Call your vet - they'll need to know your dog's approximate size in order to determine the level of concern.  They may want to draw some blood to check kidney levels and make sure there's no elevation.  

Answer 7

I would definitely go to the vet tell him/her what happened and see what they think.

Answer 8

Dogs are pretty hardy.  My pomeranian ate a whole bag of chocolate and nothing happened.  If anything was wrong I think it would have happened by now.