Had a big scare today! Please read if you have dogs...

[ortegah]

My daughter turned her back on our dog for 10 minutes and he managed to get onto the dining room table and eat half a pack of Trident(about TEN pieces of gum!). Sugar free gum contains an ingredient called Xylitol and it can have terrible effects in less than an hour. Luckily we caught it quickly and thanks to my agility instructor, she told me to feed him 2 teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide every 5 minutes until he vomited. Luckily it only took two doses and he got up what we think is all of the gum. Of course we're watching very closely now in case he has any side effects.

But let this be a warning. Keep sugar free gum in a drawer or locked up somewhere that there's no possible way your pets can get to it. For humans it's safe but dogs cannot process the sugar alcohol and it can cause a major drop in glucose levels and can kill the liver and also cause seizures.

 

[itzmered]

Wow that must have been scary! I am glad your dog is ok and you were able to catch it right away.

 

[Emmilyy]

Oh my gosh! I am glad your pup is okay! thank you for sharing - i had no idea!

 

[Greycloud]

Heather, which furry monster was this? I am so glad he is ok. Hydorgen peroxide works wonders. I have had to resot to it before. Thank goodness you caught him before it affected his system.

 

[Sharpie]

Xylitol can also be found in sugar free baked goods and mixes, so be careful with those too! (I treat it like teflon- none in the house)

 

[zoomama]

I never knew that. Thanks for sharing...that may be the end of sugarless stuff in my house too! Glad you caught it before any real damage was done.

 

[southernbirds]

Good information. How is your dog doing. That was quick thinking.

 

[southernbirds]

Do you remember when people kept ipecac in the house to induce vomiting?

 

[Sharpie]

Problem with ipecac is that once you start vomiting, it can take hours to STOP and that's no good either, lol! Hydrogen Peroxide causes vomiting but only takes 15-20 minutes to stop. The best is apomorphine, but only vets can have that on hand.

 

[birdlvr466]

Wow Heather, thank God you knew what to do. Not big gum chewers here but I am glad I know about it. Glad everything is ok.

 

[southernbirds]

Thanks Sharpie....does the Peroxide apply to humans as well? I'm glad you weighed in on this as you have the professional take on the subject. Thanks.

 

[ortegah]

Heather, which furry monster was this? I am so glad he is ok. Hydorgen peroxide works wonders. I have had to resot to it before. Thank goodness you caught him before it affected his system.

It was Smokey, the blue sheltie. He will eat anything he can get his mouth on.

 

[ortegah]

He seems to be doing ok now. He threw up one more time and it had a few tiny pieces of gum left in it. My instructor(she used to be a vet tech) is the one that told me how much to give him. I knew about the peroxide but didn't know how much to give and I wasn't sure how serious this was so I called her. She told me to get it in him immediately and then to not feed him tonight. Instead to just give him ice chips tonight to keep up his fluids. I crushed some ice like in slushie form and he ate a ton of it. He's been fine with no apparent side effects so far.

 

[Welshanne]

Blimey! you live and learn everyday about something new. Never even heard of that before, thanks for sharing. We would not have any peroxide in the house so suppose would have to call the vet. Before this would not even realise there would be a danger with it. Thank you for the warning. Hope your little Sheltie is OK today?

 

[ortegah]

Blimey! you live and learn everyday about something new. Never even heard of that before, thanks for sharing. We would not have any peroxide in the house so suppose would have to call the vet. Before this would not even realise there would be a danger with it. Thank you for the warning. Hope your little Sheltie is OK today?

This just happened a few hours ago. He's ok at the moment but I'm watching carefully for any changes. Definitely get some peroxide to have on hand. I was told 1-2 tsp every 5 minutes until they vomit. It took two doses and he threw up twice.

 

[Welshanne]

Top of my shopping list!

 

[GG.]

how is Smokey this morning Heather?

 

[ortegah]

He's fine He ate breakfast with no problem and seems happy so I think we dodged a major bullet.

 

[lamagdalena]

I had no idea that was a no-no for dogs either!

 

[Ranyart]

Whoa that is scary - Good thing you guys caught it right away.

and Sharpie - thanks so much for the peroxide/ipecac info. I always wondered about the difference and now I know - peroxide it is! Is the dose in general 1-2 tsp or would it be more with a much larger dog? Thanks again.

and Heather, give your furry gum chewer a pet from me. Glad all is okay.