Labrador Retriever Dogs Blog

There was an interesting post at the labrador retriever chatboard last week about items that are poisonous to dogs. What I didn't know was that a product in sugar free gum is very dangerous to dogs. It's called Xylitol and from what I read only a few grams of this substance can kill a 65 lb dog. I have no idea how much is in a pack of gum but I have read a few stories on the net about dog owners whos pets have become very ill from eating a pack.

There was an email story floating around about it but you never know if it's true or not. Snopes however confirms that this product is dangerous to dogs.

It is a sugar alcohol used in candy and chewing gum. It is also found in some pharmaceuticals and oral health products such as chewable vitamins and throat lozenges. It can also be used in home baking. While Xylitol is safe for humans, it can be harmful to dogs. The compound doesn't affect glucose levels in people, but when ingested by dogs it can cause a dangerous surge of insulin. At high doses, Xylitol is believed toxic to the canine liver.

Just three grams of Xylitol can kill a 65-pound dog. Because the amount of sweetener used in sugar-free chewing gums varies by manufacturer and product, the number of sticks of gum that would prove fatal to a pooch of that size can't be stated with precision. As a general rule of thumb, between eight and ten pieces of gum might be deadly to a 65-pound canine, but a smaller dog could easily die after ingesting far less (perhaps as few as two sticks of gum).

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Tag: dog health