Health & Fitness
National Animal Poison Awareness Week: March 18-24
Next week is National Animal Poison Awareness Week. Patch readers will find links highlighting common dangers and poisons as well as develop an awareness of one toxin: the sugar substitute Xylitol.
Xylitol Toxicity
Have you heard of an incident or have direct experience with a beloved pet eating something toxic or poisonous?
Many people may be familiar with the family dog eating chocolate or consuming pills accidently drop onto the floor. But the list of potential dangers is long. Even some consumer products deemed as "non-Toxic" or "safe for pets" are, in fact, not safe at all. Antifreeze and yard/garden chemicals, for example.
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So in recognition of National Animal Poison Prevention Week, Patch readers are encouraged to familiarize themselves with products and foods considered toxic to their pets and to critically evaluate their home, garage and environment for potential toxic threats to the well-being of their pets (refer to links noted below).
Keeping on the topic of National Animal Poison Prevention Week, I want to make Patch readers aware of one potential poison especially hazardous to dogs: Xylitol
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Xylitol is a naturally derived sugar alternative found in many products ranging from sugar-free chewing gum and throat lozenges to powdered protein supplement and sugar baking replacements.
The veterinary community is aware of how much xylitol can cause dangerous drops in blood sugar and other more detrimental problems. But the problem is that some manufactures consider the amount of xylitol added to their products to be proprietary information and don't clearly list the amount added on the packaging label.
As with most poisons, it is the amount consumed that matters. So with a limited ability to determine how much xylitol you dog may have consumed, avoidance of xylitol-containing products is advised.
As with any situation in which you feel that your pet has consumed a toxic substance, including xylitol, it is important to not panic, don't attempt to make your pet vomit, call your local veterinarian and most importantly bring the poison container or sample of the poison to your local veterinary center.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/
http://www.fourpawsdublin.com/site/view/209914_CommonHouseholdDangers.pml
