With Easter approaching, sweets are everywhere and practically unavoidable! We know you keep chocolate out of your pup’s reach, but beware of the ingredient popping up more and more lately, which has been sending countless dogs to the hospital or worse.

Xylitol is a sugar subsitute common in many “diet” foods we consume, such as reduced fat peanut butter, sugar-free gum, low-fat puddings, as well as other common products around the house like toothpaste and sugar-free multivitamins. While natural and nontoxic to humans, Xylitol can have a deadly outcome if consumed by our precious pets. While the Xylitol content varies drastically from product to product, it doesn’t take a large dose of this ingredient to do major damage to your pet’s body. Smaller ingestions can cause an acute, life-threatening low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) within 10-15 minutes and larger ingestions can result in acute liver necrosis and liver failure. Scary stuff, right? We recently received an email from longtime client, Anne, who told us about a friend’s dog who wound up in the ICU (thankfully, his diligent owners were able to quickly get Atlas the help he needed) after he’d consumed just a few pieces of sugar-free gum.

It is estimated by professionals that Xylitol is up to 100x more toxic to dogs than chocolate. 

Signs to look out for (if you suspect your pet has ingested Xylitol, waste no time taking them into the clinic as soon as possible, minutes could be the difference between life and death):

• Vomiting
• Weakness
• Incoordination or difficulty walking or standing (walking like drunk)
• Depression or lethargy
• Tremors
• Seizures

Just a reminder to please remain on alert and make sure all those Easter Bunny treats stay tucked away where your furry friends can’t get their paws on them.  Have a safe and relaxing Easter weekend!