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Warning about dried fruit and dogs

(8 Posts)
fourormore Sun 02-May-21 11:47:40

Forgive me if you all know about this but we didn't until this week and there could be others like us!
A relative of ours has a gorgeous Springer Spaniel which everyone knows are serious scavengers!
To cut a long story short, one evening this week he came across a bag of dried fruit which he managed to tear open and he scoffed the lot.

The following morning he was seriously ill and it was touch and go whether or not he would make it.

Fortunately due to speedy action by the vet and veterinary hospital, after 48 hours of hell it looks like he will be ok. He has had medication, charcoal and drips but thankfully it seems to have worked.

Apparently currants, sultanas and the like can cause almost immediate extreme kidney failure. If you weren't aware of this please pass it on - I do appreciate that dogs shouldn't be fed 'human' food but scavengers are scavengers!!!

Ealdemodor Sun 02-May-21 11:51:06

I did know this, but I feel it is not known enough.
Also, dark chocolate is extremely dangerous for dogs, nor should they eat any chocolate, grapes or avocados.

JulieNoted Sun 02-May-21 12:05:32

Yes I do know this too, but throughout all the years we had dogs (not had one for many years now), I had no idea that so many things, including grapes - fresh or dried - and chocolate are deadly to dogs. We used to give our dogs chocolate. Fortunately they were all big dogs, and we would only ever give them a small piece 'as a treat', and there were never any ill effects.

Another everyday item that is potentially harmful to dogs is onion, either cooked or raw. It can kill their red blood cells, causing anaemia. Eating a lot can poison them. So think about this when you scrape the leftovers from your dinner into their bowls!

One of the many things I thank the internet for - and particularly social media - is this knowledge that is these days spread far and wide.

Doodledog Sun 02-May-21 12:26:51

Thank you for posting this fourormore. I have passed it on to my daughter, who has a much-loved dog, and didn’t know about the dried fruit. She said she did know that grapes were bad for them, but hadn’t made the connection with things like fruit cake or scones.

Sarnia Sun 02-May-21 13:08:26

Thank you for this post. I had no idea dried fruit was so dangerous. As fourormore says dogs are scavengers. On Easter Sunday our spaniel siezed his chance of a chocolate egg (thankfully a smallish hollow one) before anyone could stop him. All gone, silver paper , the lot. Phone call to the vet......

Oldbat1 Sun 02-May-21 13:18:05

I’m pleased your family dog survived. Obviously a whole bag of mixed fruit is really dangerous. Trouble with even fresh grapes is the vets cannot tell how many can be lethal. I know of a Labrador who only ate a few fresh grapes who didn’t make it equally I know of two Jack Russells who consumed two Christmas cakes between them and survived only because their vet owner rushed them into her practice and gave them an injection to induce vomiting. Dark chocolate does at least have a chart available to which vets can refer but with grapes or dried fruit that isn’t the case.

nanna8 Sun 02-May-21 13:44:18

Oh I didn’t know that, I only heard that onions are bad for dogs. I am so glad he pulled through. I had never heard about avocado,either. Our cat eats a bit sometimes so I will stop him in future just in case it is bad for him.

Whitewavemark2 Sun 02-May-21 13:50:55

It always astounds me how much is bad for dogs given that they are scavengers.