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  • 2007-02-08 (xsd:date)
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  • Are Raisins and Grapes Toxic to Dogs? (en)
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  • Most dog lovers have long been exposed to dire warnings urging that canines should not be offered or allowed to ingest grapes and raisins, lest they suffer kidney failure (i.e., acute renal failure) as a result of ingesting them. However, the mechanism behind why renal failure might occur in some dogs after they have consumed grapes or raisins, as well as the criteria that put some dogs at risk but not others, remain largely unknown. An increase in reports American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) of dog poisoning potentially associated with grapes and raisins began in 1999, spurring research into the topic. Starting in 2001, several researchers, including Vice President and Medical Director of the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center Sharon Gwaltney-Brant, began to comb through veterinary records for cases of kidney failure in dogs following grape or raisin ingestion. A 2005 study by Gwaltney-Brant and others identified 43 such cases occurring between 1992 and 2002. These cases involved a fairly broad range of grape (or raisin) types, included a wide range of amounts consumed by each dog, and took place across several breeds of dog. Most cases included several familiar markers of kidney failure, such as excesses of nitrogen, phosphate, and calcium in the bloodstream that betray a weakly functioning kidney. These cases involved an average of 16 ounces of grapes or raisins per dog but ranged widely (from 1.5 to 32 ounces per animal). Each case included vomiting as one of its clinical signs, and fatalities resulted in just under 50 percent of instances. That study, however, did not offer a hypothesis for why grapes might cause harm to a dog’s kidneys, and it noted that many dogs ingest grapes or raisins in similar amounts without suffering any harm whatsoever. The toxic principle that causes [acute renal failure] after ingestion of grapes or raisins in dogs is unknown, the study stated. In February 2019 we reached out to Gwaltney-Brant to ask if any progress had been made since the early 2000s, and she told us via email that: As veterinarian Ahna Brutlag explained on the website of the VCA chain of animal hospitals, dogs are more likely to become poisoned if they ingest large amounts of grapes or raisins, but each dog seems to have its own sensitivity level. Because the cause of toxicity is unknown, Brutlag recommends taking action immediately if grape ingestion is suspected and offers several common symptoms associated with kidney failure: The bottom line is that grapes and raisins can and have caused acute renal failure in some dogs, but others have consumed these fruits without issue. In other words, grapes and raisins are poisonous to some dogs, but not to all of them. Unfortunately, as Brutlag explained, There is no way to predict which dogs may be more sensitive. (en)
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