Are onions toxic to small dogs.

I have a yorkie 1.5 years of age. When he was 6 mos. old he started going into a coma one evening and I rushed him to the vet and he said he had a liver shunt. I took him to the University of Tennessee and had all the test run for this. Radiation, MRI, EKG, etc. He came out clean. Then New Years Eve he started with diarrhea in the morning and later that evening he was showing signs of staggering again just like the year before. He then loss the use of his back legs and could not stand. I monitored him for a while and then he stared going out on me just like the time before. I rushed him to the Emergency Vet in Augusta, Ga. and he ran some test and took monitored of his legs and everything was good. I did not remember to tell him about the soup he ate about 36 hours before with a lot of onions in it. He then told me he had no idea what was wrong. He thought neurological and then leg parthes. Since his MRI came back good at the University of Tenn. he just did not understand this. He finally told me he did not know. Please let me know if the dog might be toxic to onions. This is the only thing that i can think of.

Judie Hinson

Onions are toxic to dogs as they can cause haemolytic anemia. Which, if severe, could cause extreme weakness. It's usually dose-dependant. This would show on a blood test.

Good luck and don't feed onion soup anymore, even if that wasn't the problem this time!!!

Lyne

just to add, hemolytic anemia is because when a dog eats onions, it causes the red blood cells in the body to burst. Without red blood cells, oxygen cannot be carried in the body to all the vital organs, causing anemia. This causes extreme weekness from lack of oxygen.

Thanks for adding details, raingirl (I was in a bit of a hurry)

However, I'd like to correct your second sentence a little bit, if you don't mind:

the fact that there are less red blood cells (this is the anemia, actually, one of the many causes of anemia) causes hypoxemia which means "less oxygen in the blood" which brings on hypoxia "less oxygen gets to the tissues" (including muscles, brain, everything) which is what brings on the weakness.