Raisin Toxicity

This is a post from a Vet Tech. board I am on....hopefully it will enlighten some.


This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen
at MedVet.
My patient was a 56 pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix who ate half a cannister of raisins sometime between 7:30 AM and 4 :30 PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1 AM on Wednesday but the owner didn't call my emergency service until 7 AM.
I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute renal failure but hadn't seen any formal paper on the subject.
We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me---had heard something about it, but....Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give I V fluids at 1 1/2 times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.
The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an I V catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids.
At the point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care. He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values have continued to increase daily. He produced urine when given lasix as a diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still couldn't control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220.
He continued to vomit and the owners elected to euthanise.
This is a very sad case--great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin.
Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk. Poison control said as few as 7 raisins could be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats.
Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.

I have seen this before.

It's the seed that is the toxic part.Same as in the grapes.

My dogs get the seedless grapes as treats once a week.They have been getting them since they were pups.And they are both 8 now...And I have never had a problem.

Also,it was my vet that has said it's the seed that is toxic.As for raisens,I never have given them it.

It's the seed that is the toxic part.

Yes, BUT a seed/s are made up of the same components that the "meat" of the grape is.....in minute parts granted, but I would stay away from the whole lot of it. Perhaps (for an example) the same toxicity exists in 40 seedless grapes as it does in 2 seeds? ( remember that even in a seedless grape the components are there) Maybe you don't give your dogs 40 grapes each, maybe only ten. Then you walk away and they devour the bag? An example yes, but it could feasibly happen.

It's not like canines need grapes. ;) All the vits can be found in other ways......

And with an added thought, I would never put all my faith and trust in one Veterinarian. The knowledge they gain, after the 4 years, has loads to do because of their consumer, the companion animal guardian. They learn every day after that just as the rest of us do. And lo and behold, at times we can teach them things! *maniacal laughter*

wow, i give charlie rasins about once a week for the past 8 years, i hate them so whenever i eat muslie i have always picked each one out and fed to charlie, she loves them, bugger now what will i do with all those rasins??.
as for grapes, charlie is a big fruit and veg girl and has always eaten kilos of seedless grapes each summer along with dozens of other fruits, i live on them so naturally she gets alot, i never assumed any fruit was bad except citrus (and we grow fruit so she helps herself). she absolutly loves grapes and we cant eat them without sharing and in the past she has gotten a big amount of leftover grapes that are about to go off, i have even frozen then for her like ice blocks she loves that too, oh no poor girl. so are you saying no grapes, coud i just give her 1 or 2 in future instead of her usual daily half kilo?? surely with the amount she eats one or two could not hurt her, i wonder if they can build up tolerance to the toxin (not volunteering charlie for experiment though) :D .
i know they dont need grapes, but she loves them so i have always given her what she likes, oh no. :o as long as there is nothing wrong with dogs eating mangos, well i think i can talk her around, well i can try :eek:

See with Yukon and Tron,they get about 4 grapes a week.Like you mel,they have been getting them for 8 years also... :D ...And they same with my previous GSD.But like I have said,I have never given them raisens.

Hey mel,my daughter freezes her grapes....LOL.

Actually one of my GSD books even says they can have grapes.Heck when I was living back home they were even picking the raspberries off our raspberry bush...LOL

Mel,a few grapes won't hurt her.

Nothing has ever happened to any of my dogs eating the seedless grapes...And I know of other dog owners who also give it to them.Mind you they don't get alot.

I put all my faith in my vets.They are amazing.I have never had a problem with them.... :D

As for the mangos mel,there is no way I share it with my guys...I am greedy with my mangos... :p

if i bring home mangos you cannot get rid of her, she sit there slobbering all over, she often gets half and me half and she gets the seed after i have sucked the life out of it, we often take some to the beach or a pineapple and share it together, it is really nice way to hang out together., she just loooves fruit, she picks what she wants form the yard, she eats pipinos, passionfruit (picks them herself and peels a section open then licks out content) ,gooseberries, the parsley including roots, and sadly she takes every strawberry as it comes up, i never get any. if fruit or veges are there she will take it, i have in the past put chilli powder on poision plants and thing i wanted to save and it works well with her (except for the strawberries of course :rolleyes: ).
frozen grapes are also a little like grape sorbet, yuuuum (you have a very smart kid (and she says well of course) :p :D )..
but i will cut back on her intake of grapes next summer, she really has eaten alot in the past so maybe she wont be getting a big bag full for herself in the shopping anymore maybe just a little one, she will be disapointed but hey, she is way too spoilt so it wont kill her (she may act as if it is but im sure it wont, such a drama queen :p :D )

if i bring home mangos you cannot get rid of her, she sit there slobbering all over, she often gets half and me half and she gets the seed after i have sucked the life out of it, we often take some to the beach or a pineapple and share it together, it is really nice way to hang out together., she just loooves fruit, she picks what she wants form the yard, she eats pipinos, passionfruit (picks them herself and peels a section open then licks out content) ,gooseberries, the parsley including roots, and sadly she takes every strawberry as it comes up, i never get any. if fruit or veges are there she will take it, i have in the past put chilli powder on poision plants and thing i wanted to save and it works well with her (except for the strawberries of course :rolleyes: ).
frozen grapes are also a little like grape sorbet, yuuuum (you have a very smart kid (and she says well of course) :p :D )..
but i will cut back on her intake of grapes next summer, she really has eaten alot in the past so maybe she wont be getting a big bag full for herself in the shopping anymore maybe just a little one, she will be disapointed but hey, she is way too spoilt so it wont kill her (she may act as if it is but im sure it wont, such a drama queen :p :D )
oh mona, i just love GSDs so much personality and expression (although sometimes she talks a little too much or i often think it is complaining) :D :D