Be wary of xylitol products around dogs

I have noticed that more and more products like toothpaste, gum, candy, mouthwash, etc. come with xylitol added as a sweetener. Some folks are cooking with xylitol, too.

I didn't realize it but xylitol is dangerous to dogs. It can cause a surge in insulin and it can be deadly. It appears that it doesn't take much xylitol to cause a problem for a large dog.

Since I have a dog that likes to pick things up and lick things off the floor, it has made me leery to have xylitol products in the house. I was using Biotene mouthwash, but have decided to switch to a similar mouthwash without the xylitol. The bottle was huge and difficult to pour. I spilled it often. Better to be safe than sorry, I guess.

Here's some information in case you hadn't heard about the problems with xylitol:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2859
http://www.caninescorner.org/topics/health-artificalsweetners.htm

Snopes.com confirmed the reports:
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/xylitol.asp

 

WOW thanks for the share! I had not even heard of xylitol so obviously I didn't know it could kill my pups. My girls are worse than toddlers when it comes to putting things in their mouths.

 

Pugskjj, I had become aware of it a couple of years ago as I switched to Tom's of Maine toothpaste. It's touted as anhealthy alternative for those who want a natural sugar substitute. Unfortunately, it's deadly for dogs. It worries me to think how easy it would be for a dog to get gum, candy, or something else that is made with xylitol. People feed their dogs people food all the time. You wouldn't even think about it.

 

Its not that good for anyone from what Ive read its along the same lines as splenda. I could be wrong though since you can never totally believe everything you read.

 

Just like aspartame, xylitol is bad news. This is the reason why it is important to train dogs (as much as possible) to not pick up things being thrown to them or if it isn't in their bowl.

I had a dog once who would never pick up food from the floor or food being thrown to it. It's either you have to hand it by holding it to its mouth or putting it in its food bowl. Peanuts used to be this way too. But then, my mom kept feeding her on the floor, so there goes months of conditioning down the drain.

 

Haopee, easier said than done. Misha is a scavenger who is always searching under the kitchen cabinets for something to eat or looking for a lost piece of paper. We close the bathroom door so she can't get into anything in there.

My sister's dog is like the dog you mentioned. She will eat from your hand or out of her bowl, but not off the floor. Well, she'll take treats that way. I remember once my sister dumped the whole bowl of dog food on the ground. No matter how much she encouraged her dog to clean up the mess, she refused. My sister had to pick up every piece.

The dog also does something I have never seen. She picks through her dog food deciding which pieces to eat and which not to eat. There are always 4 or 5 pieces of dog food on the ground next to her bowl that she has removed herself.

 

Mine are scavegers as well. I just dont keep those kinds of products in the house, solves all problems

 

It can be deadly? I didn't know it, it's terrible, thank you so much for sharing! Homer is very naughty, I have problems with stopping him from eating things that aren't even eatable. I'll try to get rid off this xylitol products from my home as much as I can.