Poor Zoie-Onion Scare!

Poor Zoie today...I was dicing an onion, and left half of it on the counter and went to the bathroom. She's not typically a counter cruiser, but when I came back it was gone! I know they are toxic to dogs, and I tried to look up some of the stuff on the internet, but there wasn't much information on how much onion it takes to be toxic, all I know is that symptoms (they become anemic) don't show up until 3 days later or so. So I called the vet, and he said to induce vomitting and then watch for signs of diarrhea and more abnormal vomitting. Poor thing..I was pouring peroxide down her throat in the backyard, and since she had just ate her dinner and had breakfast that morning, she vomitted a whole heck of a lot, plus the onion. She wasn't very happy after that (whatta you doin that for, mom?! look) but I think we are in the clear. I was pretty scared.

Don't you love that feeling..so scared and angry because they are being dogs and getting into stuff and endangering their health, but loving on them so much because they are okay? :p (If that makes sense)

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Originally Posted by areias

Don't you love that feeling..so scared and angry because they are being dogs and getting into stuff and endangering their health, but loving on them so much because they are okay? :p (If that makes sense)

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Makes Purfect sense to me! I know that feeling very well! My boy Thor got into our bowl of halloween candy and ate about half of it just a couple of days ago. I took him right over to the vet and he looked at me the same way.
I'm glad Zoie is in the clear!

Unfortunately the amounts of how much garlic, onions, chives etcetera resulting in a condition known as Hemolytic Anemia are not yet known.

But it is interesting to note that while the toxic levels are not known, many pet food manufactures, and even some Holistic foods for pets continue to add Garlic for flavoring.

What we do know beyond the hyperbole perpetuated by an industry who is reaping fortunes in pet food supplements is that due to metabolic differences in Canines vs Humans, their metabolism does not efficiently expel many of these chemicals out of the liver. So while one accidental ingestion may not prove immediately life threatening, over time accumulation may build and sudden toxic overload occur.

If you suspect your pet has ingested a toxin such as onions or garlic and it has been more than an hour since ingestion Hydrogen Peroxide will not expel enough to be beneficial. This would be the time to administer some activated charcoal. Keep in mind that even in the Emergency room situation, measures will deal only with the symptoms that occur. The same thing applies to Theo-Bromine poisoning. If toxic levels have occurred there is no treatment. Only supporting the animal via fluids etc and administration of a charcoal slurry may or may not sustain the animal.

Kidney and Liver failure is increasingly affecting more pets. Please pay close attention to ingredients lists. When you see Garlic listed as an ingredient, contact the manufacturer and ask them WHY they are including this ingredient since it has been indicated in serious toxic over load. And until the values and toxic levels are known ask them to remove it. Many Holistic Practitioners are peddling garlic to pets for flea control and a multitude of other supports. Using data that has shown benefits in human consumption. Animals are not humans and they do not process these chemicals in the same manner.

So while many health food and Holistic Practitioners promote them with clever presentations as "studies have shown" clinical research has shown, the one thing missing from the sales campaign is the "PROVEN RESEARCH". Which is why they offer these supplements under the "Food Supplement" category. They by pass the need to prove it, to show the research. However, Scientific research that has no part of promoting any self serving pet food supplement industry, clearly shows the dangers.

http://www.znaturforsch.com/ac/v58c/s58c0408.pdf

This is a pdf file of a actual Scientific Research paper. It is small print. To read it better hold your cntlr key down while rolling you mouse wheel. This will adjust print size so that it can be read easily.