CAFFEINE AND XYLITOL: BELLA SURVIVES BOTH BARRELS!

Ever wondered what a golden retriever would be like if it slurped-up 12 cups of espresso? Well, Janine and I now know and take it from us, it isn't pretty! Janine took the Bella-beast for a ride to the mall earlier this week. While she was in doing her thing, Bella decided to explore the contents of the car. It just so happened that the day before I returned from Texas with my snow-birding mother. In the little cubby of the dash board I had left a package of Vivarin (caffeine pills) and a nearly full package of sugar-free bubble gum. While Janine was away, Bella went fossicking. She succeeded in locating and consuming the contents of both packages! Janine returned to a very jittery, agitated dog and immediately called me to for some counsel. Let’s stop here for a minute to analyze how deadly this situation actually was.

Most have heard that it chocolate is dangerous to dogs. It turns out the main ingredients in chocolate that are lethal to the canine species are caffeine and theobromine. The lethal dose of caffeine for a dog (the LD 50 – that is the dose at which 50 % die) is 100 to 200 milligram (mgs) per kilogram (kg) of body weight. While I am not sure exactly how many caffeine pills were left in the 16-pill package, I am sure there were at least 12 and more likely 14 left. Each tablet contains 200 mg of caffeine (supposedly equivalent to a single shot of espresso). If there were 12 pills left, that would be 2400 mg (if there were 14 pills that would be 2800 mg). Bella weighs around 55 pounds (that is 25 kg). So, she had just consumed 96 to 112 mg of caffeine – basically close to or over the lower range of the LD 50 for caffeine. GULP! (This blog almost ended before it started!)

What about the sugar-free gum? Most of this gum contains an ingredient called Xylitol (a sugar alcohol sweetener) that is also dangerous to dogs. In canines, it can cause a sudden increase of insulin which results in a dramatic drop in blood sugar. This can lead to shock and liver failure or liver damage. The Xylitol's effect occurs soon after it is ingested and thus veterinary treatment needs to be immediate. Symptoms of Xylitol poisoning include: weakness and lethargy, vomiting, lack of coordination, pale gums, body tremors, seizures, unconsciousness, irregular heart rate and liver damage or failure. One source reports that eight to ten pieces (equivalent to 3-grams of Xylitol) of sugar-free gum could kill a 65-pound dog (this is somewhat dependent on the brand of gum as the amount of Xylitol can vary) (see footnote below). Bella had eaten at least 15 sticks of gum (that is at least 15 grams of Xylitol as Trident Bubblegum has one gram per stick!) – DOUBLE GULP!

Bella on crack - well, not actually crack but enough caffeine tablets and Xylitol to bring down a Clydesdale! This photo was taken just after returning home from the vet's office - while she looks happy, she was anything but!

I met Janine and we raced Bella to the vet's office. We estimated that Bella had consumed the Vivarin/gum within 1 to 1.5 hours of our getting her to the vet. They “pumped” her stomach (they caused her to ejaculate all the stomach contents into a dish) and examined her vital signs for potential shutdown. SIDE NOTE: Her stomach contents were very interesting (the vet and I poked through them with a pen): there was a lot of gum and its associated wrappings, blue berries (which were part of her breakfast), dog food and Styrofoam (when was this eaten, where did she get it from and how long had that been in her stomach?!).

Her heart was beating out of her chest and she just could not relax (could you after drinking 12 espressos!). Although she did attempt to find a comfortable place to lay on the examination room floor, she just could not get comfortable. They said the best thing to do was to take her home and observe her. If her gums went white (a healthy dog has pink gums) or she began to seizure, we were to whisk her back to the office.

For the rest of the day she paced and moaned and paced and moaned some more. Her heart continued to race and she just could not get comfortable (I feel I now know what it is like to own a Jack Russell!). There were short bouts of laying down and trying to slumber, but they were infrequent. We let her outside several times and she plowed her face through the fresh white flakes and buried her head under the snowy drifts. I postulate she was hot, as she panted incessantly, as a result of her increased metabolism and found relieve in immersing her heat dissipater (her nose) under the snow and laid with her belly on the snow (the other area where heat is released). She finally curled up in her kennel at 2:30 AM the next morning and began dreaming hyper-doggy dreams.

Fortunately for us and for Bella, she is still with us at the time of this writing and seems to be her fun-loving, goofy self again. We dodged two bullets and have vowed that we will make sure there is NOTHING that is potentially edible within mouth reach of our greedy Bella-beast from this point forward.

Footnote 1.

Here is what they say about the symptoms of sugar-free gum consumption on Skype “A dog that has eaten and item containing Xylitol can be rapidly hit by a dangerous drop in blood sugar and that causes weakness, lethargy, loss of coordination, collage and seizures. Those symptoms can develop within 30 minutes and a dog so afflicted will need immediate treatment to survive. Without help, irreversible brain trauma occurs and the patient dies.” These findings were presented in the Journal of Veterinary Medicine (JVM). That said, earlier studies by the World Health Organization demonstrated that dogs exposed to much higher doses than discussed in the JVM, for longer periods of time, showed no ill-effects. Suffice it to say, a dog eating your Trident is not a good thing and is best avoided!