Dogs And Grapes

[sandgrubber]

I've moved to a vineyard property and the question of dogs eating grapes is becoming a possible concern as the grapes ripen and the dogs begin to find them more interesting. I asked someone on a vineyard forum about their two Labradors in the vineyard. Here's the reply:

"My dogs eat lots of grapes despite my best efforts and have never shown any ill effects. They eat dropped fruit and once things get a little sweeter, I can't trust them not to harvest their own when I'm gone. The yellow has a stronger drive for food and I've busted her before with purple jowels. My Petite Sirah is within their boundary and it leaves a pretty incriminating stain on a yellow dog."

I think the bottom line is that only some dogs get sick from eating grapes.

Edited August 25, 2010 by sandgrubber

[aussielover]

Yes, you are right, it is only some dogs that are affected by grapes.

My aussie used to love grapes and get them as a treat in summer sometimes.

I'm not going to risk Mindy eating any though

[kendall]

Yeah, but why risk it? YOUR dog may be the one that it DOES affect.

[Animal House]

I've been told by my vet that grapes are a no-no for dogs. More toxic to small dogs (as anything else would be) but I would be keeping your dog well away from the vineyard unless you want a very sick dog. Apparently an unknown toxin in the grapes affects their kidneys.

[asal]

yep they like them, mine used to jump up and swing off the bunch to get theirs, chi's might be vertically challenged but they still like their grape fix if they can get to em

[Mas1981]

My ridgebacks used to eat grapes, this was back in the day when no one knew any better - they used to eat all sorts of things that are now known to harm dogs - have stomachs made of cast iron

[wagsalot]

I never knew about the grape thing until a while ago. Before that we used to give a grape to our quaker parrot, and one to the dog several times a day.

Now, I know they can be bad I don't do it anymore. Just not worth the risk.

Edited to add - living on a vineyard property sounds lovely!

Edited August 25, 2010 by wagsalot

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

my little dog used to love frozen grapes and had them when they were in season. i didnt know any better but she had no ill effects from this.

i supose its better not to take the chance

[Sunnyflower]

My little monster loves a grape or two but once I actually read that they are poison to the dogs it wasn't worth the risk. I wont let him touch them again because it could be one bad grape or one too many that could get him! Not worth it.

[sandgrubber]

If you chase the stats to the source you find about six reports/year in the US veterinary data base. I'd guess there are at least 50 million dogs in the US. Our dogs always got raisins when I was a kid. I suspect the problem is about like the problem with peanut alergy in children. I can find a lot of vets who say bones are bad for dogs as well.

In a vinyard context, not eating grapes means getting locked up, at least as the grapes get ripe. 'Unknown toxin' sounds pretty weak.

fg

I've been told by my vet that grapes are a no-no for dogs. More toxic to small dogs (as anything else would be) but I would be keeping your dog well away from the vineyard unless you want a very sick dog. Apparently an unknown toxin in the grapes affects their kidneys.

[GeckoTree]

what is the poison? can dogs build up a tollerence to them like say people build up tolerence to alcohol which is a poison.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

If you chase the stats to the source you find about six reports/year in the US veterinary data base. I'd guess there are at least 50 million dogs in the US. Our dogs always got raisins when I was a kid. I suspect the problem is about like the problem with peanut alergy in children. I can find a lot of vets who say bones are bad for dogs as well.

In a vinyard context, not eating grapes means getting locked up, at least as the grapes get ripe. 'Unknown toxin' sounds pretty weak.

fg

I've been told by my vet that grapes are a no-no for dogs. More toxic to small dogs (as anything else would be) but I would be keeping your dog well away from the vineyard unless you want a very sick dog. Apparently an unknown toxin in the grapes affects their kidneys.

i have just had a look and a lot of the info is from usa. maybe its the pesticides they use?

it just seems a bit like we shouldnt be eating a lot of stuff either ...where does it stop?

[wagsalot]

I guess it comes down to if you could live with yourself if anything bad happened to the dog from eating grapes which you knew had a risk factor.

[kendall]

I did a google search too jaxx'sbuddy. The snopes one mentioned that it wasn't related to pesticide use as the same symptoms were found whether a dog ate commercial or household grown grapes.

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/raisins.asp

I know that the toxin is unknown and that some dogs seem to be ok having eaten grapes their whole lives but i won't be risking it. I don't know how to manage the situation of dogs living in a vineyard - do they have full access to the vines? Is there not a houseyard type set up? Don't the growers worry about the dogs destroying the vines let alone eating the produce? Surely they would want to minimise the loss of grapes (obviously doesn't apply to those that fall on the ground).

edit to add - i know that internet searches aren't always accurate as it depends on who puts the info up there but the general feeling is that grapes and raisins aren't safe.

Edited August 25, 2010 by kendall

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

i cant live with the thought that i may have contributed to my dogs illness so with my current dog she doesnt get grapes as i wont risk it.

it is just odd that my old dog ate them for years with no effect and if i hadnt joined dol i would still be feeding grapes to dogs.

still i cant justify taking the risk.

[Staranais]

I don't know what the toxin is either - I don't think anyone knows yet. We do know that what the toxin does is cause acute renal failure (kidney cells swell & die, the kidneys shut down, and the dog's toxic wastes accumulate in its bloodstream & poison it). Expensive to treat, & they can't always save them.

Raisins are worse, since they're more concentrated & the dogs tend to eat more of them.

I'm not sure if it's that some dogs aren't affected, or just that some dogs need to eat more than other dogs to be affected. The kidneys can also take quite a hammering before the dog starts to display symptoms - so just because you don't see the damage that the raisins are doing, doesn't mean they aren't doing some damage.

To the OP, clinical signs to watch out for with AKD are depression, dehydration, vomiting or having diarrhoea, and not peeing. May also have stinky breath or mouth ulcers from the ammonia in their systems. If you're suspicious, get them to the vet quick since starting them on fluids early will increase their chance of making it through.

Edited August 25, 2010 by Staranais

[sas]

Seems like no one knows why Grapes are meant to be bad huh?

[dancinbcs]

Many years before I knew they were supposed to be harmful, my first Border Collie, as a puppy, used to eat heaps of them. The house we were living in had sour wine grapes growing and the puppy would eat all the grapes, then he pruned the vine back to ground level

He also loved the passionfruit that grew along the fences at that house. He would play ball with them, then split them and lick out the inside. We were in that house until he was 3 and never seemed to have any ill affects from any of it.

[Amika]

We use to own a vineyard which also had some citrus trees, various other fruit trees and a walnut tree, all of which the dogs(not just one or two) would help themselves too. The grapes were dried as well as picked for wine so the dogs ate them dried and fresh. The only reason any of the dogs ended up at the vet were from snake bite, none of the fruit or nuts seemed to have affected them at all. I can't say any of the neighbors dogs ever came down sick from eating grapes either......no one ever mentioned it and they all had free for all on the blocks.

[espinay2]

Seems like no one knows why Grapes are meant to be bad huh?

And that's the rub. We know why chocolate is a no-no and we know the effect that onions can have. Grapes are a different ballgame. Truth is after a lifetime of grape (and macadamia nut and avocado) eating dogs I am yet to be personally convinced on this one.

I would like to know for starters if there are any recorded cases of grape toxicity ourside of the US. Anyone got any verified case histories?