Nic.B Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 I just wanted to share our Kelpie Bella's story with you all, who over the weekend was poisioned by eating plums on the ground under our fruit tree. Bella became very listless and we rushed her to our vet. By the time we arrived Bella was very unstable on her feet was disorientated and clearly very unwell. She then suffered muscle spasms and her jaw was very tight. All her bloods came back ok as with stool samples (very runny poo and a weird colour green and what we thought was dark red blood) The red colour must have been from the plums. She had no temp and wasnt dehyrated. At first it was thought she had suffered a mild stroke or perhaps it was even tetnus. We have since found out it is cyanide poisoning. Thank god Bella is much better now, after a weekend of vet trips, phone calls, intensive care, many tears and worry. I have no idea why she ate the plums? she has never eaten them before. And feel terrible. Today I will be spending the day pulling all the fruit off the trees. It's just not worth the risk. I honestly had no idea that plums were toxic for dogs and that the seed can cause cyanide poisioning and wanted to share with other dog owners. Bella is 10 years old now, we simply adore her, thank god she is looking and feeling much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimiss Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Shit, how scary! Glad your Bella is ok, that must have been a terrible experience! I guess you can never be too careful.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 I think she has to eat the kernel inside the seed to get cyanide poisoning. In the past my dogs eat the nectarines, even very unripe ones and have had no problems, so long as they leave the seed capsule intact. Mine dont swallow it either. Did your girl eat the seeds too? I'm very glad she's OK now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui835 Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 What a terrible weekend, glad to hear she's doing well now. Just out of interest, do you know if the plums were bad for her, or was it just because she was eating the seeds too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Sounds very similar to what happened to my dogs after they got into mouldy compost. Pretty frightening, isnt it Nic. Glad she's OK now. What a lousy weekend for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic.B Posted November 27, 2011 Author Share Posted November 27, 2011 I think she has to eat the kernel inside the seed to get cyanide poisoning. In the past my dogs eat the nectarines, even very unripe ones and have had no problems, so long as they leave the seed capsule intact. Mine dont swallow it either. Did your girl eat the seeds too? I'm very glad she's OK now. Yes Kirislin she ate the seeds as well, I have no idea why after 10 years? We found lots and lots of seeds in her droppings before she had symptoms. The plums are very sweet and juicy, perhaps that is why she ate them... She is almost back to her old self, but is was a stessful weekend to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic.B Posted November 27, 2011 Author Share Posted November 27, 2011 What a terrible weekend, glad to hear she's doing well now. Just out of interest, do you know if the plums were bad for her, or was it just because she was eating the seeds too? I am not 100% sure though think it is only the seeds that are dangerous. Will find out more info later today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic.B Posted November 27, 2011 Author Share Posted November 27, 2011 Sounds very similar to what happened to my dogs after they got into mouldy compost. Pretty frightening, isnt it Nic. Glad she's OK now. What a lousy weekend for you. Oh dear, our vege garden is fenced off thank god! I am just so glad she is ok Raz I adore this girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 It was in a worm farm, Nic. Same as Bella, the little buggers had never shown any interest in it before and there were bricks on top to keep possums out so we dont know how they got into it. I've since ditched the worm farm. Look up tremorgenic mycotoxin intoxication in dogs. I remember reading something about strychnine poisoning. Cant remember anything about cyanide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Apricot kernels, cherry pips, a lot of stone fruits contain a form of cyanide , apparently. The fruit is fine ..but the kernels /'nut' can be a problem. Our dogs love plums/apricots , but don't eat the stones, luckily ! Glad she's on the mend ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdogs Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Yes it's the seed inside the stone fruit, also I believe that apple seeds contain arsenic & that the seeds have to be chewed to have an effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui835 Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Very scary. My dog is a very fussy eater, but he has a thing for tasty fruits. So if I've just eaten a nectarine he likes to lick my fingers afterward etc. One thing I have always wondered about, and apologies because this might be a bit OT, but why are grapes bad for dogs? My dog has an obsession with grapes, and will eat them if he can. He has never had any symptoms from eating them, but we have taken him to the vet nonetheless and they make him throw-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverStar-Aura Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 You poor thing having to deal with that! Poor Bella too; she must've been feeling so sh*tty. Maybe now she's learned her lesson! I'll have to look at fencing off our fruit trees as Mister Zeus climbs the apple tree to get to the fruit. Since hearing about the possibility of arsenic poisoning I'm terrified he'll get this. He also helps himself to tomatoes and strawberries too and I'll have to keep an eye out on our mini peach tree -- it's never fruited in its entire 5-7 year life but you never know. I'm so glad Bella is ok!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perrin Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 (edited) Georgia has done this before. But her two great loves are apples and pears. We've even caught her climbing up the tree trunks to get the fruit from the tree. Fortunatly i was able to get her straight to the vet and got some medication for her and she didn't have to stay overnight. She had a lot of pain in her tummy along with the runny poo with smears of blood in it. And a small amount of vomiting. We try and stay vigilant and cut the lower branches so she can't access to much fruit and also pick up any fruit that falls down. As the fruit trees are spread throughout the yard it makes it difficult to contain them properly so we just keep an eye on how much fruit she is eating and make sure she can't get to to much of it. We did a massive cut back this year and even took out a couple of the trees. There was just way to much fruit as we also have apricots, peaches, plums, nectarines and almonds. Edited November 27, 2011 by perrin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheilaheel02 Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 (edited) Gosh Nic, how awful. I'm glad Bella is doing OK. I've been on a mission lately to plant some good shade trees in the garden and wanted to find varieties which were not known to be poisonous to dogs and horses. After much googling, it has proven quite a challenge. Of course many of them would need to be consumed in large quantities to be toxic, but you'd be shocked at how many trees/shrubs etc are potentially problematic. Prunus (most of the fruit trees - and possibly even those which are ornamental or flowering) were on most of the lists I looked at. Shaz Edited November 28, 2011 by Sheilaheel02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westieblessed Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Walnuts can also be a problem - not the nut but the mould which can grow on the husk, especially if they are on moist ground. I had to google this after my late Westie pulled a box of walnuts off the table and was eating them. This is just one site which mentions it: http://dogdishdiet.com/2010/10/what-is-walnut-poisoning-can-i-feed-my-dog-nuts/ Gosh Nic, how awful. I'm glad Bella is doing OK. I've been on a mission lately to plant some good shade trees in the garden and wanted to find varieties which were not kown to be poisonous to dogs and horses. After much googling, it has proven quite a challenge. Of course many of them would need to be consumed in large quantities to be toxic, but you'd be shocked at how many trees/shrubs etc are potentially problematic. Prunus (most of the fruit trees - and possibly even those which are ornamental or flowering) were on most of the lists I looked at. Shaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic.B Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 (edited) Thanks guys for your thoughts, Bella is doing well now considering and is home with us. We have to keep her quiet for at least a week, so she is busy looking out the timber doors watching the horses from inside. One minute she is at the front of the house watching them, the next at the back of the house. Shaz, I had no idea so many things could pose a problem! Two of our fosters pull mandarines off the tree, though they dont eat them. We have just cut that back as well. We also have lemons and limes. I have done a search and come up with this from DOL, might be handy for a few of us. http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/189010-foods-that-are-poisonous-for-dogs/ ETA Edited November 28, 2011 by Nic.B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisys Mum Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 I have a apricot tree that I strip every year because our Cavalier if given the chance will eat them.... I wish we could have them but it's not worth the risk Glad to hear Bella is feeling better ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdogs Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Very scary. My dog is a very fussy eater, but he has a thing for tasty fruits. So if I've just eaten a nectarine he likes to lick my fingers afterward etc. One thing I have always wondered about, and apologies because this might be a bit OT, but why are grapes bad for dogs? My dog has an obsession with grapes, and will eat them if he can. He has never had any symptoms from eating them, but we have taken him to the vet nonetheless and they make him throw-up. http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/toxicology/f/grape_raisin.htm grapes can cause renal failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic.B Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 Very scary. My dog is a very fussy eater, but he has a thing for tasty fruits. So if I've just eaten a nectarine he likes to lick my fingers afterward etc. One thing I have always wondered about, and apologies because this might be a bit OT, but why are grapes bad for dogs? My dog has an obsession with grapes, and will eat them if he can. He has never had any symptoms from eating them, but we have taken him to the vet nonetheless and they make him throw-up. Sorry, I missed this. Here is what is written in the link; "Grapes or Raisins Although the minimum lethal dosage is not known, grapes and raisins can be toxic to dogs when ingested in large quantities. The symptoms are gastrointestinal signs including vomiting and diarrhea, and then signs of kidney failure with an onset of severe kidney signs starting about 24 hours after ingestion. The amount of grapes eaten varied between 9 oz. and 2 lbs., which worked out to be between 0.41 and 1.1 oz/kg of body weight. It has been reported that two dogs died directly from the toxicity, three were euthanized due to poor response to treatment and five dogs lived." Perhaps apple is a better option (without the seeds) as it is sweet, my dogs love peices of apple and carrot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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