# How much onion is dangerous?



## <3 Goldens (Mar 10, 2008)

My golden retriever just ate about 1/8 of an uncooked onion. He is about 65 pounds. Is that dangerous, should I make him throwup?

Thanks for the help!


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## ckp (Mar 26, 2009)

I don't have any advice on onions, but I wanted to say I hope your pups ok!!


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## Doodle (Apr 6, 2009)

I'd call animal poison control and ask them if that quantity is a concern.


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## andkristylee (Dec 28, 2008)

i don't know the answer either sorry i'm no help! I hope everything is ok though!


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Please call the animal poison control....... onions can cause Heniz body anemia, which can be VERY VERY serious. I'd much err on the side of cautiousness...... again, please don't let this go.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

<3 Goldens said:


> My golden retriever just ate about 1/8 of an uncooked onion. He is about 65 pounds. Is that dangerous, should I make him throwup?
> 
> Thanks for the help!


 
Onions (and to a lesser degree garlic) contain thiosulphate, which is the toxin. Onion toxicity in dogs will cause hemolytic anemia (the red blood cells burst during circulation).
Raw and cooked onions can be toxic, so can onion powder and dehydrated onions. Ingesting either a large amount at once, or regularly eating smaller amounts can cause toxicity. If a large amount has been eaten toxicity will show up two or three days later. A 60 pound dog would need to eat approximately 3-5 pounds of onions in a single ingestion to be toxic. (The dosage for toxicity is approximately 600 - 800 grams in a 10 kilogram dog at once, or 150 grams over a period of several days.) The first sign of onion toxicity is gastroenteritis, vomiting, and diarrhea. Lack of appetite, lethargy, and blood in the urine will occur and the dog will have trouble catching his breath because the red blood cells are bursting and less oxygen is carried through the bloodstream.

Treatment involves eliminating further ingestions and IV therapy, and in some cases blood transfusions.

Garlic seems to be less toxic and a dog would have to eat a far larger amount to suffer adversely. 


Please be cautious about inducing vomiting, and ONLY do it on the advce of a vet or poison control.

See thread:
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/showthread.php?t=57833&highlight=onions
for good info.


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## Doodle (Apr 6, 2009)

Thanks PG. That's good info for all of us to know.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

I'd posted this in another thread:


Onions (and to a lesser degree garlic) contain thiosulphate, which is the toxin. *Onion* *toxicity* in dogs will cause hemolytic anemia (the red blood cells burst during circulation).
Raw and cooked onions can be toxic, so can *onion* powder and dehydrated onions. Ingesting either a large amount at once, or regularly eating smaller amounts can cause *toxicity*. If a large amount has been eaten *toxicity* will show up two or three days later. A 60 pound dog would need to eat approximately 3-5 pounds of onions in a single ingestion to be toxic. (The dosage for *toxicity* is approximately 600 - 800 grams in a 10 kilogram dog at once, or 150 grams over a period of several days.) The first sign of *onion* *toxicity* is gastroenteritis, vomiting, and diarrhea. Lack of appetite, lethargy, and blood in the urine will occur and the dog will have trouble catching his breath because the red blood cells are bursting and less oxygen is carried through the bloodstream.

Treatment involves eliminating further ingestions and IV therapy, and in some cases blood transfusions.

Garlic seems to be less toxic and a dog would have to eat a far larger amount to suffer adversely. 


Please be cautious about inducing vomiting, and ONLY do it on the advce of a vet or poison control.

See thread:
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/...ghlight=onions
for good info.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

which reminds me of a story from when I first opened the pet hotel. My vet came out to see it, and I gave him the grand tour, chest all puffed out with pride.
We got to the kitchen, and I opened the sparkling new refrigerator (no clue now why I even felt it necessary to show him the inside of the fridge, guess I was really into showing off at the moment) and there in both produce bins were lots and lots and lots of onions, which I had dug up from my garden and decided to store there.
He just stood there shaking his head. Finally he said, "I don't even want to know..."


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