# Grapes



## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

I didn't know they were ever NOT toxic. If a pup or dog has ever eaten grapes or raisins, it can develop kidney issues - weeks, months, even years later. There is no definitive level of toxicity - the ER vet told me they had a German Shepherd dog who ate one grape and suffered toxicity, while they've had puppies eat several, with no effect. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. But better safe than sorry. If a dog eats either grapes or raisins, even one, vets recommend a 24-hour kidney flush, just to be safe.


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## rosegold (Nov 9, 2016)

I found this old ASPCA article interesting:

"Enter the APCC AnToxTM database, a computerized system that contains nearly 500,000 animal-related medical conditions and that enables veterinarians to quickly identify toxic substance exposures, recognize clinical signs and administer proper treatment. By tracking cases in this registry, similarities in animal medical conditions nationwide can be logged and syndromes can be identified.

*Around 1989, the APCC began noticing a trend in dogs who had eaten grapes or raisins:* Nearly all developed acute renal (kidney) failure. As more cases were reported, enough data was generated in the database to help veterinarians identify and treat dogs at risk. In all of the cases, the ingredients for potential acute renal failure were the same. Whether the ingested grapes were purchased fresh from grocery stores or grown in private yards didn't seem to matter, nor did the brand eaten. And the ingested amounts varied considerably, from over a pound of grapes to as little as a single serving of raisins. The cases weren't from any specific region, but instead came from across the United States."


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## Gleepers (Apr 20, 2016)

I've always thought that perhaps the grape issue was similar to an allergy. Perhaps like peanuts only different. The problem is you can't know which dog is going to have issues until after the fact. Better safe than sorry.


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

We used to put them in the freezer, they loved them frozen! But that was back in the 60's... back before car seats and seat belts


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## Pilgrim123 (Jul 26, 2014)

Gleepers said:


> I've always thought that perhaps the grape issue was similar to an allergy. Perhaps like peanuts only different. The problem is you can't know which dog is going to have issues until after the fact. Better safe than sorry.


Gleepers, I think you've hit the nail on the head there. When my kids were small, we used to feed half the neighborhood peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. You wouldn't dare to do something similar now, when so many kids are allergic to something. Perhaps the issue with grapes has always been around, but a smaller proportion of dogs were susceptible to the tragic consequences.
By the way, in case anyone is wondering, I haven't allowed any of my dogs to have grapes since 2005 or so, when I was first warned about the risks. (Sometimes, we're behind the times in the country!) I must have been incredibly fortunate, though, because none of my dogs have suffered from any type of kidney disease. But I won't play Russian roulette with their health now.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

I'd never heard that Grapes weren't good for dogs when we had our first Golden, Zeke. We don't have grapes that often but I used to toss him an occasional one and he'd enjoy catching it on the fly. They never seemed to bother him and he passed in 2007 at age 10.5 yrs., after a 3 month decline after having a melanoma removed from his lip.


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## shepherdpal (Oct 8, 2013)

I walk Pippin thru orchards and vineyards every day where he can run off leash and today the grapes had been harvested and the ground was full of them which to my horror Pippin scarfed up! 

I walked home with him ( 4 miles) gave him peroxide to induce vomiting and he threw them up. I also gave him activated charcoal to absorb anything that might be still in his system. ( I have learned to keep these things on hand because Pippin, unlike my GSD eats everything:surprise:

I was looking up to see what is poisonous about grapes and why some dogs can eat them with no problem and according to this article it may be the stuff that growers spray on some grapes rather then the grapes.
Raisin and Grape Toxicity in Dogs


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

My dog growing up, a 10 lb shih tzu at tons of grapes, raisins, chocolate and onions - never knowing they were bad. He loved M & M's and chocolate ice cream. He did die of kidney failure, but he was also 17 years old, so I think it was old age kidney failure.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

shepherdpal said:


> I walk Pippin thru orchards and vineyards every day where he can run off leash and today the grapes had been harvested and the ground was full of them which to my horror Pippin scarfed up!
> 
> I walked home with him ( 4 miles) gave him peroxide to induce vomiting and he threw them up. I also gave him activated charcoal to absorb anything that might be still in his system. ( I have learned to keep these things on hand because Pippin, unlike my GSD eats everything:surprise:
> 
> ...


You're lucky you got him to throw them up. It's a good reminder to keep peroxide on hand.


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## Lakota828 (Mar 19, 2018)

Sorry to necro an old thread, but we would grow grapes on our acreage. I knew grapes were toxic to dogs, so we would use fencing on each and every individual plant to try to deter my golden from eating them. I don't know how the hell she would do it, but she'd get into the tiny fenced area and eat ALL of the grapes. She did it for years. (She would then be stuck and couldn't get out, and with our summers being well over 100 degrees, I was constantly worried about her doing it and dying of heat stroke. The struggle was very real.) I don't care how many times we tried to barricade it from her, she would always find a way to get into them and feast to her heart's desire.
I had to euthanize Athena on New Year's Eve 2015. She was less than one month away from her 19th birthday. She went down fast thankfully. She was fine at 6 am when I fed her and then at 9 am, she was observed being unable to get comfortable and in obvious pain. I knew it was time. I couldn't ask her to be more direct. The only issue she had in her old age was elbow dysplasia and general arthritis, as well as cancer. She was running well still on her last day though. I don't know exactly what caused her quick decline that led to the obvious decision for euthanasia, but at nearly 19 years old (and still amazingly healthy, all things considered,) I really couldn't ask much more from her. 
I'm glad that the grapes didn't really seem to affect her. She would eat a ridiculous amount of grapes every season for well over 15 years of her life with no known reactions. Naturally, the vet cautioned against this and I had previous experience as a vet tech, so I had a supply of activated charcoal always ready. I never actually needed to use it though. No amount of training, fencing, observation (she was a ninja, and I could be watching her and turn my head away for literally 5 seconds, and she'd be in the fencing eating away,) could stop her.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

Wow, almost 19 years old is amazing. She sounds like she was a real character.


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## swishywagga (Nov 13, 2012)

So very sorry for the loss of your golden girl. To get to almost nineteen is incredible, what a great life she must have had!.


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## OscarsDad (Dec 20, 2017)

We were giving an occasional grape to Oscar with no ill effects. Went to the vet for an annual checkup and he casually mentioned that grapes were not a good idea.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

My old mutt when I was a kid loved grapes. She lived to be almost 18. I dont remember back then knowing they were poisonous.


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

I want to say it was about 4 or 5 years ago I read a local article about a lab roughly 80lbs ate a small snack sized box of raisins and that night was in the Vet ER and within 6 hours of ingesting the raisins the kidneys completely shut down and the lab didn't survive. Pretty severe reaction I thought but the vet in the article said that isn't really that rare and see a few dogs a year like that.


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