We know how much our dogs love peanut butter! We use it for everything from hiding medications to entertainment in food toys. So you can imagine our concern when we learned that xylitol, a substance that is highly toxic to dogs, had made its way into some specialty brands of peanut butter!
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol derived from plant fibers, and used as a sweetener in numerous products. Its popularity is growing because of numerous health benefits to people, particularly in the world of dental care. Most commonly the sweetener crops up in chewing gums, toothpaste, and sugar-free candy, and it can even be bought in granulated form for baking. We are starting to see this sweetener in some flavored liquid medications and chewable vitamins as well. Preventive Vet maintains a list, however you should check the label even if your product is not on it. The list is not comprehensive, and more and more companies are just now starting to use xylitol in their products.
Alternative names for xylitol to watch out for include:
1,4-anhydro-d-xylitol, anhydroxylitol
birch bark extract
birch sugar
d-xylitol
xylite
xylitylglucosid
Zylatol
In general look for the “xyl” on the label. Source.
When ingested by dogs, two different things can happen, depending on how much they ingest. A low level of toxicity (and it doesn’t take much, 1 stick of gum in a 10 lb dog) can cause hypoglycemia (dangerously low blood sugar) within 30 minutes. Hypoglycemia causes vomiting, weakness, ataxia (drunken gait), and seizures. Higher levels of toxicity can cause liver failure and death. Dogs that ingest enough to cause liver failure do not always have a phase of low blood sugar, so it is important to have an idea of how much they ingested, or treat for the worst-case scenario.
In general, most dogs will recover with no problems from a low-level ingestion if they receive prompt care. However, if liver failure ensues the prognosis is poor. If you have any suspicion that your dog may have ingested something containing xylitol he should be seen immediately.
What about cats? It is unknown how cats metabolize xylitol, but so far there have been no confirmed xylitol toxicities reported to the ASPCA APCC.
Want to take action? Click here to read and sign a petition to manufacturers to provide warning labels on products containing xylitol, as well as a petition to the FDA to require clear labeling of products containing xylitol.
For more information: http://www.preventivevet.com/dogs/is-peanut-butter-safe-for-dogs
