Grape toxicity in dogs

Common card · No. 281473

The consumption of grapes and raisins presents a potential health threat to dogs. Their toxicity to dogs can cause the animal to develop acute kidney injury (the sudden development of kidney failure) with anuria (a lack of urine production). The phenomenon was first identified by the Animal Poison Control Center (APCC), run by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Approximately 140 cases were seen by the APCC in the year from April 2003 to April 2004, with 50 developing symptoms and seven dying. One theory of the mechanism of toxicity is the tartaric acid or tartrate content in grapes. This is based on the observation that dogs show similar symptoms and pathological findings after consuming cream of tartar or tamarind. It is not clear that the observed cases of kidney failure following ingestion are due to grapes only. Clinical findings suggest raisin and grape ingestion can be fatal, but the mechanism of toxicity is still considered unknown.

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