Xylitol?  OH NO!  It’s in your sugarless gum, sugarless mints, and other diet foods  and it can KILL your dog.  It’s absorbed quickly and it doesn’t take much.  Keep your sugarless products away from pets, beware the purse surfing dog and call your veterinarian immediately if your dog ingests any suspect product.

Xylitol is a sugar substitute, which humans can eat without any problems, but some species of animals, dogs in particular, cannot eat.  In the dog xylitol causes a life-threatening drop in blood sugar, followed by severe liver damage.  Xylitol is absorbed very quickly—after chewing a piece of gum the xylitol enters a dogs blood stream within 15 minutes!  It doesn’t take a lot either—2 sticks of gum in a small dog, one pack of gum in a large dog and life threatening problems can occur.  Treating Xylitol toxicity requires close monitoring for 72 hours, which can get expensive. Protect your pet—keep sugarless products out of reach.  Beware of purses and book bags because dogs can often smell the gum and may go searching through such areas to find the source of that yummy smell.