Dog ate raisins.

Dr. Marie replied:

Thanks for your question. Raisin or Grape toxicity is a tough thing to talk about because we don't know why some dogs get renal toxicity from eating these. In my experience, toxicity from eating grapes or raisins is relatively rare. I know many dogs that have eaten these all of their lives and have never had a problem. And then there will be the rare dog that eats one grape and has serious kidney damage. Personally I think that the rare dog has a genetic problem that causes them to get sick when they eat grapes.

So, my point in saying all that is to say that the chances of a kidney problem are small. I'm guessing that Bikini's lethargy is likely due to some mild stomach upset from eating the grapes.

The first symptom we usually see with kidney damage is a large increase in thirst and urination. This is usually followed by extreme lethargy and vomiting.

The best way to know if she has damage to her kidneys is to have a vet examine her urine. They will do a test called a specific gravity. This tells us how concentrated the urine is. If her urine is just dilute because you have been encouraging her to drink a lot of water, the vet will be able to tell the difference between just watered down pee and pee that is coming from damaged kidneys. When the kidneys are damaged, the specific gravity of the urine is always between 1.008 and 1.012.

If the specific gravity is in this danger level then your vet will want to do blood tests to determine if there is
serious kidney damage and if so she will need to start on IV fluids.

If your vet is open today it would be great to take a urine sample in and ask them to check the specific gravity. This really should not be very expensive, and hopefully will put your mind at ease.

I'm thinking, again, that she likely has some stomach upset. She may benefit from Pepcid (famotidine) which you can buy at the pharmacy. A dog her size can have half of a 10mg tablet.

I hope she is ok!

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

The urine could definitely be dilute because of the extra water. The fact that it is getting some color back is good.

I don't think you mentioned earlier that she had also eaten nuts as well. This is probably contributing to her stomach upset. I think the pepcid is a good idea.

This is most likely just some stomach upset, but if it continues into tomorrow or if she has a lot of vomiting then she may need to go back to the hospital.

For tonight I'd recommend the pepcid, and it's probably a good idea to not give her any food tonight. This will give her stomach a chance to recover.