Question:
I found this article on today's USAToday.com. Not sure if this sweetner is also used in Cananda or not, but everyone should be aware of the dangers:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/...weetener_N.htm

Answer:
Xylitol, popular in Europe for decades but a relative newcomer to the U.S. alternative-sweeteners market, can be "very, very serious" to dogs when ingested, says Dana Farbman, spokeswoman for the Animal Poison Control Center of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

"It doesn't take a whole lot (of xylitol), and the effects are so rapid that the window of opportunity to treat the dog is extremely small," Farbman says.
I don't think we have this in Canada but just in case thanks for the heads-up .

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why would anyone give their dog sweetners???????

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The article was actually more about pets accidentally (or otherwise) eating sweets that contain the sweetener.

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I think it's in raspberry things especially for some reason.. (sorry mind blank...)

But it's definitely used in some yogurts, so be careful.

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sorry i didnt read it. (not having any dogs) good to know though.

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lol It's ok. I mean, people give their animals a lot of stuff we'd never approve of right?

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Teri - Thanks for helping to clarify some of the information in the article.

The first paragraph of the article reads: "A sugar substitute found in a variety of sugar-free and dietetic cookies, mints and chewing gum is proving highly toxic, even fatal, to snack-snatching dogs."

I found this on another website. It explains where the sweetner can be found in natural foods that our pets might also get ahold of or be fed by unsuspecting owners:

"Our bodies produce up to 15 grams of xylitol from other food sources using established energy pathways. Xylitol is not a strange or artificial substance, but a normal part of everyday metabolism.

Xylitol is widely distributed throughout nature in small amounts. Some of the best sources are fruits, berries, mushrooms, lettuce, hardwoods, and corn cobs. One cup of raspberries contains less than one gram of xylitol."

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