Wine for the dogs? well not exactly

Many of us, myself included, tend to slip our dogs a piece of table here, a piece of table there: a piece of meat, a piece of cheese, a stalk of broccoli that old Fido spits out on the carpet and forces us to clean up. While most of our offerings may seem harmless, there is one thing we should never give our dogs: wine. No matter how much our dogs beg, plead, or promise to clean up their own backyard mess, wine is something that just isn’t for canines.

Now most dogs probably wouldn’t even drink wine if it was offered to them. I can imagine many would just turn up their noses and go off and lick themselves. But, there are some dogs out there that will simply consume anything that is put near their mouth. My dog, for example, once ate a Starburst wrapper and asked me for another, leaving me to believe that if he ever offered him wine, he’d toast me before promptly gulping it down.

But my dog, and yours, simply must live a life without knowing what good wine tastes like (ironically, many dogs think that humans must live a life without knowing what good cat poop tastes like). The reason wine and dogs don’t go together is simple: wine, or anything that contains grapes, is potentially harmful to dogs. Drinking it can cause them to develop kidney failure, an inability to produce urine, and of course, difficulty barking. Some dogs with this type of reaction can survive, but unfortunately it can also be fatal.

Science isn’t sure why wine has this effect on canines, and it’s not sure why some dogs don’t react badly to wine consumption and others do. The source of the blame is supposed to be a mycotoxin, a poison that can be generated when a fungal infection attacks vines. This type of poison can be prevalent in a variety of grapes: those grown in the backyard and those bought at the market, those that are red and those that are green, those that have seeds and those that do not, those that are dried (like raisins), and those that are fresh.

The potential toxicity of each glass of wine if consumed by a dog depends on two things: the number of grapes used to make the wine and the size of the dog. Wines made solely from grapes, with no other fermented fruit, are potentially more dangerous than apple wine or apricot wine. The size of the dog is the other factor: just as a smaller human will be more affected by a glass of wine than a larger human, a smaller dog can get sick from a bit of wine, while a larger dog may be fine. Still, even if you have a 160-pound St. Bernard, he might get sick from just one sip. Wine seems to affect many dogs differently.

If a dog consumes wine, perhaps by licking up an accidentally spilled puddle on the floor or, less likely, getting a key to the cellar, there are certain symptoms that warn you that your dog is ill. The dog may initially experience vomiting or loose stools only to progress to symptoms of lethargy, refusal to drink, and a lack of appetite. Full-blown kidney failure can start in as little as 48 hours after the wine is consumed.

Should symptoms develop, you should call your veterinarian or an animal poison control center immediately. If the dog consumed the wine within a few hours, treatment may include inducing vomiting. The vet may also give your dog something to absorb the rest of the poison and start him on IV fluids. Various medications may also be given to protect the stomach, cushion the kidneys, and start the flow of urine.

Even if your dog receives prompt and efficient treatment, there is no guarantee that the kidneys will not fail. For this reason, the best thing you can do to keep your dog free of this deadly disease is to keep wine, grapes, and raisins out of his mouth. This allows you, with a bottle of wine in hand and a dog by your side, to keep your two best friends.