My dog ate a little onion. Should I worry? What symptoms to look for?

Question

My dog weighs over 100 pounds and he ate a small amount of onions earlier today. He ate his dinner and is drinking water, but I'm still worried. Will he be okay? Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Male | neutered | 110 lbs

Dr. Strydom, DVM · Accepted Answer

Onions contain an ingredient called thiosulphate which is toxic to cats and dogs. The ingestion of onions causes a condition called hemolytic anemia, which is characterized by damage to the red blood cells. Onion toxicity can cause the red blood cells circulating through your pet’s body to burst. Symptoms of this condition include breathlessness, lethargy, diarrhea and vomiting. Your pet also could lose interest in food as a result of this type of poisoning. It may take up to two to four days after your pet eats the onion for symptoms to appear. All onions — whether cooked or raw — are a danger to your pet. It takes a very small amount of onions to poison your cat or dog. Consumption of as little as 15 to 30 g/kg in dogs has resulted in clinically important hematologic changes. Onion toxicosis is consistently noted in animals that ingest more than 0.5% of their body weight in onions at one time. At 110 pounds, Holmes would have needed to ingest 750-1500 grams of onions to show toxicity. I doubt he ingested that much. Just keep an eye on him for the next 4 days and if you notice any of the symptoms I listed above then get him to your vet right away. I hope this helps. Best wishes to you and Holmes!

My dog ate a little onion. Should I worry? What symptoms to look for?

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