Macadamia nut poisoning in dogs

Late one night Delta Rose helped herself to quite the feast of macadamia nuts. The next morning she was not quite herself. She had lost all her energy, was shivering and her super cute tail and ears were firmly down. Her family bought her in for the veterinarians to assist. Eating as few as several macadamia nuts, raw, roasted or salted can make your dog ill. You will often see vomiting, weakness, a fever, muscle tremors and depression. Unfortunately, the poor dogs are the only animals in which signs have been reported.

The experts are not sure of the mechanism of toxicity, or even why they are affected. Research indicates that they need to eat more than 2g per kilogram body weight to have an adverse effect, or where you will see visible signs of the toxin affecting them.

Delta was so well behaved in hospital. During her sleep over she supportive therapy to prevent the toxin doing any more damage, blood testing and pain relief. She didn’t want to eat, (which is quite understandable). Once home her appetite picked up again and she is back to her normal happy self.

The take home message is ‘ macadamia nuts are toxic to our dog friends.’ If you find they have had an unplanned feast seek veterinary assistance.