Have you ever heard of a dog that enjoyed chives? It’s possible you’re wondering this because you’re thinking about serving a fancy dish to your dog and want to make it extra special. Chives are edible for humans; can they be given to dogs?
No, chives are not safe for canine consumption. Chives are tiny green tubes that are related to the toxic alliums onion, scallion, leek, and garlic.
Get in touch with your vet if you think your dog has consumed chives. Find out why chives are harmful to canines in this article.
Can Dogs Eat Chives?
Like all members of the allium family, chives are toxic to canines. The same holds true for onions, leeks, and garlic. These plants should never be approached because of the danger they pose.
Why Are Chives Bad For Dogs?
Like other members of the Allium family, such as onions, scallions, leeks, and garlic, chives are toxic to dogs.
Chives are toxic to dogs and can cause anemia by rupturing the red blood cell membranes. Due to a lack of oxygen-carrying red blood cells, a dog’s heart rate will increase in an attempt to make up for the deficit.
The result is a dangerously rapid breathing rate. If you have anemia and don’t get it treated, it could be fatal.
Chives are beneficial because they are so diminutive; canines would need to consume a lot more chives than they would any of the other Allium family members before experiencing any ill effects. Nonetheless, veterinary attention should be sought after after even a small amount of chive consumption.
What is Chives Poisoning?
Together with garlic, leeks, and onions, chives belong to the Allium family. Chives, along with other Allium species, have always played an important role in both the culinary and medicinal worlds. North America is home to more than 90 percent of the world’s population of these plants. To varying degrees, all of these can be fatal to canines.
Domesticated members of the Allium genus that are toxic to canines and felines include onions, garlic, chives, and leeks.
Organosulfoxides, more specifically aklenylcysteine sulfoxides, are a natural repellent present in the allium species. When plants are broken, such as by being torn or chewed, these change into sulfur compounds.
Chives and other members of the species have their distinctive odor, flavor, and medicinal properties due to the presence of these compounds.
Whether or not chives have been cooked, they still contain toxins that can be absorbed through the digestive tract and metabolized into highly reactive oxidants.
When dogs consume either raw or cooked chives, it can lead to a toxic reaction. Organosulfides found in chives act as natural poisons, shielding the plant from herbivorous insects and other pests.
Symptoms of Chives Poisoning in Dogs
Ingestion of chives results in the following symptoms in canines:
- Nausea
- Damage to the oral mucosa
- Vomiting
- Drooling to an unhealthy degree
- Constant abdominal discomfort
- Lethargy
- Diarrhea
- A lack of physical activity
- Weakness
- Beats Per Minute:
- Abnormally rapid breathing
- Gums that are either white or very pale
- Collapse
Types
The Allium genus contains a wide variety of substances, some of which are known by more than one common name. There are numerous synonyms that are just as noxious:
- We used Allium schoenoprasum, which is a type of onion.
- Leeks
- Garlic
- Onions
- Anemia
- Disulfides
- Allium
- Alliaceae
- Thiosulfates
Causes of Chives Poisoning in Dogs
Chives pose a varying degree of toxicity when consumed by canines. The following causes poisoning from chives:
- Deterioration of red blood cells due to oxidation
- Eccentrocyte development and cross-linking membrane reactions
- The development of fragile Heinz bodies and eccentrocytes in the blood cells causes an increase in erythrocyte sensitivity.
- Membrane oxidative injury in erythrocytes
- decrease in hemoglobin oxygen saturation
- Falling prey to anemia
- Methemoglobinemia progression
Diagnosis of Chives Poisoning in Dogs
Immediately seek veterinary care if you notice any of the above symptoms in your dog and suspect he may have consumed chives.
When you go to the vet, he or she will want to know what you’ve eaten, how much, if you’ve noticed any symptoms, and how long this has been going on for.
A diagnosis of Heinz body hemolytic anemia is considered conclusive after the veterinarian has performed all necessary diagnostic testing.
A biochemistry profile, urinalysis, blood work, and other tests could be performed. Possible causes of chive poisoning in canines are discussed.
Symptoms of chives poisoning are similar to those of propylene glycol poisoning, acetaminophen poisoning, vitamin K poisoning, and benzocaine toxicity. Other types of poisoning that need to be ruled out include zinc, copper, and naphthalene poisoning.
Treatment of Chives Poisoning in Dogs
In the event of poisoning from chives or any other member of the Allium genus, there is currently no effective treatment. The anemia must be treated as a first line of defense against the toxicity. Furthermore, there are other possible methods of treatment, such as:
Decontamination
Inducing vomiting and then giving the patient activated charcoal is an efficient treatment for gastrointestinal contamination. The dog’s system may be cleansed of the poison this way.
IV Fluids
Additionally, intravenous fluids may be administered to the dog in order to prevent or treat dehydration, hemoglobinuria, hypotension, and to stabilize blood oxygen levels. If the dog is experiencing bouts of vomiting or diarrhea, crystalloids can be administered as an additional treatment option.
Monitoring
Blood cell counts, or erythron, will need to be tracked for the dog over the course of several days. Antioxidants may be prescribed by some doctors, but there is currently insufficient evidence to support their use.