# How Serious Is my Dog's Danger? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 17, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-serious-is-my-dogs-danger/663783 "2013-07-17T20:28:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-serious-is-my-dogs-danger/663783/21 "2013-07-18T04:28:18Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Forgive me if I don’t take your word for it without substantiation. Got a cite? A study? Something more than just your opinion, even if you are a veterinarian? Would [this help](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2984110/)? Scroll down the onions section. There’s references to academic articles on the subject within the text too. It does explain the mechanism, but it also adds “Although the dog appears to be one of the most susceptible species, there are very few reports in the scientific literature concerning accidental canine poisoning associated with onion ingestion.” I will let my 65 lb dog eat food with a bit of onion in it, but not a stew that I know is almost equal amounts of meat and onions. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-serious-is-my-dogs-danger/663783/22 "2013-07-18T04:50:29Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Would [this help](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2984110/)? > Scroll down the onions section. There’s references to academic articles on the subject within the text too. It does explain the mechanism, but it also adds “Although the dog appears to be one of the most susceptible species, there are very few reports in the scientific literature concerning accidental canine poisoning associated with onion ingestion.” I will let my 65 lb dog eat food with a bit of onion in it, but not a stew that I know is almost equal amounts of meat and onions. Thanks **pulykamell**. I was getting tired of looking at sites and seeing the same words written with no citation. Your link took me to[something from R.B. Cope](http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/vetmed/Toxicology/Toxicology-Brief-iAlliumi-species-poisoning-in-dog/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/174478)who appears to have credentials and has [published](http://www.labome.org/expert/cope/r-b-cope-1106066.html), and seems to be the source for the information found on many websites, and the 5g/kg onion/dog formula. For a 50 lb. dog that would be a quarter pound of onions, which is significant and not going to be found on a single slice of pizza. But it does seem reasonable to be cautious with a 10 lb. dog who might be in danger from less than an ounce of onions. I am assuming that measurement is based on raw onions, and cooked onions shrink from water loss and should be even more toxic. I can’t get to the 2nd or 3rd page of that article, but I would be surprised if it doesn’t mention what I saw on other sites that had copied from it, allium species toxicosis is uncommon, there are no symptons from small amounts, and the symptoms of larger amounts won’t be seen for a few days and might not be associated with eating onions. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-serious-is-my-dogs-danger/663783/23 "2013-07-18T05:07:35Z")
(Not a vet, just a lowly ER tech) I’ll see what I can find that’s web-based and not behind paywalls and such. Will any of these work? NM on this first one, **pulykamell** hit it first, but the other two are relevant though older. [An article from Interdisciplinary Toxicology](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2984110/) Though the numbers they use are the same as what’s written in the previously linked article, likely because it’s the journal article they referenced to write it. [A PDF of a Canadian case study from 1975.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1697286/pdf/canvetj00392-0015.pdf) [An experiment at U of Florida from 1985, also a PDF](http://vet.sagepub.com/content/22/4/387.full.pdf) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-serious-is-my-dogs-danger/663783.md?page=1)