No Drinks for Dogs!

Posted June 18th, 2005 by stormy and filed in Dogs, Pets



Alcohol is toxic for dogs.  Your vet might not ask how many drinks a week your dog has, but maybe that’s because they know if they are having any, they wouldn’t be there. 

I couldn’t find anything on the web about alcohol and dogs so I am posting my experience so others can learn from it.  Note that I used to have a friend that fed his dog beer and the dog didn’t have any noticeable side effects.  But one drop of gin was way too much gin for my dog.  Here it is …

We were having a drink on the porch with friends and my boyfriend finished his gin and tonic and put the glass on the floor.  One of the dogs knocked it over and both dogs ate the ice cubes.  We didn’t think anything of it since the drink was empty.  An hour later my dog Teddy couldn’t walk straight, a half hour after that her legs wouldn’t support her at all, she was having trouble breathing and she started vomiting all over the floor and herself.  (And made no move to clean herself up or move out of it.)  She was also terrified and just wanted to lie as close to me as possible.  Wait till you watch your dog try to flop across the floor to get next to you – it’s terrifying.  Two hours after the gin flavored ice cube she was fine.  (I then felt like I might need a gin and tonic myself!)  Before we remembered the glass and the ice cubes, the emergency clinic vets were thinking back problems and neurological disorders.  When we finally remembered the knocked over glass, they immediately said that was it.  So, NO ALCOHOL FOR DOGS.  Not even a drop!

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60 Responses to “No Drinks for Dogs!”

  1. Brabas says:

    My cockapoo Duke has some beers at the weekend, i really try to stop it but every Friday he jumps the fence and trots down to the local Spar-he arrives back smelling of cat where i send him right to his kennel

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  2. aworthlesscharity@yahoo.com says:

    i just gave my ten pound beagle puppy a shot of vodka she loves the stuff and she never even gets tipsy really

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  3. Tali says:

    I’ve seen some of the comments saying they’re dogs are fine after a drink – but like all people, dogs have different tolerance levels depending on size, type of alchohol consumed and general metabolism. My dog has previously been allowed a few drops of alchohol from my father, he thinks its funny she likes it – and so far no ill effects but i’ve strongly discouraged him from doing it. On the other side of the fence, my friends staff/lab mix almost died after a mouthful of brandy from a stray glass last new years. She was wobbly on her legs, then she couldn’t get up at all, then she passed out. She lived, but it terrified her owners and she had to have fluids and a shot from the vet afterwards which cost a considerable amount. Dogs get the samesymtoms we do when we drink, but what takes several rounds for a person takes a few sips for a dog – really, its beter safe than sorry. Don’t give your pets alchohol unless you’re prepared to lose them or at least pay a large vet bill.

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  4. beth007bond@gmail.com says:

    I am very concerned about my 90 pound Catahoua. I too have seen her drink small amounts of beer (because she has knocked over a bottle or glass). We have never had any scary after effect. However, she got into our trash yesterday and ate a large peice of rum cake. The rum had been poured over the cake and was pretty potent (that’s why we didn’t eat it). She seemed fine for several hours, until she ate. She then became nauseous. We were so concerned about the strange behavior that we drove an our to an emergency clinic. She was given something for pain and nausea. She rested comfortably last night, but is still not herself. When she stands in one spot, she shivers and sways. Our vet believes that the alcohol may have caused minor pancreatitis OR she could have a damaged vestibular system The vestibular system effect balance and can be irreversible. I really do not think that giving your pet alcohol is a funny thing. I was looking for some input from others that have had this experience as I am VERY worried about my sweet baby girl. Please refrain from encouraging others to do something life threatening to their pets for a few giggles. For those stories that were helpful, thank you.

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  5. stormy says:

    I hope he wakes up ok. People and dogs shouldn’t pass out from alcohol – it means they’ve had too much!

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  6. stormy says:

    beth007bond, I really hope your Catahoua is ok! Our dog was ok after a day. Best of luck to all of you.

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  7. stormy says:

    I have seen dogs become very obnoxious in search of alcohol! (Cats too.)

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  8. stormy says:

    Yes, the problem is that dogs can’t tell you when they’ve had enough and all the signs we are used to in people (slurred speech, stumbling, etc) don’t translate well for dogs.
    So the best thing is not to give your dogs any alcohol! It can cause permanent damage.

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  9. Tonya says:

    I drink coffee brandy,its sweet and no doubt my little Min Pin loves sweet.Two laps of my drink and she became sad and was shaking as if somebody had threatened her within an inch of her life.She just seemed so frightened.Shes resting now but i was afraid she wouldnt recover.I agree,not one drop,not one,if you want to be able to cuddle your dog the next day.

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  10. Kevin says:

    People have been giving dogs alcohol for quite some time. It’s widely known that wealthy noblemen and royalty in victorian times (and earlier) often gave their dogs whiskey and/or beer along with their dinners.
    It’s really not a big deal, but I think certain breeds have a much lower tolerance for it. Hunting dogs (retrievers and hounds) seem to have a pretty good tolerance for fermented drink. They have been domesticated for hundreds of years, of course. So perhaps they have been bred to hold their liquor better.
    Obviously you should not give a dog as much liquor as a person can drink, and the really concentrated stuff (anything clear) should be avoided.
    My beagle had a few laps from a margarita, by accident, a few years ago, and suffered no ill effect. I have given her a very small amount of 3/2 beer on her birthday every year. She loves the taste. She has never been drunk off of it, but it does make her sleepy and extremely affectionate. Probably a good thing she isn’t a boy or she might start humping people’s legs.

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