Disclaimer: I'm not certified yet, so when in doubt, go with whatever your vet tells you if we disagree on something. Also, any of this that your vet has already covered with you, please feel free to ignore, of course. Same goes if you'd rather not know about any of this (although I promise it's not doom and gloom).
Okay, so, from what I can tell, raisin toxicity is still pretty poorly understood. No one seems to be very sure exactly what the kidney-damaging process involved is, or how to predict what the effects will be on any given dog. For some dogs, a little bit is a problem (kidney issues can start at 11-30 g of raising/kg of dog, according to the Merck vet manual), but others can eat massive quantities with no ill effects at all.
An important thing to keep in mind here is that there's a big difference between kidney disfunction and kidney failure. That number above is just where disfunction can start, not necessarily where failure does. And disfunction, scary as it might sound, isn't a death sentence; with supportive care, the kidneys can get their act together and be okay, so don't panic.
Unfortunately, it's still a wait-and-see situation overall, though. Sorry.
The good news is, you caught it way ahead of the game. The fact that the vet's even inducing vomiting in the first place indicates to me that this was early enough after he ate the raisins that they feel he hasn't gotten the full dose into his bloodstream. Raisins are funny, too, because while they're more concentrated than grapes, they're also harder to digest and therefore take longer. The fluids themselves might sound especially scary, given how long he should be on them, but really aren't. They're serving a double purpose: both to replace what he's losing through the vomiting and to flush his kidneys out so that they can stay on top of the game. If he does start to show some kidney signs, there are also some drugs that can help keep urine production moving along that they might want to discuss with you, so be prepared.
I know the waiting sucks, but it sounds like he's getting excellent care, and like they're taking all the right steps to be as cautious as they can. I'm so sorry poor Dex is having a rough time, and I'll keep my fingers crossed.
no subject
Okay, so, from what I can tell, raisin toxicity is still pretty poorly understood. No one seems to be very sure exactly what the kidney-damaging process involved is, or how to predict what the effects will be on any given dog. For some dogs, a little bit is a problem (kidney issues can start at 11-30 g of raising/kg of dog, according to the Merck vet manual), but others can eat massive quantities with no ill effects at all.
An important thing to keep in mind here is that there's a big difference between kidney disfunction and kidney failure. That number above is just where disfunction can start, not necessarily where failure does. And disfunction, scary as it might sound, isn't a death sentence; with supportive care, the kidneys can get their act together and be okay, so don't panic.
Unfortunately, it's still a wait-and-see situation overall, though. Sorry.
The good news is, you caught it way ahead of the game. The fact that the vet's even inducing vomiting in the first place indicates to me that this was early enough after he ate the raisins that they feel he hasn't gotten the full dose into his bloodstream. Raisins are funny, too, because while they're more concentrated than grapes, they're also harder to digest and therefore take longer. The fluids themselves might sound especially scary, given how long he should be on them, but really aren't. They're serving a double purpose: both to replace what he's losing through the vomiting and to flush his kidneys out so that they can stay on top of the game. If he does start to show some kidney signs, there are also some drugs that can help keep urine production moving along that they might want to discuss with you, so be prepared.
I know the waiting sucks, but it sounds like he's getting excellent care, and like they're taking all the right steps to be as cautious as they can. I'm so sorry poor Dex is having a rough time, and I'll keep my fingers crossed.
*hugs again*