Grape & Raisin Emergency Guide
There is no safe amount of grapes or raisins for a dog. Here is exactly what to do.
Do these four things
- Call now — your vet, an emergency clinic, or a poison helpline. Tell them the fruit (grapes, raisins, currants, sultanas — or food containing them, like trail mix, fruit cake or hot cross buns), roughly how much, when it happened, and your dog’s weight.
- Do not induce vomiting unless the vet tells you to. If they do advise it, it works best within the first 2 hours.
- Save the evidence — keep the packaging or a photo of what was eaten, and note anything your dog vomits up.
- Watch for 72 hours, even if your dog looks fine: vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, loss of appetite, drinking or urinating much more — or much less. Any of these means emergency vet immediately.
Why there is no “safe amount” calculator here
For chocolate or xylitol, toxicity scales with dose, so a calculator can estimate risk. Grapes and raisins do not work that way. In ASPCA Animal Poison Control case data, the lowest documented toxic dose was 0.32–0.65 oz/kg — yet reviews of the same case data found no consistent dose–response relationship: some dogs developed kidney failure after surprisingly small amounts, others ate much more with no effect, and no test can show in advance which dog is sensitive. Any tool that tells you an amount of grapes is “safe” would be making it up — so this page will not do that, at any number.
Raisins are the same fruit with the water removed, so ounce for ounce they carry several times as much of it; poisonings have been reported at around 0.1 oz/kg of raisins.
The optional comparison below shows how an amount stacks up against the documented cases — as context only. The advice above does not change with the number.
Rough conversions: one grape ≈ 0.18 oz (5 g); a small handful of grapes ≈ 1 oz; one raisin ≈ 0.04 oz (1 g); a small snack box of raisins is about 1.5 oz.
Sources — this page follows these references:
How to use
- Call your vet or a poison helpline first — before anything else on this page.
- Tell them the fruit, the rough amount, when it happened, and your dog’s weight.
- Follow their decontamination advice, then watch your dog closely for 72 hours.
About this tool
Grapes, raisins, currants and sultanas — including in trail mix, fruit cake and hot cross buns — can cause acute kidney failure in dogs. The toxic principle went unidentified for decades (recent research points to tartaric acid), and sensitivity varies wildly between individual dogs.
That unpredictability is exactly why this page is an emergency guide instead of a dose calculator: reviews of ASPCA Animal Poison Control case data found no consistent dose–response relationship, so Eaoae does not publish a “safe amount” — there isn’t one. Our checker verdict for grapes and raisins is UNSAFE for dogs, held to three independent sources.
Nothing here collects data: the optional comparison runs in your browser only.
FAQ
My dog ate one grape. Is that an emergency?
Treat it as one. A single grape is about 0.18 oz — for a small dog that is already inside the documented toxic range per kg, and case reviews show individual dogs can react to amounts that leave other dogs untouched. Call your vet or a poison helpline and let them decide — that call is the treatment decision, not a formality.
How long until symptoms appear?
Vomiting often starts within 2 hours; diarrhea and lethargy can follow within 5–6 hours. Kidney failure signs may take 24 hours to several days — a dog that looks normal tonight is not out of danger.
Are raisins worse than grapes?
Ounce for ounce, yes — raisins are grapes with the water removed, so the same weight carries several times as much fruit. Poisonings have been reported at around 0.1 oz/kg of raisins. Both are treated as emergencies at any amount.
What about grape juice, wine, or grape-seed extract?
Grape-seed extract is not considered a threat (ASPCA). Grape juice and wine contain the fruit itself — treat them as a grape ingestion and call your vet; wine adds alcohol poisoning on top.
What will the vet do?
Typically: induce vomiting if it is early, give activated charcoal, then IV fluids for about 48 hours while monitoring kidney values for at least 72 hours. Early treatment is the difference between a scare and kidney failure.
Can cats eat grapes?
Confirmed cases are in dogs; whether other species are affected is unknown (ASPCA). Keep grapes and raisins away from all pets, and call your vet if any pet eats them.
