--- title: Dogs: Gum Sweetener Could be Dangerous for Puppies description: A common sweetener in chewing gum could be lethal when ingested by dogs, the Food and Drug Administration warned this week canonical: https://time.com/4329977/dog-disease-sweetner-fda/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-13T21:31:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:32:49.957Z article:section: Science og:title: Don't Let Your Dog Get to Your Chewing Gum og:description: A common sweetener could be lethal og:url: https://time.com/4329977/dog-disease-sweetner-fda/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Don't Let Your Dog Get to Your Chewing Gum twitter:description: A common sweetener could be lethal twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Don't Let Your Dog Get to Your Chewing Gum  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent May 13, 2016 9:31 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent May 13, 2016 9:31 PM UTC A common sweetener in chewing gum could be lethal when ingested by dogs, the Food and Drug Administration [warned](http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm499988.htm) this week. Xylitol, a type of sweetener known as a sugar alcohol, is harmless to humans but triggers the release of insulin and the rapid drop in a dog’s blood sugar levels. The occurrence in dogs can lead to weakness, staggered walking, collapse and even death. The FDA warned dog owners that the sweetener can also be found in some baked goods, breath mints and other household products. The FDA’s report comes as the number of calls related to xylitol appear to be on the rise. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ poison control center has reported a sharp increase in xylitol calls in recent years, from 82 in 2004 to more than 3,700 in 2015, [CBS News](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sweetener-xylitol-in-some-sugarless-gums-can-kill-dogs/) reports. The jump follows the increased prevalence of xylitol in consumer products. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4329977/dog-disease-sweetner-fda/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4329977/dog-disease-sweetner-fda/"},"headline":"Don't Let Your Dog Get to Your Chewing Gum","datePublished":"2016-05-13T21:31:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:32:49.957Z","description":"A common sweetener could be lethal","url":"https://time.com/4329977/dog-disease-sweetner-fda/","keywords":["animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4329977/dog-disease-sweetner-fda/","name":"Don't Let Your Dog Get to Your Chewing Gum"}}]}] ```