Can Dogs Eat Rhubarb? (Yes or No?)

No: rhubarb is toxic to dogs and belongs to the foods dogs should not eat. Both stalks and leaves contain oxalic acid, which can damage the kidneys. Rhubarb leaves have a particularly high oxalic acid content and are especially dangerous.

Why Rhubarb Is Toxic

Oxalic acid binds calcium in the body and forms calcium oxalate crystals. These deposit in the kidneys and can seriously damage kidney function. In larger quantities, kidney failure is a real risk.

Symptoms of rhubarb poisoning:

• Drooling, vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Weakness, trembling
• Difficulty breathing
• Dilated pupils
• In severe cases: kidney failure

Symptoms can appear within a few hours after ingestion.

What to Do If Your Dog Ate Rhubarb

Contact your vet or animal poison control immediately, even if no symptoms are visible yet. Learn more in our article on poisoning in dogs. Note the amount consumed and time of ingestion. Do not wait.

Rhubarb plants in the garden are particularly risky in spring: keep dogs away from the bed.

Dangerous Amounts

Rhubarb stalks contain 460 to 650 mg oxalic acid per 100 g, rhubarb leaves 600 to 1,200 mg per 100 g. From approximately 5 g of leaves per kg body weight, the first poisoning symptoms can occur. For a 10 kg dog, that would be just 50 g of leaves, roughly one small leaf.

Oxalic acid binds calcium in the blood and lowers calcium levels (hypocalcemia). The calcium oxalate crystals formed can clog the kidney tubules and lead to acute kidney failure within 24 to 72 hours.

When calling the vet, state: estimated amount (stalks or leaves), time of ingestion, and whether the dog is already vomiting. The vet can treat with activated charcoal, IV fluids and calcium supplementation.

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