Makgeolli (Korean rice wine)
ToxicMakgeolli is sweet and milky, so dogs drink it without hesitation. One bowl of 6% makgeolli gives an 11 lb dog the same alcohol per kilogram as an adult drinking close to two bottles of wine. Unpasteurized bottles keep fermenting in the stomach.
This food guide has not been reviewed by a veterinarian. It summarises general information from sources and should not be used to decide whether a food is suitable for an individual dog or to assess an emergency.
Check before feeding
Do not offer as a treat
There is no recommended treat portion for this hazardous item. If swallowed, contact a vet with the amount, time and product details. Do not induce vomiting yourself.
Signs and health concerns
This list includes both observable signs and conditions identified through examination or testing. It cannot establish the cause or whether an exposure is safe.
- Vomiting
- Poor coordination or balance
- Disorientation
- Lethargy
- Low body temperature
- Low blood sugar
- Abdominal swelling
- Retching without bringing anything up
- Slow heartbeat
- Reduced breathing
- Seizures
More about this food
Makgeolli is dangerous not because it is strong but because dogs will happily drink it. Soju and whiskey drive a dog off by smell alone; makgeolli is sweet, opaque and slightly sour, and it reads to a dog like milk. It is also served badly from a dog's point of view - poured into open bowls set on low tables, on picnic mats, at outdoor gatherings, and on ancestral rite tables at floor height.
Run the numbers. At 6% ABV, makgeolli holds about 0.047 g of alcohol per mL. A typical bowl of 200 mL is roughly 9.5 g, which for an 11 lb (5 kg) dog is 1.9 g/kg. A 750 mL bottle is about 35 g, or 7 g/kg for that same dog - squarely inside the 5.5 to 7.9 g/kg oral lethal range for 100% ethanol commonly cited in veterinary toxicology.
Merck describes ethanol as rapidly absorbed, with signs starting within 30 to 60 minutes and peak plasma levels at 1.5 to 2 hours. Expect ataxia, disorientation, vomiting and lethargy first, progressing to hypoglycemia, hypothermia, metabolic acidosis, bradycardia, respiratory depression, seizures and coma.
Unpasteurized makgeolli - the refrigerated kind with a vented cap that keeps working in the bottle - adds a second problem. The yeast is still alive. Merck's account of bread dough toxicosis describes yeast fermentation continuing to produce ethanol in the stomach along with gas distention, unproductive retching and lethargy. The same route is open here, so a dog can end up more intoxicated, for longer, than the volume swallowed would predict.
Check what was next to the bowl. Makgeolli is nearly always served with pajeon or buchujeon - scallion and garlic-chive pancakes - and alliums are toxic to dogs in their own right. If the drink and the food both disappeared, report both. The aspartame used as a sweetener in many commercial bottles, by contrast, does not cause the hypoglycemia or liver injury that xylitol does; alcohol is the thing to worry about.
Estimate the volume from what is left in the bowl, note the ABV and the time, and call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 now. Do not induce vomiting. Wrap your dog to hold body temperature, and do not let him sleep it off.
Frequently asked questions
- My dog drank from a makgeolli bowl at a family gathering.
- How much matters. At 6% ABV, even 100 mL gives an 11 lb dog close to 1 g/kg of alcohol. Estimate the missing volume, note the time, and call your vet. Wobbliness, lethargy or a cold body means go now.
- Does the unpasteurized kind matter?
- Yes. Live yeast keeps fermenting in the stomach, producing more ethanol and gas after the drink is swallowed. Your dog may get drunker and stay drunk longer than the volume suggests, and the gas can cause retching and a distended belly.
- He is asleep now. Can I let him rest?
- No. Alcohol toxicosis progresses to hypoglycemia, hypothermia and respiratory depression, and it does that while the dog sleeps. Keep him warm and get to a veterinarian now. Sleeping it off is not monitoring.