Food Cautions For Dogs
It’s a myth that dogs can eat anything. Dog owners please do not assume that all human food is safe for your dog. Dogs do not have the same constitution as humans. What this means is that there are foods (safe for human consumption) that can harm or even be downright poisonous for your dog. EconomyDogCare.Com has put together ( for our visitors convenience) this list of over 30 items that your dog shouldn’t eat.
THE COMMON FOODS & THINGS YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR DOG EATING |
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Substances of Concern |
|
Toxic Ingredient |
|
The Reasons Dogs Should Avoid |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
| Alcohol |
|
Alcohol | Substances with alcohol in the effects a dog much the same way alcohol effects a human, unfortunately though dogs have a much lower tolerance. So it takes a much less to cause poisoning. Common household sources of alcohol available to a dog are alcoholic beverages, aftershave, perfume, and rubbing alcohol. Because of the strong smell though, dogs are not usually attracted to these items. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Onions |
|
Sodium 2-propenyl Thiosulfate or Thiosulphate | It doesn’t matter whether a dogs eats them raw, cooked, dehydrated, or powdered onions can damage a the haemoglobin in red blood cells which destroy the spleen and cause haemolyic anaemia. The signs of onion toxicity show up a few days after the onions have been eaten (fever, dark urine, death) | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Garlic |
|
Thiosulfate or Thiosulphate | Garlic also contains the toxic ingredient thiosulphate, but in much lower amounts then found in onions. So it takes much more to harm your dog. In fact some folks add small amounts of garlic to their dogs food for fleas. The problem is that it has no effect on fleas and if you dog develops a taste for garlic they will eat it, if they find it. The signs of garlic toxicity will show up in few days. (fever, dark urine, death) | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Left Over Pizza |
|
Onion / Garlic / Nutritional Value | Left over pizza is bad for dogs because it may contain onions or garlic and it lacks in proper nutritional value for your dog. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Chinese Food Dishes |
|
Onion / Garlic / Nutritional Value | Chinese food dishes is bad for dogs because it may contain onions or garlic and it lacks in proper nutritional value for your dog. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Commercial Baby Food |
|
Onion / Nutritional Value | One of the main problems with feeding human baby food to dogs is that some baby food contains onion powder. Check “Onions” under Items Dog Should Avoid”. Another big reason that you should not feed baby food to a dog is that it’s nutritional content is not designed for a dog. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Cat Food |
|
Too High in Protein and Fats | Cat food is designed for the needs of cats as such it is generally too high in fats and protein for dogs. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Excessive Fat Trimmings (Table Scraps) |
|
Fat/Oil (Too Much) | Dogs cannot decide about what they eat. They eat what and as much as they are given. Too much fat is bad for them in the same way it’s bad for humans. Feedings too many fat trimming or too much fatty meat to your dog may cause an inflammation of the pancreas. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Bones |
|
Bone Slivers | Feeding your dog any bones, but especially fish bones, chicken bones or other poultry bones can result in an laceration or obstruction of their digestive system and a large vet bill. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Xylitol Sugar-Free Sugar-Substitute |
|
Xylitol | Xylitol is a serious and deadly toxin for dogs the effects are rapid that within a little as 30 minutes of consuming even a small amount of something sweetened with Xylitol a dog can experience a dramatic drop in blood sugar. Xylitol causes an insulin release, which leads to hypoglycaemia (lowered sugar levels) and can lead to internal haemorrhaging and liver failure. Symptoms of Xylitol poisoning usually begins vomiting, lethargy, loss of coordination and eventually seizures. Xylitol is found mostly in diabetic candies but can be found in lots of products such as gum, candy, toothpaste, and even some baked goods. At the moment there is no evidence that other artificial sweeteners adversely affects dogs, but keep in mind these substances were developed for humans not dogs. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Sugar Sweets / Candy |
|
Sugar / Calories | Sugar is not to a dog toxin per say, however; a dog does not deal with sugar as well as we do. So feeding a dog too much food with high contents of sugar can burden the dog’s body with the need to produce enough insulin to keep up to too much sugar. Too much sugar can also cause dental problems, in addition the high calorie content of such foods can cause obesity. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Human Vitamins with Iron |
|
Iron | Human iron supplements are meant for humans not does. Human iron supplements can damage the lining of a dogs digestive system and they can also be toxic to the other organs including the liver and kidneys. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Grapes / Raisins |
|
Unknown / Iron / Sugar / Grape Skin | When it comes to grapes and raisins the exact substance that affects a dog is not yet known. Still, dogs ingesting grapes or raisins (for some dogs as few as 6to8) have within 24 hours exhibited signs of kidney failure. Some believe this might be due to a pesticide used on the grapes and some believe it may be due to certain mould spores. The point is the exact reason is unknown. However, there is something about grapes that is known and that is that small dogs have choked on grape skins. Also know is the fact that grapes and raisins contain high amounts of iron and sugar. See “Sugar” and “Vitamins with Iron” under “Substances dogs should avoid”. The seeds may also be a problem (see Fruit Pits). Keep in mind that you may get away with feeding your dog a grape now and then but you may also be gradually making them ill and shortening their life span. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Household Plants |
|
Various | This is brief and incomplete list of poisonous household plants: azalea, geraniums, dieffenbachia (dumb cane), lilies, mistletoe, philodendron, and poinsettia among others. If your dog is chewing on your plants find out if it’s toxic to them. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Macadamia Nuts |
|
Unknown / Maybe Phosphorus / Maybe Mould Spores | Some say it’s the high phosphorus content of Macadamia nuts, some say maybe it’s certain mould spores. It seems that no one has found out for sure, what is in Macadamia nuts that is toxic to dogs, however; it is know that as few as 6 to 8 nuts can be toxic to a dog. Within 12 hours after ingesting Macadamia nuts a dog can develop tremors, weakness, vomiting, and hyperthermia. Also it’s said that nuts with high phosphorus content could possibly lead to bladder stones. I say don’t feed your dog raw or roasted Macadamia nuts. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Walnuts |
|
Unknown / Maybe Phosphorus | Walnuts appear not to be as toxic to dogs as Macadamia nuts. Still some say their high phosphorus content could possibly lead to bladder stones. I say error on the side of safety (as such lower vet bills) and don’t feed your dog raw or roasted walnuts nuts. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Fruit Pips / Fruit Kernels / Fruit Seeds |
|
Cyanogenic Glycosides (cyanide) | Things like pear pits, peach pits, plum pits, apricot pits, cherry pit, apple core kernels and persimmons seeds can not only cause obstruction of the digestive tract, but can cause cyanide poisoning because they contain cyanogenic glycosides. Be safe don’t feed your dog fruit pips and kernels. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Avocado |
|
Persin | Some dogs who live near avocado groves love them and eat a lot of them. Some dog owners say they make their dog coat shine. However, avocado’s can cause more than one issue. One being that the high fat content in avocados can provoke severe stomach problems, vomiting, obesity or even worse, pancreatitis. In short make your dog’s life shinny but short. Two the avocado’s seeds can get lodged in the stomach requiring a vet (bill) to remove them. Three some avocados are more problematic, but in general all parts of an avocado (the fruit, the fruit’s leaves, the seeds and the bark) contain persin which is known to be unfriendly to dogs. The toxic amount of persin is not known, but what is known is what happens to the unlucky dog that gets too much of the toxin. The poisoned dog’s symptoms will include difficulty breathing, abdominal enlargement, and abnormal fluid accumulations in the chest, abdomen and sac around the heart. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Marijuana |
|
Stupidly | Duh! If you are dumb enough to feed your dog Marijuana you don’t deserve a dog. Even if you are just dumb enough to leave the stuff laying around where your dog can get into it. This drug depresses the nervous system, causes vomiting, and changes in the heart rate. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Chocolate |
|
Methylxanthines Caffeine and Theobromine | Chocolate is a big no for dogs. It is a source of toxic methylxanthines caffeine and theobromine. Within 6-12 hours of ingestion methylxanthine intoxication can cause restlessness, hyperactivity, panting, vomiting, diarrhoea, polyuria, polydipsia, ataxia, tremors, lethargy, tachycardia (sometimes bradycardia), cardiac arrhythmia, premature ventricular contractions, seizures, hypertension (sometimes hypotension), hyperthermia, coma and death (generally due to cardiac arrhythmias and/or respiratory failure). |
|||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Caffeinated Beverages / Sleep Prevention Aids, Asthma Medications / Coffee Grounds-Beans / Cocoa Bean Hull Mulches |
|
Methylxanthines Caffeine and Theobromine | There are numerous sources of toxic methylxanthines caffeine and theobromine. They include things like caffeine energy drinks, colas, coffees, teas or garbage substances such coffee grounds, coffee beans, tea bags, sleep prevention aids, asthma medications and cocoa bean hull mulches (sometimes used in landscape bedding). Within 6-12 hours of ingestion methylxanthine intoxication can cause restlessness, hyperactivity, panting,vomiting, diarrhea, polyuria, polydipsia, ataxia, tremors, lethargy, tachycardia (sometimes bradycardia), cardiac arrhythmia, premature ventricular contractions, seizures, hypertension (sometimes hypotension), hyperthermia, coma and death (generally due to cardiac arrhythmias and/or respiratory failure). |
|||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| GREEN Potatoes / Green Potato Skins / Potato Plant Leaves |
|
Glycoalkaloids Solanine | The leaves of the potato plant, green potato tubers, green potato skins, sprouts from potatoes stored too long in light contain glycoalkaloids solanine which is dangerous, not only to dogs but to humans also. Toxic glycoalkaloids solanine is usually in harmless quantities in the edible potato tubers. Toxicity occurs in (both cooked and uncooked) potato tubers that are green, in green potato skins and the sprouts exposed to light. A dog and a human can safely eat peeled cooked potatoes that do not have any green. Potato’s, peelings and sprouts that are destined for a compost heap should be buried to keep them from dogs. Toxic glycoalkaloids solanine effect the digestive, nervous, and urinary systems. Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility. | |||||
| Tobacco |
|
Nicotine | Dogs are usually not attracted to tobacco, but if they eat it, the nicotine in it affects their digestive and nervous systems. This can result in rapid heart beat, collapse, coma, and sometimes even death. Keep your tobacco products out of reach of your puppy. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Raw Yeast Dough |
|
Yeast | If a dog eats raw yeast dough it will expand and cause gas to accumulate in its digestive system. This as you can imagine is painful and can actually cause the dog’s stomach or intestines to rupture. There are also reported cases where dogs eating large amounts of raw yeast dough get alcohol poisoning, because the yeast ferments in their stomach and gives out alcohol. There is a lot less risk with cooked dough when the yeast has fully risen. Still it is not recommended that bread be any more than 5 percent to 10 percent of your dog’s daily caloric intake. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Raw Eggs | Avidin / Salmonella Unconfirmed | There are those who say you shouldn’t feed your dog raw eggs because the egg white contains this enzyme called avidin which lowers the absorption of a B vitamin (biotin) and that raw egg may also contain the salmonella bacteria. And there are those who say a dog’s digestive system can deal with any of the small amounts of salmonella bacteria and that may be found in a raw egg and that there is no proof that raw eggs hurt dogs. So who does a person believe? I believe that seeing as how the known benefits of feeding your dog egg is about the same if the egg is raw or cooked, why risk your dog’s heath on raw eggs. So for a nice shinny dog coat feed your dog cooked eggs and be sure. Also feed them the egg shells also (ground up if you like) because egg shells are an excellent source of calcium. | ||||||
|
|
|
|||||||
| Linear Foreign Body (String) |
|
Not Thinking | They have a fancy name for this (Linear Foreign Body), but is simply means things like string, rope that unravels, ribbons, Christmas tinsel, Easter basket grass, long rubber bands, simple thread or yarn. If you let your dog play with this kind of things and ingest it can cause a gastrointestinal obstruction. An obstruction like this can be life-threatening. Linear foreign body objects can gather-up and shred delicate tissues in a dog’s intestinal tract. Don’t pull on any visible Linear Foreign Body it can cause more damage. Unfortunately, an ingestion such as this, usually requires a vet and sometimes even surgery is required to remove the foreign body. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Medications |
|
Medication | You wouldn’t leave your medications laying around for a child get into. So don’t leave them out where a dog can access them. I would think the hazards of this should be self evident. | |||||
|
|
|
|||||||
| Rhubarb Leaves / Tomato Leaves |
|
Oxalic Acid | Rhubarb is a vegetable and Tomatoes are fruits who knew? Anyway Their leaves contain oxalic acid which can be toxic . Eat enough and these can affect the digestive, nervous, and urinary systems of not only dogs, but also humans and livestock. Don’t let your dog chew on things in the garden. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Tobacco |
|
Nicotine | We all know that tobacco contains drug nicotine. If a puppy or dog chews tobacco and ingests nicotine it can affect it’s digestive and nervous system. If a puppy or a dog gets to much nicotine it can result in rapid heart beat, collapse, coma, and even death. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Salt |
|
Salt | To much salt is not good for humans let alone dogs. In dogs it may lead to electrolyte imbalances. If your dog gets too much salt take them to vet to have them checked. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Garbage |
|
to Many to Mention | Not only can garbage contain all the foods a dog should not eat it can also contain mouldy or spoiled food as such is likely to contain multiple toxins. It can cause the dog to present will various symptoms depending on what was in the garbage eaten. Teach your dog to stay out of the garbage. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Dairy (Milk) |
|
Lactose | In general milks does not harm dogs. However, like some humans there are some adult dogs who are lactose intolerant because they do not have sufficient amounts of the lactase enzyme. This is the enzyme that breaks down lactose in milk and dairy products. Dogs who are lactose intolerant develop diarrhoea when feed milk. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Excess Liver |
|
Vitamin A | You can feed too much of a good thing. Large amounts can cause Vitamin A toxicity, calcium deficiency. This toxicity affects muscles and bones and can cause diarrhoea. | |||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Raw Fish |
|
Parasites / Thiaminase | It’s not only the bones found in raw fish that can cause a dog problem, but some fish like smelt, carp, herring and catfish contain an enzyme called thiaminase that destroys Vitamin B1 (thiamin). Cooking fish not only destroys the parasites that raw fish can contain but it also destroys thiaminase making cooked fish safe for dogs. | |||||
| Antifreeze | Antifreeze |
This seems like a no brainer, but folks still leave antifreeze around where their dogs can get at it. Unfortunately, dogs like both the smell and taste of antifreeze, and it doesn’t take much to kill them. So keep your dog out of the garage or be very about cleaning up spilled antifreeze and about storing antifreeze. | ||||||
THIS LIST IS NOT COMPLETE
– BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU FEED YOUR DOG –
