What Never To Give Your Dog To Eat! Why Not? What To Do?
Human food often contains ingredients that are toxic to dogs.
We all love our four-legged family members so much and it’s so tempting to just give them a little piece of our delicious food or snacks, but it can be devastating for them. It’s easy and very, very tempting to give them scraps from your dinner table, or even bring them a “doggy bag”. But if you don’t know exactly what’s in the restaurant leftovers you brought home, you could unknowingly hurt your begging cutie by feeding them a spoonful.
A dog’s digestive system is different from a human’s
Typical human food is much too rich and fatty for a dog to properly digest and many processed foods also contain artificial sweeteners, such as xylitol, which are extremely harmful to pets. Many human foods also contain an unhealthy amount of sodium for dogs.
Eating it can lead to vomiting, diarrhoea and even more severe conditions like pancreatitis and even death.
So we have made a list of what NOT to feed them, why, and a little conclusion of what to do if they decide to take a bite of the treats themselves, or we give it to them by mistake 😉
Chocolate
Just half a plate of chocolate can be deadly, depending on how big your dog is.
Chocolate contains the substance theobromine, which can be very dangerous for dogs. And the higher the cocoa content, the darker the chocolate is, the more toxic it is.
The main signs of chocolate poisoning are vomiting, diarrhoea and severe restlessness.
Tea and coffee
Like chocolate, tea and coffee also contain theobromine, a substance that can be deadly to animals. Caffeine will also make your furry friend’s heart beat faster, which can trigger a heart attack.
Nuts
Just six nuts can be deadly to your dog, whether raw or roasted, so be sure to keep them away from your doggie. Some of the possible signs of nut poisoning are tremors, muscle aches and palpitations. In particular, you should beware of macadamia nuts, which are the most dangerous.
Dairy products
Some animals cannot tolerate lactose (milk sugar) and may become ill if given dairy products. This is because pets do not possess significant amounts of lactase (the enzyme that breaks down lactose in milk), milk and other dairy-based products cause them diarrhoea or other digestive upset.
Peaches, plums and apricots
It is not the flesh of these fruits that is toxic to animals, but the stone. Animals are at risk of suffocation or obstruction of the intestines. Apricot stones also contain the toxin cyanide. So if you are giving fruit to your pet, be sure to peel the stone out.
Bread dough, and yeast.
It is safe for your dog to eat baked bread, but bread dough is another matter. The yeast mixture can trigger a catastrophic chemical reaction in your pet’s stomach, causing the dough to rise in the dog’s stomach and cause it to become dilated. Yeast can ferment, rise and make alcohol which can lead to alcohol poisoning.
Grapes and raisins
Just a bunch of grapes can be deadly for a dog of about 10 kilos.
These types of fruits can be very toxic to dogs, whether they are fresh or dried. If your doggy has eaten grapes, the symptoms of poisoning can be vomiting, nausea and in some cases acute kidney failure.
Onions and garlic (- garlic bread?)
Onions contain disulfides and thiosulfates, which are very dangerous for several kinds of pets (cats, dogs and ferrets in particular). These substances can break down the red blood cells and trigger hemolytic anaemia in animals. This applies to all types of onions, and whether they are raw or cooked, or even added in garlic bread.
Raw eggs
Egg whites contain avidin, a protein that blocks your pet’s ability to absorb B vitamins/biotin. But the egg yolk has a lot of Biotin, so that compensates if you give your dog a full egg.
If your pooch only gets raw eggs whites, it can trigger hair loss and skin problems or even nerve and muscle problems in the long run. In addition, raw eggs can be infected with salmonella bacteria, which are just as dangerous to animals as to humans.
Alcohol
No responsible pet owner would dream of deliberately giving their animals alcohol. But take extra care that your animal does not accidentally lick drops up from the floor. Alcohol poisoning in dogs has the same symptoms as in humans: dizziness, vomiting and, in the worst case, coma.
Xylitol
Xylitol is used as a sugar substitute in a multitude of products that we use every day (chewing gum, candy, ketchup, toothpaste, etc.). But while it is harmless to humans, it can be deadly dangerous for your pet, especially dogs that tend to eat everything they find eatable. Xylitol can cause low blood sugar in our four-legged friends between half an hour and up to 12 hours after eating it.
Raw potatoes
Raw, sprouting or green potatoes can have large amounts of toxins due to their content of the so-called alkaloids. These are molecules that are found in all parts of the plant – leaves, sprouts, flowers and the potatoes themselves.
About 12 hours after your dog has eaten raw potatoes, it can cause problems in the nervous, respiratory and digestive systems. (Note that it’s only the RAW potatoes that can be dangerous, not the cooked/boiled ones)
Fat/Grease
Avoid giving your pet high-fat foods such as very fatty cheeses, fatty meats, or the fat that you cut off your steak. All with moderation though 🙂
Too much fat can cause inflammation of the pancreas, which is very painful for our four-legged beloved friends.
Mushrooms (wild, in nature)
Your dog may well eat mushrooms that are sold in the supermarket and are safe to eat for humans. These are the wild mushrooms you need to take care of, especially if you often walk your dog in wooded areas. For example, certain toxins can permanently destroy cells in the kidneys or liver. So since it is often difficult to tell the difference between edible and poisonous mushrooms, it is best to completely keep your dog from eating wild mushrooms.
Sugar
It can be tempting to give your pet a sweet treat as a reward for behaving nicely. But hold on! Diabetes can not just make the animal overweight or even give it diabetes. The latter can, among other things, lead to blindness in the long term.
Bones
Don’t give your dog the wrong kind of bones. Poultry bones and pork bones and especially pork rib bones, are high in fat. Dogs aren’t built to handle this amount of saturated fat and can suffer from pancreatitis.
Also, avoid giving your dog cooked bones of any kind. They splinter into shards that can cause choking and serious damage to the dog’s mouth, throat, or intestines. Cooking can also remove nutrients from the bone
And lastly, Don’t let your dog chew any kind of bone into small pieces. Bone fragments can easily get stock in your dog’s throat, blocking the airways, and creating an emergency situation. Also, these chunks are often extremely sharp and can puncture and cut the inside of your dog’s mouth, tongue, stomach, and intestines. Bone fragments, especially rib bones and chicken bones, can also lodge in the descending colon near the rectum causing constipation like symptoms and pain.
Watch for these common signs:
Reduced appetite
Vomiting and diarrhoea
Salivation
Bloody stools
Drowsiness, swaying, nausea
Low-grade fever
Hiding and/or whimpering
Stomach cramping and pain
Hepatic impairment
Seizures and paralysis
Quite often the signs of food poisoning tend to come on quickly and unexpectedly, which can be very scary. You should call your vet right away to determine your next steps. The vet may want to test your pet to ensure it doesn’t need antibiotics or a fluid IV.
Thankfully, in most cases, dogs, cats and other pets that experience food poisoning will recover completely. However, they will need to be monitored while showing symptoms, since continuous vomiting and diarrhoea can cause dehydration. And do make sure your pet has access to plenty of water to rehydrate itself as its body attempts to purge the bacteria.
Hopefully, your beloved pet will never experience any of this, and at least you and the vet can do something to prevent and cure it.
