13 Toxic Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Dog
March is Pet Poison Prevention Month. I’ve put together today’s video to help parents recognize and protect their animals from accidental poisoning from substances including plants, human foods, human medications, and more. The ASPCA has many resources for pet parents to learn more about poison prevention, including a list of plants and household goods that are toxic to pets.
There are many foods that can be fatal to dogs when eaten in large quantities. I know it’s hard to resist your dogs begging, but sometimes it’s a must for their health. Not just when it comes to weight monitoring, but also for avoiding foods that can be poisonous to our pets.
There are a ton of plants that can be fatal to pets, including Aloe, Ambrosia Mexicana, Aluminum Plant, Apple, and Apricot. As the weather gets warmer I am making plans to purchase plants to decorate my balcony and home. We had an unexpected winter storm and I was unable to bring my plants inside for safety and most of them didn’t survive, SO I’m doing research on new plants I can buy for my home that will be safe for Maxx, Roxxi, and Sisi. Check out my video on safe houseplants for animals.
We’ve all learned that our buddies can’t eat everything on our plates. Here are 13 foods that you should avoid feeding your dogs.
Xylitol
Xylitol is used as a sweetener in many products, including gum, candy, baked goods, and toothpaste. It can cause insulin release in most species, which can lead to liver failure. The increase in insulin leads to hypoglycemia (lowered sugar levels). Initial signs of ingestion of a toxic chemical include vomiting, lethargy, and loss of coordination.
Alcohol
Alcoholic beverages and food products containing alcohol can cause upset stomach, central nervous system depression, difficulty breathing, tremors, abnormal blood acidity, coma, and even death. Under no circumstances should your pet be given any alcohol.
Avocado
Avocado is primarily a problem for birds, rabbits, donkeys, horses, and ruminants including sheep and goats. The biggest concern is of cardiovascular damage and death in birds and rabbits. Horses, donkeys, and ruminants frequently get swollen, edematous head and neck.
Be careful when giving your dog avocado because of the high-fat percentage. They shouldn’t have too much of it.
Chocolate, Coffee and Caffeine
These products all contain substances called methylxanthines, which are found in cacao seeds, the fruit of the plant used to make coffee, and in the nuts of an extract used in some sodas. Note that darker chocolate is more dangerous than milk chocolate. White chocolate has the lowest level of this chemical and baking chocolate contains the highest.
Citrus
Small doses, such as eating the fruit, are not likely to present problems beyond minor stomach upset. You want to make sure your dog isn’t ingesting the stems, leaves, peels, or seeds of citrus plants. Citric acid, essential oils that can cause irritation and possibly even central nervous system depression if ingested in significant amounts.
Coconut and Coconut Oil
When ingested in small amounts, coconut and coconut-based products are not likely to cause serious harm to your pet, however, the flesh and milk of fresh coconuts contain oils that may cause stomach upset, loose stools, or diarrhea, so use caution when offering your pets these foods. Coconut water is high in potassium and should never be given to your pet.
Grapes and Raisins
Although the toxic substance within grapes and raisins is unknown, these fruits can cause kidney failure.
Milk and Dairy
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 diarrhea or other digestive upset. But everyone is allergic to dairy in one way or another. My dogs have had cheese from time to time with no issues.
Nuts
Nuts, including almonds, pecans, and walnuts, contain high amounts of oils and fats. The fats can cause vomiting and diarrhea, and potentially pancreatitis in pets. Macadamia nuts can cause weakness, depression, vomiting, tremors, and hyperthermia in dogs.
Onions, Garlic, Chives
These vegetables and herbs can cause gastrointestinal irritation and could lead to red blood cell damage and anemia.
Raw/Undercooked Meat, Eggs and Bones
Raw meat and raw eggs can contain bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli that can be harmful to animals and humans. Raw eggs contain an enzyme called avidin that decreases the absorption of biotin (a B vitamin), which can lead to skin and coat problems. Feeding your pet raw bones may seem like a natural and healthy option that might occur if your pet lived in the wild. However, this can be very dangerous for a domestic pet, who might choke on bones, or sustain a grave injury if it becomes lodged in or punctures your pet’s digestive tract.
Salt and Salty Snack Foods
Large amounts of salt can produce excessive thirst and urination, or even sodium ion poisoning in pets.
Yeast Dough
Yeast dough can rise and cause gas to accumulate in your pet’s digestive system. This can be painful and can cause the stomach to bloat, and potentially twist, becoming a life-threatening emergency. The yeast produce ethanol as a by-product and a dog ingesting raw bread dough can become drunk, and alcohol is poisonous to dogs.
I know this list was long, and my dogs have ingested multiple things on this list throughout the years with no issues. From what I saw and from my experience with Maxx and Roxxi, most of these foods are probably most dangerous when consumed in large quantities. Of course, every dog is different so take precautions when introducing your animals to new foods and be aware of what they consume. After adopting Sisi I discovered that she had pancreatitis and there’s no telling what it developed from. She’s notorious for eating any and everything.
As always, I hope you found this blog post helpful!
Karyn, Maxx’s Mom
