If you’re a sucker for a dog’s raised eyebrows, you may have a hard time not slipping your canine something from your plate. Dogs can also swipe food lying out on a table or counter. They don’t know what’s bad for them. But we do.
Keep your dogs safe by not feeding them these food items. Some people say their dogs eat them with no problem, but it’s better to be safe than have an emergency. Note that most of these foods are also toxic to cats plus milk, listed at the end.
- Chocolate: Contains theobromine and caffeine, which dogs and cats cannot metabolize efficiently. This leads to vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, seizures, and heart failure. Note that milk chocolate is not as concerning as pure dark chocolate or baker’s chocolate, which are more potent per ounce. It becomes toxic at 0.5 to 1 ounce of milk chocolate per pound of a dog’s body weight; small dogs are at higher risk.
- Grapes and raisins: Cause acute kidney failure, though the exact toxin is still being studied. Even small amounts can be fatal.
- Onions, garlic, chives and leeks: These Allium plants destroy red blood cells and lead to dangerous anemia. They’re toxic raw, cooked or powdered.
- Xylitol: Found in sugar-free gum, candy and some peanut butter. It triggers a rapid insulin surge, causing severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and liver failure.
- Alcohol: Dogs and cats cannot process ethanol. Ingestion leads to central nervous system depression, vomiting, coma and even death.
- Macadamia nuts, almonds and cashews: Cause weakness, tremors, hyperthermia and temporary paralysis in the hind legs.
- Avocado: Contains persin, which causes vomiting and diarrhea. The large pit is also an intestinal obstruction hazard.
- Yeast dough: Expands in the warm stomach, causing painful gas (bloat) and producing ethanol through fermentation.
- Cooked bones: Splinter easily and puncture the digestive tract or cause fatal blockages.
- Note that milk and dairy products are OK for kittens, who produce lactase (the enzyme needed to digest milk) while nursing, but they stop producing it as they mature. Dairy is not good for adult cats, who are lactose intolerant and will suffer from severe diarrhea and vomiting.
If your dog or cat just ate something harmful, call the ASPCA Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. You can also buy activated charcoal to put in your pet emergency kit. Activated charcoal, in a paste, powder or liquid suspension, is used to help manage poison ingestion in dogs and cats at veterinary hospitals. Charcoal binds poisons in the stomach and intestinal tract, preventing the body from absorbing them. Some activated charcoal products may also contain kaolin, which also binds poisons.
