10 Foods Your Dog Should Never Eat

10 foods your dog should never eat

As a person, you know what foods are good for your health. Yet, you have to admit that you don't always go with the nutritional flow. Usually, you're enjoying a bag of Doritos until you realize you haven't exactly followed the diet you decided on your New Year's Resolution.

But the thing is, you have a choice. You can choose what to eat and what not to eat. You even have a choice of place and time of feeding.

Your dog, though, not so much. As the owner, it's up to you to decide whether or not he eats certain things. You might think to give the dog foods that you -- and other humans in your family -- eat, like avocado. And that choice would be costly, as we will see shortly.

Since you're responsible for his nutrition, you need to make sure you feed him only healthy food. But how do you tell if a food choice is terrible? How do you avoid giving your dog junk food? Here are ten foods your dog shouldn't ever eat:

#1- Avocado

Let's begin with the food choice we mentioned earlier; avocado. Under normal circumstances, avocados are a healthy food choice. Right? Right! However, that's only for another human. For a dog, avocados are dangerous. They contain a substance called persin. Persin is fine for people who don't have allergic reactions to it. But for a dog, too much can cause diarrhea. Your dog could also start vomiting if he ingests a lot. So if you have avocado plants at home, get your dog as far away from the plants as possible. Also, note that persin is not just in the fruit; you can find persin in the leaves, bark, and even the avocado seed.

Speaking of the seed, feeding your dog avocado could also cause the kernel to get stuck in his intestines, which could be fatal.

#2- Chocolate

At this point, you're probably noticing a trend. Almost all the food items we mention here may be standard food choices for humans. Yet, they aren't safe for dogs. In the case of chocolates, they contain methylxanthines. Methylxanthine is an ingredient found in coffee beans, tea leaves, cocoa powder, cacao nibs, chocolate chips, and many more products. Research links them to heart disease, kidney damage, seizures, and death in dogs. If you want to keep your dog happy, stay away from these types of treats.

#3- Yeast Dough

When your dog eats this food item raw, the yeast can rise and ferment in his stomach. This fermentation process could cause alcohol poisoning. On top of that, the rising could stretch your young dog's stomach to such an extent that he begins to feel a lot of pain. The best way to prevent this problem is by cooking the food before serving it to your pet.

4- Raw Meat

Raw meats pose a risk to your dog because bacteria can increase when exposed to air. When your dog consumes any meat, the chances are that some of those germs could enter your pet's system. And once inside, the germs could multiply rapidly, causing illness. To protect yourself against this possibility, cook your dog's meals thoroughly.

#5- Xylitol

Xylitol is a sugar substitute used in chewing gum, candy bars, baked goods, toothpaste, mouthwash, and diet supplements. Research links xylitol to liver failure in dogs because the substance causes blood sugar levels to drop. In the beginning, your dog will experience symptoms like vomiting, issues with coordination, and lethargy. With time, these symptoms develop into seizures. And then liver failure occurs in a few days.

#6- Alcohol

In both dogs and humans, research links alcohol to several liver and brain problems. Alcohol affects behavior, memory, and the ability to think clearly. Dogs are especially vulnerable to its effects since they metabolize alcohol differently than us. Because of this difference, drinking even a tiny amount of alcohol can cause your dog to vomit, experience coordination problems, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, coma, and even death. And if you have a smaller dog, the experience is even worse.

#7- Macadamia Nuts

Macadamia nuts are so dangerous that even feeding your dog foods with the nuts inside can make him sick. All you need is to provide your dog with about seven raw or roasted nuts, and that's it. Some symptoms include vomiting, weakness in the hind legs, and rising temperature. You could sometimes see muscle shakes. And since we've already seen the dangers of feeding your dog with chocolate, imagine how worse off your pet will be if the chocolate contains macadamia nuts.

#8- Milk

You might feel tempted to give your dog a piece of your ice cream on a hot day. But don't! It's not just the calories that are bad; milk also has lactose, which makes your dog ill. Lactose intolerance means that your dog cannot digest dairy products properly. So, instead of giving your dog milk, cool him off with some cold water. Also, avoid giving your dog cheese, butter, sour cream, cottage cheese, kefir, and other similar dairy products.

#9- Salt

Chips. Pretzels. Never assume it's a good idea to feed your dog such salty foods. A diet with a lot of salt makes your dog extremely thirsty. The thirst causes your dog to take a lot of trips to get hydrated, which could cause sodium ion poisoning. Too much salt can show symptoms like depression, seizures, diarrhea, and vomiting. Your dog can even die.

#10- Grapes and Raisins

So many foods contain raisins. Cakes, cookies, muffins, bread, cereals, candies, jams, jellies, juices, sauces, soups, teas, and more all contain them. Even though grapes and raisins aren't harmful to people, they're still toxic for pets. If your dog eats too many grapes or raisins, he'll suffer from kidney damage. However, the problem with this food item is that scientists still don't know the toxin responsible for kidney failure.

Conclusion: What Do You Do When Your Dog Eats Any Of These Foods

Regardless of your attempts to keep your dog away from these ten food items, don't be surprised when you find out that your dog has ingested at least one of these food items.

In that case, take your dog to the vet immediately. Unless you're a vet, your attempts at treating your dog might only worsen the situation. So don't dawdle.

And as you take time to care for your dog, remember that there are plenty of healthy alternatives.