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Foods That Are Poisonous To Dogs

If you love sharing food with Fido, make sure not to feed him these things–they're poisonous to dogs!

By Emily McCayPublished 7 years ago 4 min read
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When you see those big brown puppy dog eyes looking up at you while you eat dinner, it's so hard to refuse his begging for scraps. Most of the time, tossing your dog a couple of scraps of dinner won't hurt. Human food, on the whole, tends to be alright with canine digestive systems.

However, there are some foods that dogs simply shouldn't have. As much as your dog might whine, don't ever feed him the following foods - they're poisonous to pups!

Xylitol

Xylitol is a common sweetening ingredient found in chewing gum, candy, and diet foods. Though it's totally healthy for people to have, it's extremely toxic to dogs.

Dogs that are fed xylitol experience serious blood pressure drops and liver failure. Common signs of xylitol poisoning in dogs include vomiting, seizures, and sudden lethargy. This can cause liver failure within a matter of days - so make sure they never eat it.

Chocolate

Everyone and their grandma knows that chocolate is toxic to dogs. And much of the reason that it's toxic deal with the theobromine and caffeine found in it. Dogs that chow down on chocolate can have heart attacks, vomiting spells, and tremors.

Chocolate basically mimics the symptoms they'd experience if they died of an overdose on uppers. Even white chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, so chocolate of any sort is never a wise idea.

Alcohol

It may seem like it's cute to let your dog drink beer or vodka, but alcohol is really toxic to dogs. Alcohol has the same effect on dogs as it does on people. However, dogs are also a lot smaller than humans and have weaker livers.

As a result, dogs that get their paws on alcohol are much more likely to get alcohol poisoning or liver failure as a result of their alcohol exposure. So, don't let your dog become your drinking buddy - even if Spuds Mackenzie made it seem cool.

Onions and Garlic

If you accidentally drop some onion slices on the floor while whipping up dinner, pick them up immediately and toss them out. You don't want your dog eating onions or garlic; these two veggies can kill canine blood cells.

Dogs that have eaten garlic or onions tend to vomit, look weak, or have difficulty breathing. Should you suspect onion poisoning in your pooch, take him to a vet immediately.

Grapes

Grapes and raisins may be healthy for people, but for dogs, they can be a death sentence. Compounds found within grapes cause kidney failure in dogs - and only a single grape can be enough to poison a puppy.

Grape poisoning in dogs is extremely dangerous, and needs to be taken care of immediately. The trademark early symptom that lets you know your dog ate grapes is repeated vomiting and dry heaving.

Macadamia Nuts

Don't ask why, but Macadamia Nuts are just terrible for dogs. Vets warn that dogs that have as little as six nuts can die from the toxic reactions they'll get.

Dogs that eat these nuts tend to get tremors, weakness in their back legs, and may also have trouble keeping food down. If a dog also eats chocolate in the same sitting, it's an almost guaranteed death.

Yeast Dough

When yeast is exposed to heat, it makes dough rise. Dogs that eat raw dough may end up having the dough expand in their stomachs - which in turn could cause a lot of pain and discomfort.

That alone doesn't seem bad, but it's what happens after the dog digests the dough that makes it poisonous. When yeast ferments the dough to make the dough rise, it also creates a form of alcohol.

So, dogs that eat yeast dough may end up also getting alcohol poisoning as well.

Corn On The Cob

Corn, in and of itself, isn't technically toxic. Corn meal is actually put in a lot of dog food brands. However, the problem comes when the corn is on the cob. The large particles of corn tend to get lodged in the dog's small intestines. The more corn on the cob they eat, the more particles get stuck in there... until their small intestines are totally blocked.

What's really insidious about corn poisoning is that it will not typically have any symptoms that are visible until it's too late.

Salt

Just like humans can get sick from eating too much salty food, dogs can experience sodium poisoning, too. Though a little bit of salt won't hurt your pup, you do have to be careful with what you feed him. Feeding dogs potato chips and other super-salty foods can cause dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.

If you notice that your dog seems unusually thirsty or if he has diarrhea, you might want to cut down his salt intake.

A good rule of thumb is to keep human food away from dogs.

The best way to ensure that what you're giving your dog is safe is to give him dog food. That way, you don't have to worry about your dog's health from an innocent treat.

vetdog
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About the Creator

Emily McCay

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