Did you know that there is food that is toxic for dogs? While some foods might be safe to eat for humans, they can be very harmful to animals! Keep these 10 foods far away from dog so they can live long happy healthy lives.
Toxic Food For Dogs
It's difficult to resist your dog when he's longingly staring at you with big, damp eyes and pleading for a bite of that delicious piece of turkey that's on your plate. Many pet owners are probably aware of the fact that secretly stuffing your dog with food underneath the table isn't really the way to go, but the reasons behind this extend way beyond gradually fattening him. Several common ingredients in our daily diet can be extremely toxic to our canine friends, and some of them may even surprise you.
Keep These 10 Foods Away From Your Dog | Toxic Food For Dogs
1. Onions and Garlic
Nothing says “common ingredient” like onion or garlic. Although they are common ingredients in our meals, they can prove pretty perilous for our pooch. Regardless of what shape they're found in; solid, raw, cooked, or powdered; onions and garlic poses a great threat for anemia because they destroy the dog's red cells.
Symptoms: weakness, vomiting, lack of appetite, heavy breathing
2. Chocolate
Chocolate is the declared enemy of dogs, with pretty much almost every pet owner being aware of the damaging effects it can have on their mutt's health. What humans love so much can cause, in the case of dogs, diarrhea, seizures, or even death.
Chocolate contains a component called theobromine, which is what poses the actual risk. Dogs metabolize theobromine extremely slowly and have a hard time breaking it down. By the time that a dog's body can process and break it down, it has often already caused a lot of damage and even death.
—Source: My Dog Ate Chocolate, will he be ok?
Essentially all types of chocolate are harmful, but as a general rule, the darker the chocolate, the more dangerous. An accidental ounce of milk or white chocolate may not necessarily pose a dire threat.
Symptoms: vomiting, irritation, pain in the abdomen, increased heart rate
3. Xylitol Foods
This one is all the more dangerous as it's the substance that does all the damage rather than a singular ailment. Xylitol is found as a sugar-replacement sweetener in toothpaste and a variety of goods, including candy, chewing gum, and several diet products. Exposing your dog to the consumption of a xylitol-injected food can result in accelerated insulin circulation through his body, which can ultimately lead to liver failure.
Symptoms: lethargy, vomiting, lack of coordination, seizures
4. Grapes and Raisins
Although the reason behind it is still unknown, grapes and raisins are major sources of toxicity for your dog. If your pooch consumes any, even if in small quantities, you're exposing them to the risk of kidney failure. Grape poisoning can be detected in your pet roughly 24 hours after the digestion of the fruit, through repeated vomiting. In this case, action must be taken immediately. Otherwise, the situation is going to get serious.
Symptoms: vomiting, dullness, lethargy
5. Alcohol
Let's set aside the fact that giving your dog alcohol sounds like a terrible idea regardless of the situation. Yes, it's as bad as you think it is. Alcohol can be a highly damaging thing even for humans, let alone for dogs. Its consumption can cause similar effects as it does for us, with the appearance of some common symptoms such as coordination issues, vomiting, or diarrhea.
However, dogs are definitely even more affected by it, as alcohol ingestion can lead to him falling in a coma or worse, dying. The alcohol damage in a dog is directly proportional to its size. So the smaller your dog is, the more careful you need to be.
Symptoms: coordination issues, vomiting, diarrhea, central system depression, breathing problems
Here's what you SHOULD be feeding your dog:
Give your pooch a treat with these #Homemade #Dog #Biscuits http://t.co/BvLaBppapl #recipe
— DIY Ready (@DIYReady) August 20, 2015
6. Avocado
It's hard to resist guacamole, but for the sake of your pet, you might want to keep it away from it. Everything about an avocado, including fruit, leaves, seeds, and bark, is toxic for your dog, something that we can thank the substance called “persin”. It's true that it requires considerable amounts to be digested before it takes its toll, but the possibility of food poisoning sounds like too big of a risk to be taken.
Symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea
7. Chicken Bones
As strange as this may sound, giving your dog a chicken bone is a really terrible idea. While handling them something rougher and more massive is okay, cooked poultry bones are fragile enough to splinter in your pet's stomach and possibly cause bowel obstructions. Animals can certainly consume raw chicken, and the bone of uncooked poultry is considerable less prone to random fragmenting, although it's best to be avoided altogether.
Symptoms: discomfort, dullness, signs of pain
8. Peaches, Plums, and Persimmons
Two things truly make these seemingly harmless fruits health hazards for your dog. For starters, the seeds found in persimmons can damage a dog's stomach in a variety of ways, starting with inflammation and ending in intestinal obstruction. Then there's also the fact that peaches and plums, especially around the pit, contain a substance called cyanide, which is damaging for both humans and dogs.
Depending on the size of your dog, a single pit probably won't harm them but cumulative adverse effects from cyanide are possible. Make no mistake, your dog is more prone to peach pit poisoning because their body & organs are smaller than those of a typical person.
—Source: Can I Give my Dog Peaches?
There have been several debates on whether dogs could eat peaches and plums, with there being a consensus that it would be possible as long as the owner controls the dosage.
Symptoms: dilated pupils, excessive salivation, and dizziness
9. Raw Salmon
Giving raw meat to your dog, in general, is a really bad idea. Many types of fish contain bacteria that can cause food poisoning if they're consumed without being cooked. However, salmon is probably the most dangerous of all, as it contains a breed of parasite that can lead to “salmon poisoning disease”. If owners don't take action, this illness can take the life of the pooch in less than two weeks. Keep in mind that this applies to raw salmon only—cooked fish is as healthy to them as it is to us.
Symptoms: fever, vomiting, big lymph nodes
10. Salt
If salt is not good for us, you can be certain that it's bad for dogs too. It's not indicated to slip to your dog chips, pretzels, or any kind of goods that are sprinkled with excessive salt. In the best case scenario, over-consumption of salt can lead to your dog being incredibly thirsty, but in the worst case scenario, the result can be ion poisoning, which can ultimately even conclude in death.
Symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, depression, fever, seizures
Need a refresher? Watch this video from Veterinary Secrets about toxic foods for dogs and for your cats too!
Are you guilty in giving your dog some of these food? Let us know below in the comments!
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