Common Foods That Are Harmful Or Even Fatal to Dogs

Many common foods are actually harmful or even fatal to dogs. Some of these (listed below) will surprise you. Others are things you would never give your dog purposefully, but now you will be more careful to not let them be in your dog’s reach. And some just need to be limited to small amounts. 

Halloweento NewYear’s is an ongoing holiday and party season. It can be fun and include your pets as long as their safety is considered.

Harmful foods, toxic decorations, plants like Poinsettias, scary noises, new people, crowds, unsupervised children, lack of supervision so they can get out, flammable and otherwise unsafe costumes and hot lamps, lights and candles are among the worrisome items on the pet problem list of the season.

Here are the common foods that are harmful or even fatal to dogs:

Avocados (fruit, pit, and plant) are toxic to dogs. Avocados contain a toxic component called persin, which can damage heart, lung and other tissue in many animals. They are high in fat and can trigger stomach upset, vomiting and even pancreatitis. Symptoms of toxicity include difficulty breathing, abdominal enlargement, abnormal fluid accumulations in the chest, abdomen and sac around the heart. The amount that needs to be ingested to cause signs is unknown. The effects on dogs and cats are not completely understood. GI signs are commonly seen and should be treated symptomatically. In addition, the animal should be monitored closely for other clinical signs related to the cardiovascular system. (This information comes from veterinarians, the American Veterinary Medicine Association, and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.)

Bread dough or and dough that rises. Raw Yeast, Bread Dough because it forms gas in the digestive track; fermentation of yeast causes *alcohol poisoning, it can also cause This pertains to all species of pets, but only dogs typically ingest it. It can lead to Distention of abdomen, vomiting, disorientation, diarrhea, lethargy, lack of coordination, difficulty breathing, tremors, coma, seizures and death.  Raw cookie dough can also kill dogs and small children.

Onions destroy red blood cells and can cause anemia, weakness, and breathing difficulty. Even small amounts can cause cumulative damage over time. This includes onions or chives – raw, powdered, dehydrated, or cooked.

Large amounts of garlic cause the same problems as onions. Garlic contains only a small amount of the problematic substance that is in onions. Just as with people, moderation is the key.

Grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure in dogs. As little as a single serving of raisins can kill him. If the dog doesn’t eat enough at one time to be fatal, he can be severely damaged by eating just a few grapes or raisins regularly.

Tomatoes (plant and fruit) contain tomatine, an alkaloid related to solanine. As the fruit ripens, the tomatine is metabolized. Therefore, ripe tomatoes are less likely to be problematic for animals. Clinical signs of poisoning include lethargy, drooling, difficulty breathing, colic, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, widely-dilated pupils, paralysis, cardiac effects, central nervous system signs (e.g., ataxia, muscle weakness, tremors, seizures), resulting from cholinesterase inhibition, coma and death. (This information comes from veterinarians, and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.) (All parts of the plant except the tomato itself are poisonous to humans, although some people are sensitive to the ripe fruit also.)

Tomatoes also contain atropine, which can cause dilated pupils, tremors, and heart arrhythmias. The highest concentration of atropine is found in the leaves and stems of tomato plants, with less in unripe (green) tomatoes, and even less in ripe (red) tomatoes.

Nutmeg can cause tremors, seizures and death.

Caffeine (from coffee, coffee grounds, tea, or tea bags, sodas) stimulates the central nervous and cardiac systems, and can cause vomiting, restlessness, heart palpitations, and even death within hours.

Diet products containing the sweetener Xylitol can cause a sudden drop in blood sugar, resulting in depression, loss of coordination and seizures. Unless treatment is given quickly, the dog could die.

Macadamia nuts can cause weakness, muscle tremor and paralysis. These symptoms are usually temporary but in extreme cases can lead to permanent paralysis and even death.

Walnuts. When dogs eat the seed hulls, they can get an upset stomach and diarrhea. The real problem is the fungus or mold that attacks walnuts after they get wet (from rain or sprinklers), which produces toxins. If the fungus or mold is ingested by your dogs, they can become very ill and possibly die. Signs that should alert you to walnut poisoning are vomiting, trembling, drooling, lack of coordination, lethargy, loss of appetite, and jaundice indications such as yellowing eyes and gums. Severely affected dogs can produce blood-tinged vomit or stools. Dogs can take several days to exhibit serious signs of illness.

Chocolate can cause seizures, coma and death. Baker’s chocolate is the most dangerous. The darker the chocolate, the more dangerous it is. But any chocolate, in large enough amounts, can kill a dog. An ounce of chocolate can poison a 30-pound dog, and many dogs will happily consume more than this. The symptoms may not show up for several hours (and so might make you think all is well), with death following within twenty-four hours. A dog can consume milk chocolate and appear to be fine because it is not as concentrated, but it is still dangerous.

Apple seeds, cherry pits, peach pits, pear pips, plums pits, and apricot pits contain cyanide, which is poisonous. While a few apple seeds may not cause a problem, the effects can accumulate over time if they are given to dogs regularly. Dogs should not be allowed to chew on a peach pit, cherry pit, apricot pit, or plum pit. Chewing can allow ingestion of cyanide. Chewing could also result in the pit being swallowed, causing continuous exposure to cyanide, or could cause the dog to choke.

Too much salt can cause kidney problems. Also, large breeds of dogs that eat salty food may then drink too much water and develop bloat, which is fatal unless emergency treatment is given very quickly.

Too much fat or fried foods can cause pancreatitis.

Ham and bacon contain too much fat and too much salt, and can cause pancreatitis. Also, large breeds of dogs that eat salty food may drink too much water and develop a life-threatening condition called bloat. This is where the stomach fills up with gas and within several hours may twist, causing death. The nitrates in ham, bacon, hot dogs and some process lunch meats can also cause pancreatitis, diarrhea and vomiting.

Raw liver or too much cooked liver (three servings a week) can lead to vitamin A toxicity. This can cause deformed bones, excessive bone growth on the elbows and spine, weight loss, and anorexia. Check the label of your canned dog food to be sure that it does not contain liver if you are giving your dog liver also.

Wild mushrooms can cause abdominal pain, drooling, liver damage, kidney damage, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, coma, or death.

Raw egg whites contain a protein called avidin, which can deplete your dog of biotin, one of the B vitamins. Biotin is essential to your dog’s growth and coat health. The lack of it can cause hair loss, weakness, growth retardation, or skeleton deformity. Raw egg yolks contain enough biotin to prevent the deficiency, so this is not a problem with raw whole eggs. Raw egg yolks could contain salmonella, so you should get your eggs from a reliable source or cook the eggs.

Grains should not be given in large amounts or make up a large part of a dog’s diet, but rice is generally safe in small amounts.

Cooked bones can splinter and tear a dog’s internal organs.

Dogs can’t digest most vegetables (carrots, green beans, lettuce, potatoes or yams) whole or in large pieces. Potato peels and green potatoes are dangerous.

Dairy products are high in fat, which can cause pancreatitis, gas and diarrhea. A small amount of non-fat, plain yogurt is usually safe.

Pennies made from the 1980s to today contain zinc, which can cause kidney failure and damage to red blood cells. A dog that consumes even one penny can become quite sick, or even die, if the penny is not removed.

Note: According to the ASPCA, “Some dogs can eat [avocadoes] without having any adverse reactions. …. The Guatemalan variety, a common one found in stores, appears to be the most problematic. Other strains of avocado can have different degrees of toxic potential.”  The general rule… to follow: No avocados

** Alcohol is  toxic to pets and an absolute NoNo even in the smallest quantities!!**

“My dog ate ______ lots of times and didn’t die, so ______ don’t kill dogs.” That logic is no better than “My dog runs in the street all the time and has never been hit by a car, so dogs never get hit by cars.”

Related:

“Holidays Are Great and Fun to Share With Our Pets, As Long As We Avoid the No-No Foods!”

Source:  Just One More Pet – h/t to Lace to Leather

Human Food Harmful for Dogs & Cats

Great advice on the dangers of human food for dogs and cats. So many instances where I have seen pet owners just toss whatever food is in their hand to their dog / cat- not realizing the potential poisonous affect that that “scrap” of food will do … Take note of this great article, and keep in mind its fantastic advice:

1. Giving pets table scraps supplements their diets with unnecessary calories. Animals depend on the nutrients found in food specially formulated for them. If they eat people food, they will eat less of their own food and miss out on adequate nutrition.

COMMENTS FROM DR. WYNN: There are really two different issues. Yes, most dogs and cats eat formulated foods, designed to provide complete nutrition. If you provide a lot of some other, non balanced food, it could cause very real deficiencies. But this one irks me – “Giving pets table scraps supplements their diets with unnecessary calories”. Well, yeah, if you assume people are giving junk food, pure meat and cheese, etc. But let’s try to parse this out for the majority of people who are capable of understanding the difference between veggies/fruits and everything else. How about a better sweeping statement, that goes like this: “Giving pets table scraps supplements their diets with unnecessary calories, unless the scraps consist primarily of fresh veggies and fruits”.

2. Animals who eat their normal amount of pet food in addition to the extra calories in table scraps can easily gain weight. Obesity puts animals at risk for health problems.

COMMENTS: see #1

3. Receiving table scraps or people food encourages unhealthy food behaviors. It can cause food aggression in both cats and dogs, and it encourages begging at the table.

COMMENTS: Ok, help people understand how to give fresh foods in the bowl at mealtime, or as a reward for a requested behavior.

4. Some food is toxic to cats. Cats are carnivorous and cannot digest many vegetables or starch. Franny Syufy from About.com reminds pet owners that “…may have forgotten that the gravy slathered over your Thanksgiving turkey used broth that was flavored with onion, among other things. While it is tasty and harmless to humans, onions are very toxic to cats.” In her article titled “Human Foods for Cats?” Syufy lists onions, garlic, green tomatoes, raw potatoes, root vegetables, chocolate, grapes and raisins, and milk as food especially toxic to cats. (If the cats insist on drinking milk, they should drink lactose free milk such as CatSip, which can be purchased at most pet stores.)

COMMENTS: milk toxic to cats? Are you kidding me? OK, some cats might not tolerate it, like humans with lactose intolerance, but toxic? And what on earth is she talking about with root vegetables being toxic? Ok, onions are toxic, but sweet potatos? Burdock? Perhaps we need better sources for our information than About.com?

5. Some foods are toxic to dogs, such as chocolate in large quantities, and dairy products. Onions can also be poisonous to dogs so pet owners should be aware of the ingredients in anything they feed to animals (even onion powder can have adverse effects on pets.) Fatty foods can lead to pancreatitis, and excessive levels of sugar can lead to obesity and diabetes.

OK, I’ll support this except that I still don’t think that lactose intolerance is in the same class with toxicity.

6. Animals cannot digest all food. Corn and sugar are especially tough on animals’ digestive systems. Potatoes, lunch meat, and condiments often have high sugar contents.

COMMENT: I’m not sure what this means – corn and sugar are tough on digestive systems? Sugar is highly digestible, but lots of it will lead to metabolic problems. Corn – it’s not digestible if given as whole kernels because none of us break down that cellulose kernel coat very well. But it’s digestible if processed either by human teeth (dogs don’t spend a lot of time chewing), a food processor, or in dog food factories. Do we want a corn-BASED diet? No, but let’s try more precision when we talk about the effect corn has on digestive systems.

7. Any meat product containing bones can break and puncture the throat, stomach, or intestines, or cause constipation by actually blocking the digestive path. Even if bones do not cause an injury, they are sure to cause discomfort. Crushed bones or very frail bones typically do not cause problems. (If the dog insists on getting the bone from the roast, monitor the dog and remove the bone once it breaks or becomes small enough to be a choking hazard.)

COMMENT: I’ll go with this. By the way, I’ve never found authoritative support for the raw feeding claim that cooked bones are more brittle than raw ones. I can see how it might be true but I’ve never seen a good explanation. Has anyone else?
Likewise, dogs receive too much protein from cat food, and dog food lacks important nutrients like taurine for cats. There’s a reason these foods are labeled for what they are. The best way to ensure animals get adequate nutrition is to find a quality pet food they enjoy and stay consistent.

COMMENT: Cat foods do not supply too much protein to dogs. Protein is not toxic unless you have severe kidney disease. What cat foods do provide along with all that meat is a high fat level, and that can lead to diarrhea and/or pancreatitis. But there is no doubt that cats can die from eating dog food – which I’ve seen happen when food is left down for the dog free choice – yet another reason not to do that!

Other websites to consider looking into for more information about making or purchasing homemade pet food: