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Warning: These Foods Are Toxic For Dogs

By Ken Charles

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Published: 02Feb2008
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18 Household Foods You Should Never Feed Your Dog.

Does your dog eat table scraps? Does he beg for food (successfully) while you're having a meal? Do you put the remains of your family meal into his feeding bowl?

Some of these foods can kill your dog!

NOTE: You will see that many of these foods cause similar symptoms, so it can be difficult to identify which ingredient is the culprit, especially if you feed your dog assorted table scraps or servings of meals which you eat yourself. Many of these foods cause damage to the liver and kidneys and may also affect the heart.

Chocolate: Most dogs love chocolate. It's so easy, when you're eating a chocolate bar, to give the dog a piece, just as a reward for being your friend. I'll bet the kids do the same.

Chocolate contains caffeine and bromethalin, both of which are poisonous to your dog. Dark chocolate is more dangerous, because it is more concentrated. A dog can consume milk chocolate and appear to be fine because it is not as concentrated, but it is still dangerous. Dark Baker's chocolate is the most toxic to your dog.

Symptoms of chocolate poisoning include difficulty in breathing, vomiting, arrythmia, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, tremors, staggering, fever, increased heart rate, and can result in seizures, coma and death.

Grapes and Raisins can cause acute renal failure in dogs. Just one serving of raisins can kill a dog. Symptoms include diarrhoea, abdominal pain and lethargy.

Mushrooms can be deadly. Never feed your dog pizza or any other food containing mushrooms or let your dog chew on mushrooms found in your yard. Mushrooms can cause a wide range of damage, including abdominal pain, drooling, liver damage, kidney damage, vomiting diarrhoea, convulsions, coma and even death.

Coffee, Cocoa and Tea and indeed, anything containing caffeine (like chocolate). Symptoms are similar to those for chocolate and include staggering, laboured breathing, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, tremors, fever, heart rate increase, arrythmia, seizures, coma and death

Xylitol is an artificial sweetener even a small amount can cause liver failure and death. Dr. Eric Dunayer, who specializes in toxicology at The Animal Poison Control Center of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said that dogs ingesting substantial amounts of items sweetened with xylitol could develop a sudden drop in blood sugar, resulting in depression, loss of co-ordination, and seizures.

"These signs can develop quite rapidly, at times less than 30 minutes after ingestion of the product. Therefore, it is crucial that pet owners seek veterinary treatment immediately," Dr. Dunayer said. He also said that there appears to be a strong link between xylitol ingestions and the development of liver failure in dogs.

Pips and kernels of various fruits can contain cyanide! Whilst the fruit itself is perfectly good for dogs, care should be taken that they do not consume the pips and seeds. Pear pips, the kernels of plums, peaches and apricots, apple core pips all contain cyanogenic glycosides, which cause cyanide poisoning.

Tomatoes can cause tremors and heart arrhythmia. Tomato plants are the most toxic, but tomatoes themselves are also unsafe.

Onions and Garlic can cause oxidative damage to the red blood cell membrane, resulting in hemolysis, or the rupturing of red blood cells and causing difficulty in breathing, diarrhoea, liver damage, vomiting and discoloured urine. Although garlic has the stronger taste and smell, onions are much more toxic but both are very dangerous.

Pizzas can be potentially dangerous because most of them contain either onions, or tomatoes or mushrooms, or a combination of all three.

The dangers of excessive salt in the diet of humans are well recognized and documented. With a much smaller body mass, dogs are particularly vulnerable to the same sort of cardiovascular problems and also to kidney damage.

In the same way that excessive salt is harmful to both dogs and humans, animal fat and fried foods are hazardous. Excessive fat can cause pancreatitis.

Macadamia Nuts and Walnuts: Macadamia nuts can cause weakness, muscle tremor and paralysis. Limit all other nuts as they are not good for dogs in general, their high phosphorous content is said to possibly lead to bladder stones.

Nutmeg can cause tremors, seizures and death

Avocados: The fruit, pit and plant are all toxic. They can cause difficulty in breathing and fluid accumulation in the chest, abdomen and heart.

Antifreeze is certainly not a food but it has a smell and a sweet taste which is palatable to dogs. It is very toxic to dogs and just a small amount can cause renal failure. Dogs should be kept well away from any suspicious looking spills of liquid, particularly in any garage areas.

Some Commercial Dog Foods contain toxins and poisons which are not neutralized in the rendering process and which are prohibited from human foods. A full report, from vets and other authoritive sources can be found from the link below;

Ken Charles is the webmaster at allabout-dogs.co.uk which covers all aspects of dog ownership, including Dog Foods, Dog Breeds, Dog Training and Dog Health.

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