Many people like to feed their dogs table scraps or bring home doggy bags from a restaurant. Some human foods are safe for dogs, but others can be dangerous, or even fatal. Here is a partial list of foods that you should avoid:
Alcohol: Alcohol can cause a range of severe issues, such as digestive issues, central nervous system issues, difficulty breathing, coma, and death.
Avocado: Persin is a toxin that is found in all aspects of an avocado, including the shell, pit, and fruit itself. Although it is harmless to humans, it is toxic to dogs and can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
Bones: Bones from human foods can splinter, break, and tear the digestive tract.
Chocolate: All types of chocolate, including white chocolate, are toxic for dogs. Dark chocolate, baking chocolate and cocoa powder have the highest amounts of theobromine. Chocolate can cause heart problems, tremors, seizures and death.
Coffee, tea, caffeine: Caffeine can cause tremors, seizures, cardiac arrhythmias, diarrhea and death.
Garlic, onions and chives: All three of these foods kill red blood cells.
Grapes and raisins: Even small amounts can cause kidney failure.
Macadamia nuts: Even just a few can cause vomiting, diarrhea, tremors and fever.
Persimmons, peaches and plums: The seeds and pits can block the digestive tract. In addition, peach and plum pits contain cyanide, which is toxic.
Raw potatoes: Raw potatoes contain solanine, which is toxic to some dogs.
Salty foods: Too much salt can cause vomiting, diarrhea, tremors and seizures.
Xylitol: Xylitol is an artificial sweetener found in many candies and baked goods and, more recently, peanut butter. It can cause insulin spikes and lead to liver failure.
If you really want to feed your dog human food, some safe choices include cooked lean meat (without bones or fat trimmings), some vegetables and fruits, and cooked rice.
There are also a few non-food items that are particularly toxic to dogs:
Human medications: One of the most common causes of pet poisonings is the ingestion of human medications. Always make sure that your medications are stored properly and in a location that cannot be accessed by your pets.
Plants: Many indoor and outdoor plants are toxic to dogs. If you have a dog that is prone to eating things that it shouldn’t, you should check whether the plants in your yard and house could be toxic.
Even when you’re extremely careful, sometimes dogs end up ingesting something that they shouldn’t. Keep the phone numbers of your local and emergency vets nearby, as well as the number for the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center: 888-426-4435.
— Brown County Humane Society
