Who can resist that appealing look, those pleading eyes, the expression that says “I’m your best friend…won’t you share that delicious treat with me?” Even though we know we shouldn’t give our canine pals treats from the table, we love them and we do it anyway. But would we do it if we knew that tempting morsel was, for our dogs, a deadly poison?
Thousands of dogs are sickened every year…many of them fatally…from our ignorance of the foods that are harmless to us, but toxic to them. Most of us know that chocolate can be a deadly poison to dogs, but what about grapes? Onions? Macadamia nuts? How many of us are aware that the amount of onion a German Shepherd can tolerate could kill a Chihuahua? That as few as seven grapes can be fatal to a medium-sized dog? Are you inadvertently poisoning your best friend?
| Toxic Food | Toxin | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial sweeteners | Xylitol | Highly toxic to dogs and cats, causes low blood sugar that can cause coma and death; also liver failure. |
| Avocado | All parts of avocado and tree | Highly toxic to dogs |
| Beer, wine, alcohol | Alcohol | Alcohol smell on breath, slowed breathing, increased urination, staggering, excitement, depression, disorientation, behavioral changes, hypothermia, seizures and cardiac arrest leading to death. |
| Broccoli | in large quantities | |
| Cat food | Too high in protein and fats | Dangerous for dogs |
| Chocolate | Theobromine, caffeine | wobbly walking, lameness, laboured breathing, depression, vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, fever, weakness , rapid heartbeat, abdominal pain, arrhythmia, seizures, coma, death |
| Coffee, tea, cola | Caffeine | staggering, laboured breathing, vomiting, diarhea, abdominal pain, tremours, fever, heart rate increase, arrythmia, seizures, coma, death |
| Garlic | Similar to onion toxicity, but not as pronounced or dangerous. | |
| Grapes, raisins | Toxin unknown; as few as 7 grapes can be toxic | vomiting and diarrhea, lethargy and lack of interest in eating, abdominal pain. Kidney failure and death can occur. |
| Hops | Ingredient in beer | Panting, increased heart rate, fever, seizures, death |
| Liver (large quantities) | Vitamin A toxicity | Affects muscles and bones |
| Macadamia nuts | Toxin unknown; as few as 6 nuts can be toxic | Within 12 hours of ingestion, wobbly walking, lameness, depression, vomiting, tremors, fever, weakness , rapid heartbeat. |
| Marijuana | Central nervous system depressant | Vomiting, changes in heart rate |
| Milk, milk products | Lactose | Diarrhea, gas, stomach pain. Adult dogs and cats frequently lack lactase, necessary to digest milk. |
| Mushrooms | abdominal pain, drooling, liver damage, kidney damage, vomiting diarrhea, convulsions, coma, death | |
| Nutmeg | The actual nut itself | Tremors, seizures, central nervous system damage |
| Onions | Thiosulfate, sulfoxides and disulfides | Can damage red blood cells, causing anemia; laboured breathing, liver damage, vomiting, diarrhea, discoloured urine; damage can be cumulative. Cats more susceptible than dogs. |
| Persimmons | Can cause intestinal blockage | |
| Potato peelings, green potatoes | Oxalates | Digestive, nervous, urinary symptoms |
| Raw eggs | Salmonella, contains avidin | Avidin decreases absorption of biotin, leading to skin and hair/coat problems |
| Raw fish | Salmonella; parasites | Can lead to thiamine deficiency, leading to deceased appetite, seizures, even death |
| Rhubarb leaves | Oxalates | leaves are also toxic to humans |
| Salt, baking soda/powder | Can cause electrolyte imbalance leading to heart failure | |
| Tobacco | Nicotine | Rapid heart beat, collapse, coma, death |
| Vitamins for humans | Especially those containing iron | Damage lining of digestive system, damage kidneys and liver |
| Yeast dough (raw) | yeast | Swollen abdomen, can rupture digestive tract |
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it should give you the incentive to visit the web and do some research on your own. In addition to toxic foods, you should be aware of house and garden plants, like dieffenbachia and oleander, to name just two, that can put your pets at risk.
The ASPCA maintains a National Animal Poison Control Centre which can be of invaluable assistance to you and your vet if your pet ingests something toxic. Their website is http://www.napcc.aspca.org and from the site you can get their toll-free telephone numbers.
The best way to keep your pets safe and healthy, however, is to prevent them from eating toxic foods in the first place. Keep your chocolate, coffee beans, vitamin tablets and other things on this list in a place where a curious puppy or clever cat can’t get to them, refrain from feeding toxic treats, and make sure your children, guests, and neighbours do the same. An ounce of prevention, after all, is worth a pound of cure!
Want more Violet? Visit her blog at http://sweetvioletsa.blogspot.com/
Sources:
http://vetblog.co.uk/vetblog/grape-and-raisin-toxicity-poisoning-in-the-dog
http://vetblog.co.uk/vetblog/macadamia-nut-poisoning-in-the-dog
http://www.animalpetsandfriends.com/Article/25-Human-Foods-Toxic-To-Dogs/300
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1659&aid=1030
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/protect_your_pet_from_common_household_dangers/foods_potentially_poisonous_to_pets.html
http://www.dog-first-aid-101.com/toxic-foods.html
http://dogs.about.com/cs/disableddogs/a/poison_food.htm
http://www.vetinfo.com/dtoxin.html
http://www.napcc.aspca.org
by: Sweet Violet
Tags: avocado deadly for dogs, cat, chocolate bad for dogs, dangerous, deadly, deadly foods for dogs, dog, food, grapes, human foods toxic to dogs, macadamia nuts toxic to dogs, mushrooms, nutmeg, onions, pet, poison, poisonous, Toxic, toxic foods for pets, toxin, yeast
May 11th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Hi Violet -
Thanks for the interesting article. Our dog loves grapes and actively hunts out fallen ones from our vine. She’s never shown any symptoms. Does the toxin build up over time? should we see the vet?
All the best
Rob
May 11th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Many dogs have a sweet tooth and grapes are a tasty to satisfy it. Grapes are toxic to all dogs, but as in all things, dosage, size of the dog and individual susceptibility make a difference. If you have a Great Dane and she eats five grapes, I wouldn’t worry too much, but if she’s a Chihuahua and eats that many, you could be in for a rough time.
There can be a cumulative effect on the kidneys, however, so it wouldn’t be amiss to see the vet for a kidney function test…and then find a way to keep your vine from dropping grapes. Grape toxicity can be fatal and in dogs who survive, they may have permanent kidney damage.
Good luck…I hope your dog is OK!
Sweet Violet´s last blog post..Don’t mess with success
June 9th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Avocados?? I fed my dog canned and dry Avoderm dog foods for 15 years with no problems.