Here we are, at the beginning of the holiday season, with lots of cooking and entertaining going on. Here is a list of foods that can be potentially poisonous for your dogs. Perhaps you’re already aware of most or all of them. I found a few that surprised me.
Here’s to safe and happy holiday season for you and your pets.
Foods and Substances That Could be Deadly for Your Dog:
- Alcoholic Beverages: Can cause intoxication, coma, and death.
- Avocados: The fruit, pit, and plant are all toxic. They can cause difficulty breathing and fluid accumulation in the chest, abdomen and heart.
- Bones: Cooked bones can splinter and damage a dog’s internal organs. Raw bones should always be supervised.
- Chocolate (all forms): Can cause staggering, labored breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, tremors, fever, heart rate increase, arrhythmia, seizures, coma, death. Bakers (semi-sweet and dark) Chocolate is the most dangerous.
- Coffee, Coffee Grounds, Tea: Drinks or food containing caffeine cause many of the same symptoms as chocolate.
- Fatty and Fried Foods: Excessive fat can cause pancreatitis.
- Fruit Seeds and Pits: Contain cyanide. The core/pit of fruits can also become lodged in the intestines and kill a dog in 24 hours with no warning.
- Grapes and Raisins: Can cause vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, lethargy, kidney failure in dogs. A single serving of raisins can kill a dog.
- Hops: Causes panting, increased heart rate, elevated temperature, seizures, and death.
- Macadamia Nuts: Can cause locomotion difficulties, tremors, and weakness or paralysis of the hindquarters. Some affected dogs have swollen limbs and show pain when the limbs are manipulated. Limit all other nuts, as their high phosphorous content is said to possibly lead to bladder stones. The exception seems to be Peanut Butter (Organic salt & sugar free is best.)
- Moldy or Spoiled Foods: Can cause indigestion, diarrhea and vomiting. Molds and bacteria go hand in hand. If the dogs are small, they will not be equipped to ward off diseases caused by these bacteria.
- Mushrooms: Can cause abdominal pain, drooling, liver damage, kidney damage, vomiting diarhea, convulsions, coma, death. The only safe mushrooms are shitake, maitake, and reishi.
- Nutmeg: Can cause tremors, seizures, and death.
- Onions, Onion Powder (and Garlic in large quantities): Can cause Hemolytic Anemia, labored breathing, liver damage, vomiting, diarrhea, discolored urine. Weakness, confusion, dizziness and accelerated heart rate are other symptoms of onion poisoning. Onions and garlic contain the toxic ingredient thiosulphate. Onions are more of a danger.
- Raisins: (see grapes)
- Salt: Excessive salt intake can cause kidney problems and may lead to electrolyte imbalances.
- Sugar and Corn Syrups: Can lead to obesity, dental problems, and possibly diabetes mellitus. Small amounts of honey or molasses are okay (but not for dogs with cancer.)
- Tobacco: Contains nicotine, which affects the digestive and nervous systems. Can result in rapid heart beat, collapse, coma, and death.
- Tomato Plants: Can cause tremors and heart arrhythmias.
- Yeast dough: Can expand and produce gas in the digestive system, causing pain and possible rupture of the stomach or intestines.
- Xylitol Sweetened Products: Even a small amount can cause liver failure and death.
Because your dog’s, weight, age, and health will impact how any of these substances affect your dog, don’t take any chances. If your dog has ingested any of these foods, get veterinary help immediately. I also keep the Emergency Vet’s phone number by the phone along with the ASPCA Poison Hotline (888)426-4435.
[This is my annual reminder post on this subject. If you know of other dangerous foods for pets, please add them in the comments.]
This is such a good list. Every time I come over here, I realize how much I miss having a dog. I want one so bad. I love my cats, but they really aren’t all that interested in me.
Well I’ve learnt something there. I was surprised though to see grapes on the list. Our border colley adores eating them when we are picking in the vineyard. Although I must admit that she will eat anything that looks vaguely digestible.
Nutmeg? My dogs lick me all the time with no problems!
Excellent post! It’s good to know the reasons why these foods are dangerous – it helps reinforce the dangers.
thks, i have sent this list on to some of my friends-with-dogs
Good reminder this time of year Karen!
I had a dog as a kid that would go out of his way to eat any human food he could. We once left the house after putting a large package of rolls on top of the fridge – presumably much higher than our medium sized dog could reach. We came home and every roll was gone! They are sneaky :)
Professor J, I need the reminders too! That’s why I repost for the holidays. :)
Lynn, makes ya wonder why some people have pets, doesn’t it. But then those same people make me wonder why they have kids too.
Mary Alice, I think some of the things on the list are more of a problem for some dogs. Sort of like food allergies for people. The problem is that you don’t know if your dog will have a problem with it until it’s possibly too late.
Radmama, my dogs think cat poop is, well, the cat’s meow. It’s considered a delicacy around here! LOL.
Teetotaled, a dog on a mission is an inventive dog indeed! :)
Dori, raisins are more of a problem than grapes.
Thanks for sharing this. I was surprised about the grapes. We have a grape vine in our yard, and realized over the last season that it wasn’t the birds eating all the lower grapes, it was our dog! She ate a lot…bunches at a time. We hadn’t heard they were bad, so didn’t stop her, but she’s okay luckily. She loves them though. I guess we’ll try and pick them ourselves next year (they have a lot of seeds).
Thank you. I will print this out and post it in our kitchen. Although our guy seems to have a stomach of steal.. only excess cat poop combined with Swheat cat litter upsets it.
What a good reminder. Thanks…but avocados? Really? Our old ranch dog used to sit out under the tree and eat them all the time. Her coat would get so sleek during avocado season..and she lived to ripe old age. Maybe she was just lucky?
Great idea to repost something as important as this list. When entertaining, there’s often many of these goodies on coffee tables–way too inviting to a dog. I’ve heard stories about people purposely giving their dogs alcohol. You know, humans never cease to amaze me.
Thanks!
Thank you for this list. I knew most of it (except for avacados), but it is good to be reminded.