While most of us are aware that such substances as antifreeze and rat poison are dangerous to dogs, there are some common kitchen foods that can poison dogs as well.
Grapes and Raisins: Grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure in dogs. As little as a single serving of raisins can kill a dog.
Onions: Onions destroy red blood cells and can cause anemia.
Chocolate: Chocolate can cause seizures, coma and death. Baker’s chocolate is the most dangerous. A dog can consume milk chocolate and appear to be fine because it is not as concentrated, but it is still dangerous.
Coffee, Coffee Grounds, Tea and Tea Bags: Drinks/foods containing caffeine cause many of the same symptoms chocolate causes
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. Exception to this rule seems to be PEANUT BUTTER. However- always use Salt/Sugar free ORGANIC Peanut butter (sugar encourages cancer growth) free . Use only ORGANIC peanut butter as regular peanut butter has lots of toxins and is full of pesticides!
Animal Fat and Fried Foods: Excessive fat can cause pancreatitis.
Bones: Cooked bones can splinter and damage a dog’s internal organs. Raw Bone should always be supervised as a piece can always break off and cause problems. Try frozen oxtails or frozen knuckle bones then take the bone away before the dog can swallow a final small piece whole. It’s a good natural way to clean teeth too.
Tomatoes: Tomatoes can cause tremors and heart arrhythmias. Tomato plants and the most toxic, but tomatoes themselves are also unsafe.
Avocados: The fruit, pit and plant are all toxic. They can cause difficulty breathing and fluid accumulation in the chest, abdomen and heart.
Nutmeg: Nutmeg can cause tremors, seizures and death
Apples, Cherries, Peaches and similar fruit are great for your dog – HOWEVER, the seeds of these fruits contain cyanide, which is poisonous to dogs as well as humans. Unlike humans, dogs do not know to stop eating at the core/pit and easily ingest them. It can also become lodged in the intestines and kill the dog in 24 hours with no warning.
Raw Eggs: Raw eggs can cause salmonella poisoning in dogs. Dogs have a shorter digestive tract than humans and are not as likely to suffer from food poisoning, but it is still possible. BEST to use ORGANIC EGGS if you do raw. Scrambled lightly is best!
Salt: Excessive salt intake can cause kidney problems.
Mushrooms: Can be deadly- never let your pets chew on mushrooms found in your yard. Only safe “food” mushrooms are shitaki, maitake and reishi.
Xylitol: even a small amount can cause liver failure and death.
Sugar and Corn Syrups. EVEN ORGANIC IS BAD! (this does not include Honey or Molasses though they should only be in small amounts and never for cancer dogs)
The following is from PetEducation.
|
Items to avoid |
Reasons to avoid |
| Alcoholic beverages | Can cause intoxication, coma, and death. |
| Baby food | Can contain onion powder, which can be toxic to dogs. (Please see onion below.) Can also result in nutritional deficiencies, if fed in large amounts. |
| Bones from fish, poultry, or other meat sources | Can cause obstruction or laceration of the digestive system. |
| Cat food | Generally too high in protein and fats. |
| Chocolate, coffee, tea, and other caffeine | Contain caffeine, the obromine, or the ophylline, which can be toxic and affect the heart and nervous systems. |
| Citrus oil extracts | Can cause vomiting. |
| Fat trimmings | Can cause pancreatitis. |
| Grapes and raisins | Contain an unknown toxin, which can damage the kidneys. There have been no problems associated with grape seed extract. |
| Hops | Unknown compound causes panting, increased heart rate, elevated temperature, seizures, and death. |
| Human vitamin supplements containing iron | Can damage the lining of the digestive system and be toxic to the other organs including the liver and kidneys. |
| Large amounts of liver | Can cause Vitamin A toxicity, which affects muscles and bones. |
| Macadamia nuts | Contain an unknown toxin, which can affect the digestive and nervous systems and muscle. |
| Marijuana | Can depress the nervous system, cause vomiting, and changes in the heart rate. |
| Milk and other dairy products | Some adult dogs and cats do not have sufficient amounts of the enzyme lactase, which breaks down the lactose in milk. This can result in diarrhea. Lactose-free milk products are available for pets. |
| Moldy or spoiled food, garbage | Can contain multiple toxins causing vomiting and diarrhea and can also affect other organs. |
| Mushrooms | Can contain toxins, which may affect multiple systems in the body, cause shock, and result in death. |
| Onions and garlic(raw, cooked, or powder) | Contain sulfoxides and disulfides, which can damage red blood cells and cause anemia. Cats are more susceptible than dogs. Garlic is less toxic than onions. |
| Persimmons | Seeds can cause intestinal obstruction and enteritis. |
| Pits from peaches and plums | Can cause obstruction of the digestive tract. |
| Potato, rhubarb, and tomato leaves; potato and tomato stems | Contain oxalates, which can affect the digestive, nervous, and urinary systems. This is more of a problem in livestock. |
| Raw eggs | Contain an enzyme called avidin, which decreases the absorption of biotin (a B vitamin). This can lead to skin and hair coat problems. Raw eggs may also contain Salmonella. |
| Raw fish | Can result in a thiamine (a B vitamin) deficiency leading to loss of appetite, seizures, and in severe cases, death. More common if raw fish is fed regularly. |
| Salt | If eaten in large quantities it may lead to electrolyteimbalances. |
| String | Can become trapped in the digestive system; called a “string foreign body.” |
| Sugary foods | Can lead to obesity, dental problems, and possibly diabetes mellitus. |
| Table scraps (in large amounts) | Table scraps are not nutritionally balanced. They should never be more than 10% of the diet. Fat should be trimmed from meat; bones should not be fed. |
| Tobacco | Contains nicotine, which affects the digestive and nervous systems. Can result in rapid heart beat, collapse, coma, and death. |
| Yeast dough | Can expand and produce gas in the digestive system, causing pain and possible rupture of the stomach or intestines. |
| Xylitol (artificial sweetener) | Can cause liver failure. |
