5 foods

NEVER TO FEED YOUR DOGS

Dogs are natural scavengers, and you don’t need to live with one long before you realise that they will take any opportunity to sneak a mouthful of whatever is available. While there is a long list of everyday human foods that are fine for dogs, the following five foods should be avoided at all costs.

Disclaimer: This list below is by no means definitive, and you should always do your research or contact your vet before giving your dog human foods!

GRAPES AND RAISINS

No form of grapes (seedless, peeled, or dried (grapes and sultanas)) is suitable for your dog to consume in any amounts. Grapes are toxic to dogs and can result in acute renal failure. Unfortunately, very little is known about why grapes are so toxic to dogs or what makes some dogs more susceptible than others. Regardless of the quantity ingested, it is always recommended that you call your vet immediately if your dog has ingested grapes.

CHOCOLATE

As much as we all love a bit of chocolate (and our dogs might, too), it doesn’t love them. Chocolate is, unfortunately, poisonous to dogs, and if your dog ingests chocolate, you need to call the vet immediately. The component of chocolate that makes it poisonous to dogs is called theobromine. While humans can ingest theobromine fairly easily, it takes a lot longer for dogs to metabolise it, thus allowing it to build up to toxic levels in their system. The amount of theobromine is influenced by the type of chocolate, so cooking chocolate, drinking cocoa and dark chocolate have higher amounts of theobromine (and are therefore worse for your dog) than milk chocolate.

ONION

You might wonder what dog would eat onion, but there are many fluffy hoovers out there who might gobble some up off the floor or potentially ingest it cooked into delicious food (like mince). Onions contain a toxic compound called N-propyl-disulfide, which damages the red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body. The ingestion of onion can therefore lead to life-threatening anaemia. All parts of the onion and in all forms (raw, cooked, powdered and pickled) are problematic to dogs, and all it takes is 100g of onion per 20kg of a dog’s weight to cause toxic effects.

XYLITOL (AKA BIRCH SUGAR)

In recent years, thanks to diet culture, xylitol has become increasingly popular in households as a sugar substitute and has increased the number of cases of canine xylitol poisoning. While this doesn’t happen in humans, when your dog ingests xylitol, it is very quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, resulting in a massive insulin release, and subsequent drop, in your dog’s blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Left untreated, this drop in blood sugar can be life-threatening and result in liver failure. Please check the ingredients of any foods that you may share with your dogs, such as any sugar-free snack or peanut butter for xylitol, before feeding it to them.

CAFFEINE

As enjoyable as a cup of tea or coffee is for us, the same can’t be said for our pets, and this is due to the caffeine content. Caffeine has a similar effect on our pets as it does on us, but due to their relatively smaller size, they need to ingest a lot less of it to cause issues.