There are many ways to feed our dogs, those little furry ones that brighten our day and are always hungry. From natural diets like Barf Diet, which consists of feeding our dogs with natural food (raw meat, vegetables, etc …), to the diets based on leftovers from the meals we take, without forgetting the little recommended but widespread dog food.
We call them diets but not in their literal sense, it is not a nutritional plan for our dog to lose weight, but a nutritional plan for our dog to be properly fed. And although we all know that in the villages dogs have been fed with the leftovers of house meals (in the past and generally, with logically exceptions), the truth is that there are foods that humans eat regularly but which are extremely harmful to dogs, known as toxic dog food.
Index of contents
- 1 Harmful Foods for Dogs: Chocolate
- 2 Harmful Dog Foods: Onion and Garlic
- 3 Harmful Dog Foods: Dairy
- 4 Harmful Foods for Dogs: Potato, Tomato and Avocado
- 5 Harmful Dog Food: Grapes and Raisins
- 6 Harmful Dog Foods: Apples, Plums and Seed Fruits
- 7 Harmful Foods for Dogs: The Liver
- 8 Harmful Dog Food: The Bones
- 9 Harmful Dog Foods: Alcohol
- 9.1 Other toxic dog foods:
We will detail which are the most common and dangerous toxic food for dogs, prohibited foods, remembering that not all are necessarily fatal, although they are toxic in high amounts for our dogs. Depending on the size of each dog, amount of harmful food that has been eaten and tolerance, it can present more or less severe reactions. Not all dogs react the toxins in these foods the same before, but they are harmful to everyone in large quantities.
Harmful Foods for Dogs: Chocolate
Chocolate is a very harmful food for our dogs, in any of its formats. It does not matter whether it is chocolate in ounces, chocolates, yogurt with chocolate or any type of candy that contains chocolate. All, absolutely all foods that contain chocolate, cocoa or derivatives, are very harmful to our dogs.
Chocolate contains a toxin called theobromine, which is harmless to humans but very harmful to other animals, such as dogs. It is a toxin already present in the cocoa bean itself, from which the chocolate is obtained, so there is no chocolate that is exempt from this toxin.
Harmful Dog Foods: Dairy
The vast majority of dairy products are harmful to our dogs, as they contain Lactose. Lactose is, to put it in some way, the natural sugar that milk contains and that is assimilated in the human body thanks to the enzyme lactase. Dogs stop creating this enzyme after a few months of life, so they are not able to digest the Lactose that milk contains or its derivatives, causing serious damage to their gastrointestinal system.
If our dog drinks milk or takes dairy products with lactose, he will suffer from diarrhea, stomach pain, gas, vomiting or serious associated digestive problems. That is why it is important to avoid that our dog takes this type of food, since they usually like it a lot.
Not all dairy is harmful: plain yogurts do not contain lactose, as it has been consumed by the lacto-bacilli naturally present in yogurts. Natural yogurts are beneficial for our dogs, since they provide good levels of calcium, magnesium and protein, among many.
In contrast, fresh cheese is poorly recommended in dogs, as it has not been well fermented / cured and may contain lactose.
Harmful Foods for Dogs: Potato, Tomato and Avocado
Although for humans these foods are very healthy, for dogs they are highly harmful. They should never be eaten raw, in any of its variables, since our dogs can be quickly poisoned.
Tomatoes and potatoes contain oxalates and “glycoalkaloids”, while avocados contain “persine”. If our dog eats any of these foods, it is more than likely that he suffers from digestive problems and also urinary problems, in addition to respiratory anomalies or even reaching a coma.
Your dog will surely lick when he sees you cooking french fries, tomato…. splitting avocado to a salad…. Remember that what is good for you does not have to be for him, do not help him get sick from a bad diet.
Harmful Dog Food: Grapes and Raisins
It is unknown why grapes are so toxic to dogs, it is still under study but it has been clearly shown that they are highly harmful to dogs. Simply eating a few grapes can cause severe kidney failure in your dog, which could kill him.
In the past, dogs were prized with raisins, as is done today with “cookies” or “pieces of sausage”, something that over time has clearly been shown to be very inappropriate. Even if your dog has eaten grapes without suffering any problems, do not risk giving it again since no dog is immune to the toxins of this fruit.
Obviously it is also not recommended to give them raisins or grape derivatives, since they contain the same toxins for our dogs.
Harmful Dog Foods: Apples, Plums and Seed Fruits
Apples, plums, peaches, persimmons, and many other similar fruits can be very harmful to our beloved dogs. The fruit itself is not harmful, it is more, it is even recommended, but the “bone” or the central part of these fruits that is where the seeds are produced, which are highly dangerous.
The seeds of these foods contain small amounts of cyanide, which humans can assimilate (in small amounts) but that dogs do not assimilate. Not only cyanide is a problem in these fruits, the plum bones can cause intestinal obstructions capable of causing the death of our dog long before we can even detect them.
A dog intoxicated by cyanide seeds can present with severe symptoms such as hyperventilation, seizures, severe respiratory problems, and even death.
Harmful Foods for Dogs: The Liver
The liver contains a high amount of vitamin A, this vitamin is not harmful in adequate doses, but our dogs cannot naturally assimilate amounts as high as those provided by the liver.
In small portions it can be given to our dog, very occasionally, it should not become a daily food. It is used in natural food diets such as the BARF diet, although it is generally better to serve it cooked than raw, as is the case with eggs.
A dog with excess vitamin A can cause anorexy, bone deformation and even death.
Harmful Dog Food: The Bones
Many people think that bones are very healthy for dogs, they have eaten them all their lives and nothing ever happened … they cannot be more wrong. The only bones a dog can eat are meaty and / or milky bones, such as chicken carcasses, wings, thighs, pork ribs, etc … they should always be completely raw, never cooked. Cooked bones splinter when chewed and can get stuck in our dog’s throat or gastrointestinal system, something that can even cause death.
Other bones that dogs can eat are large, hard, and round, such as beef or veal knee.
Never give your dog cooked or inappropriate bones, just soft, milky bones or cow’s knee.
Harmful Dog Foods: Alcohol
We don’t know anyone who in their right mind even thinks about giving alcohol to their dog, but many people who can joke about it. A little beer or wine to the dog to see if he likes it, or gets a little drunk…. They are jokes that you should never practice, since alcohol is a very powerful poison for dogs.
In medium doses, it can cause our dog to go into a coma or die. It is no joke, dogs do not tolerate alcohol.
Other toxic dog foods:
- Walnuts They are toxic due to their high phosphorous content, which is not recommended for our dogs.
- Raw eggs, its shell can produce salmonellosis in our dogs, something that can kill them. They must be without shell.
- Salmon and other raw fish They can contain very dangerous toxins and parasites. If you’re going to give it completely raw, freeze it for a few days first to kill parasites.
- Mushrooms Most mushrooms and fungi have toxins that are very dangerous for dogs. They can cause vomiting, diarrhea, kidney problems …
- Coffee or tea, caffeine is pure poison for our dogs. They cannot take anything that contains caffeine or derivatives.
- Candies, sweets or caramels, normally contain sugar or xylitol, a very harmful sweetener for our dogs as well as the sugar itself.
- Salt, the salt feels fatal to the dogs, produces convulsions and vomits, in severe cases including death.
- Large fish scraps, highly recommended in feeding your dog. They can cause problems throughout the digestive system.
- Expired food, some people give spoiled or moldy food to their dogs…. something highly inadvisable for the toxins they may have.
- Swiss chard or spinach, since they contain oxalic acid, harmful to the health of our dogs.
- Yeasts, if we are making dough for bread or pastry we must be careful with our dogs. Yeast is very toxic to them and they should never eat it.
- Grease Dogs eat fatty foods of course, but always in controlled measures. Excess fat can cause serious pancreatic problems, diarrhea and vomiting.
These are the most harmful daily foods for our dogs, although not the only ones. We must make sure of what we give our dog, since as we have commented, what feels good to us does not have to sit well with our dog.