2023-10-09
Leading a healthy life is a goal of many people worldwide. The process usually includes eating healthy food, doing more sports, and improving our mental and physical health. If “healthy life” is your motto, you are very likely to want to involve your family members, friends...and even your beloved paw friend in your routine. If you belong to the people who strive to eat healthily and treat your dog the same way, you may want to know what types of food are dangerous for dogs, so you can avoid them.
You can find xylitol in a lot of products including gums, chocolate, candies, cookies, desserts, ice cream, even in medication vitamins, and supplies for dental care such as mouthwash, toothpaste, floss, and rinses. Although xylitol is harmless for humans, it can be very toxic for dogs and cause lethargy, vomiting, seizures, and even liver failure (due to insulin release). Canines’ bodies need sugar to properly function. However, dogs’ intake of carbohydrates (our body breaks these down into sugar or glucose) in nature will come from consuming grass, some fruits, or herbivorous prey. Any additives and sweeteners are not healthy for your paw friend.
Chocolate is among the favorite types of food for so many people! Some of us can not even imagine spending a day without eating a few blocks of chocolate (or the whole chocolate). However, it is highly toxic for dogs, due to the content of methylxanthines theobromine and caffeine. The darker the chocolate is, the more dangerous it is for dogs, as the harmful ingredients are more concentrated. Logically, milk and white chocolate are less dangerous for dogs, but they still can lead to illness due to the sugar and fat they contain. You should make sure that your paw friend does not have access to the chocolate at home.
Caffeine is likely to be a fixed part of the morning routine for a lot of people worldwide. Some of us would even say that it is a way of living. We can find caffeine not only in coffee but also in tea, energy drinks, soda, and diet medication. Theobromine, which, as mentioned above, is also a compound of chocolate, can lead to seizures, vomiting, panting, urination, and even cause death. The compound that sometimes we need so much to stay awake and go through the day, must be completely excluded from our paw friend’s meal.
First,
we would like to clarify that not all nuts are dangerous for dogs.
However, most of them have a high content of fat, which makes them
not really healthy. If you regularly feed your dog nuts, especially
salted ones, this can cause many unwanted side effects, including
diarrhea and vomiting. Luckily for those of you who enjoy eating
peanuts and would like to share these with their paw friends, peanuts
are not considered nuts, but legumes. However, you still need to keep
track of the number of peanuts you feed your canine. English walnuts
are also considered non-toxic for dogs, but they still need to be
given in small amounts, due to the fat content. Also, their hardness
makes them hard to digest.
Nuts that are considered toxic or are at least not recommended for dogs due to fat content and/or the difficulties to digest them are:
Macadamia nuts, Black walnuts, Pistachios, Raw Cashews, Hickory nuts, Almonds, Brazil nuts, Pecans, and Molded nuts.
The avocado, also known as alligator pear or butter fruit, has gained much popularity among people who want to eat healthily and be energetic. Although it is more dangerous for species such as horses, birds, and rabbits than dogs, it is not recommended that you feed your dog avocado. Your paw friend will find it hard to digest it, and it can also lead to cardiovascular problems (if in larger amounts).
Citrus
Given in small amounts, citrus fruits may cause stomach discomfort, while given in larger amounts they can lead to swelling in your dog’s mouth and central nervous system (CNS) depression. Citrus fruits can have a negative effect on your canine’s health due to the content of citric acid.
You
may be shocked to understand that even small amounts of
grapes/raisins can have a toxic effect on dogs, namely:
-1-2 grapes for a dog who weighs 10lbs;
-3-4 grapes for a dog who weighs 20lbs or more;
-0.7 ounces of raisins for a dog who weighs 10lbs;
-1.4 ounces of raisins for a dog who weighs 20lbs;
-2.1 ounces of raisins for a dog who weighs 30lbs;
-2.8 ounces of raisins for a dog who weighs 40lbs or more.
According to veterinarians the compound that causes toxicity in dogs is tartaric acid. The content of tartaric acid in grapes and raisins may vary depending on the grape’s type and where it was grown.
Symptoms that you may notice in your dog after he/she has eaten grapes or raisins are excessive thirst, diarrhea, vomiting, and even kidney failure.
Onions and garlic are known as vegetables, that are very healthy for humans due to the content of vitamin C, vitamin B6 and potassium. Garlic also contains calcium, copper, manganese, and phosphorous. Despite all the benefits that onion and garlic provide to people, they can seriously irritate your dog's stomach. Eaten in larger amounts, they destroy red blood cells and can cause anemia.
Our paw friends’ bodies do not have the enzyme (lactase) that is responsible for breaking down lactose in dairy products. Having said that, larger amounts of lactose can result in digestive problems, vomiting, and diarrhea.
However, if given very small amounts on an occasional basis, i.e. in the form of small bites of cheese as a treat, problems are not likely to occur, unless your dog is lactose-intolerant.
Very Salted Foods
Salty food like potato chips, salty popcorn, and pretzels can cause in your paw friend urination, excessive thirst, diarrhea, vomiting, trembles, seizures...and even result in death.
We would say that large amounts of salt are not healthy for both humans and dogs...
Although it would be natural for dogs living in nature to eat raw meat, this is not the case with domesticated dogs. Undercooked meat and raw eggs can be dangerous for both people and pets, due to bacteria like
Escherichia coli (also known as E. coli), and Salmonella they might contain. Moreover, feeding your dog raw eggs can result in coat and skin problems.
This is caused by the enzyme avidin, which obstructs the process of digesting biotin, which is a B vitamin. Last but not least, raw bones can seriously injure your dog’s digestive tract if they get stuck in it.
Yeast
If
you consider giving your dog yeast bread or bread where yeast is
utilized as a raising ingredient, you should think again. Yeast can
lead to stomach bloating and cause pain.
This condition can be very dangerous if the intestines twist.
