Foods That Are Toxic For Your Canine Friends
Never feed your dog toxic human items such as: chocolate, onions, grapes, raisins, yeast dough, artificial sweeteners, macadamia nuts, avocadoes, alcohol, or coffee. Consult your veterinarian with any questions on what is safe and what is harmful.
Chocolate
You’ve likely heard that you’re never supposed to feed a dog chocolate, and there’s a reason for that. That delicious candy contains caffeine-like stimulants known as methylxanthines. Chocolate also contains theobromine, a naturally occurring stimulant found in the cocoa bean, theobromine increases urination and affects the central nervous system as well as heart muscle. While amounts vary by type of chocolate, it’s the theobromine that is poisonous to dogs. If ingested in large amounts, chocolate can cause vomiting, diarrhea, irregular heartbeat, seizures and even death.
White chocolate has the least amount of theobromine, with 1 mg per ounce. Far on the other side of the spectrum is baking chocolate, which has a huge 450 mg of theobromine per ounce! Knowing which chocolate is the most toxic is important, but may have you wondering how much does it take to poison a dog. The list below should be helpful.
- White Chocolate: 200 ounces per pound of body weight. It takes 250 pounds of white chocolate to cause signs of poisoning in a 20-pound dog, 125 pounds for a 10-pound dog.
- Milk Chocolate: 1 ounce per pound of body weight. Approximately one pound of milk chocolate is poisonous to a 20-pound dog; one-half pound for a 10-pound dog. The average chocolate bar contains 2 to 3 ounces of milk chocolate. It would take 2-3 candy bars to poison a 10 pound dog. Semi-sweet chocolate has a similar toxic level.
- Sweet Cocoa: 0.3 ounces per pound of body weight. One-third of a pound of sweet cocoa is toxic to a 20-pound dog; 1/6 pound for a 10-pound dog.
- Baking (Dark) Chocolate: 0.1 ounce per in a 20 pound dog.
Grapes & Raisins
While this fruit is nutritious for you, it’s toxic to dogs and can cause kidney failure. The type of grape or raisin doesn’t seem to matter, and the amount consumed may be a single serving of raisins or a pound or more of grapes. (Raisins are much more concentrated.) Researchers are exploring the possibilities: a mycotoxin (fungal toxin), pesticide, herbicide or heavy metals, but thus far the actual toxin is unknown at this time.
Some clinical signs are vomiting and jittery (hyperactive) behavior are seen immediately to within the first 24 hours after ingestion. Diarrhea may also be seen, and the vomitus and feces may contain partially digested grapes or raisins. After 24 hours, the dog may be come anorexic, lethargic and depressed. Additionally the abdomen may be painful, the dog may stop drinking and urinating. Ultimately, the kidneys fail, and without aggressive treatment, many dogs will die.
Onions & Garlic
Garlic and onions of all forms — powdered, raw, cooked, or dehydrated — can destroy a dog’s red blood cells, leading to anemia. That can happen even with the onion powder found in some baby food. My dog has been given chicken and steak scraps that were seasoned with garlic and onion powder, making him sick for a full day. I recognized what was wrong and fed him Annie Chun’s Seaweed Snacks.He loves them and they stopped his symptoms. The symptoms of anemia include weakness, vomiting, little interest in food, dullness, and breathlessness.
- Cooked liver: 4 ounces for a large dog; 2 ounces for a smaller dog.
- Good dog food full of iron.
- Lean meats like ground beef and lamb.
- Fish, nuts and vegetables.
- Foods with Vitamin B9, like carrots, egg yolks, pumpkin.
- Green vegetables like beans and leafy produce full of chlorophyll like dried Seaweed.
Avocado
Avocado leaves, fruit, seeds and bark contain a toxin called persin that can cause upset stomach and breathing difficulties.
Alcohol
Even drinking a small amount of alcohol can result in significant intoxication for a dog, which can lead to vomiting, seizures and even death.
Coffee, Tea, & Other Caffeine
Caffeine in large enough quantities can be fatal for a dog, and it is said there is no antidote. Symptoms of caffeine poisoning include restlessness, rapid breathing, heart palpitations, muscle tremors, fits, and bleeding. In addition to tea and coffee – including beans and grounds — caffeine can be found in cocoa, chocolate, colas, and stimulant drinks such as Red Bull. It’s also in some cold medicines and pain killers.
Macadamia Nuts
Dogs should not eat macadamia nuts or foods containing macadamia nuts because they can be fatal. As few as six raw or roasted macadamia nuts can make a dog ill. Symptoms of poisoning include muscle tremors, weakness or paralysis of the hindquarters, vomiting, elevated body temperature, and rapid heart rate. Eating chocolate with the nuts will make symptoms worse, possibly leading to death.
Candy & Gum
Candy, gum, toothpaste, baked goods, and some diet foods are sweetened with xylitol. Xylitol can cause an increase in the insulin circulating through your dog’s body. That can cause your dog’s blood sugar to drop and can also cause liver failure that can occur within just a few days. Initial symptoms include vomiting, lethargy, and loss of coordination. Eventually, the dog may have seizures.
Salt
Eating too much salt can cause excessive thirst and urination and lead to sodium ion poisoning. Symptoms of too much salt include vomiting, diarrhea, depression, tremors, elevated body temperature, and seizures. It may even cause death.
No comments:
Post a Comment