What's poisonous for dogs?

Grapes and raisins - the problem with these is that some dogs are ok, others can die after eating just one or two. It's not related to dog size either, nobody really knows why this happens. If your dog eats grapes or raisins, your vet can give an injection to induce vomiting but this has to be done quickly.

Xylitol - artificial sweetener, sometimes used in peanut butter

Chocolate - unlike grapes though, the risk is relative to the amount of cocoa content and the dog size

Apple and pear seeds

Onions

Alcohol

Avocado

Macadamia nuts

Peach/nectarines stones

 

Avocados are poisonous to humans as well - or at least the skin and stone are. The pulp is fine and given that there is a brand of commercial dog food based on avocados I'm wondering if this is the case for dogs too. It's just easier to say something is poisonous when only parts of it are. I'm certainly not panicking when Harri steals some of my toast with avocado spread on it ( as he has!). I'm also not going to worry about him snaffling the odd apple core. Yes the pips contain toxins but he'd have to eat more than one apple core to be poisoned ( as would we!).

On the other hand the day before he came home I was out in the garden picking all the black juicy berries off my Atropa Belladonna (deadly nightshade) plants. They would have been a serious risk to him.

My problem with the lists you find on the internet is that they are often incomplete and inaccurate - sloppy use of common names rather than the Latin classification is prevalent. Given that common names vary so much depending on where you live it isn't always very helpful. Very few also differentiate between truly toxic (and you should worry) and the ones that may just give an upset tummy for a few hours.

 

• Caffeine. Like chocolate, caffeine is a stimulant.

• Onions, garlic, and chives (allium species)

• Alcohol.

• Mouldy foods.

• Macadamia nuts.

• Yeast dough.

• Corn on the cob.

• Xylitol.

 

Slug pellets and rat poison. I have had dogs for a long time and they have eaten probably everything on the lists above and had nothing worse than an upset stomach.
I had a beagle die from eating either slug pellets from next doors garden or a poisoned rat carcas. She disappeared for about 30 seconds getting her into the car for her walk, clearly ate something and was dead the next day. The neighbour does use slug pellets and there was a dead rat on the front garden a few days later.

 

Xylitol is definitely toxic to dogs but its important to remember that with regards to peanut butter, it generally only appears in American 'sugar free' brands. I haven't seen it in any UK brands. Its always important to check the label.

 

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Theobromine is the ingredient in chocolate that can make dogs severely ill, or may kill them; it causes cardiac arrhythmias, & can cause heart failure.
The darker the chocolate, the less it takes to be dangerous, so baking chocolate bars & 65% & higher cacao “anything” (bars, cocoa, fudge topping, _______ ) is the most hazardous type, while milk chocolate is the least toxic. // However, in sufficient quantity, any chocolate can kill dogs, with the dosage determining the risk. Small dogs under 20# are of course at most risk, but even big dogs can get in serious trouble.

Don’t give dogs any chocolate, is my suggestion to dog owners; some folks give dogs milk chocolate or a piece of choc-chip cookie, etc, or buy “dog treats” containing chocolate. DOGS AREN’T STOOPID - if they learn that chocolate is tasty, & even more, if it becomes associated with praise & fun times, they will seek it out, & eating a bag of baking choc-chips might lead to an emergency vet-trip, when a dog innocently follows their nose to the goodies in a grocery bag, or eats the high-priced chocolate set aside as a gift box.

There are plenty of safe, tasty things we can offer our dogs as food or as earned rewards, or use as tidbits in pos-R association (which is unearned, & is not contingent on the dog’s behavior). // Save chocolate in any form for humans.
Better yet, send it to me...


- terry

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Hey Josie,

My parents usually feed my dogs with crap from the table. :/

To prevent this, I did some research on human foods and built a website that checks if a given food is good or bad for dogs. So my parents will now…

You can check any human foods: What human foods can your dog eat?

According to my research, these are the dangerous human foods for dogs:

Fruits:

Lemon
Lime: dogs don’t like its taste, and it can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
Grapefruit: unhealthy for dogs because of the essential oils and psoralens this fruit contains.
Grapes and raisins: even small amounts can prove to be fatally toxic for a dog, causing kidney failure.

Veggies:

Onion: whether it’s raw, cooked, or in powdered form, it can make your dog ill. Onions are toxic to dogs because they contain thiosulfate.
Garlic: extremely toxic to dogs, and consuming even a small amount can lead to severe poisoning.
Leeks: toxic for dogs and can cause oxidative damage to the red blood cells.
Jalapeno: not poisonous to dogs but bad for them because of the spicy taste.
Scallions/green onion/spring onion: poisonous for dogs.
Chilli: not toxic but contains capsaicin that acts as an irritant to dogs.

Other:

Macadamia nut: macadamia nuts, raw or roasted, can make your dog ill.
Nutmeg: toxic to dogs due to a compound in the nutmeg called myristicin.
Yeast dough: unbaked dough can be poisonous.
Nutella: not recommended due to the high sugar content.
Sugar
Jelly and Jam: these are very high in sugar and often contain artificial flavours or preservatives, which are not good for dogs.
Fish (avoid giving fish that has small bones in it; boneless fishes such as salmon is OK).

 

While the above is not entirely wrong it is a little misleading. For example garlic in small amounts is considered safe, chocolate is not on your list, a LOT of onions would have to be consumed to cause a problem and xylitol is missing from your list.

 

Friend's collie boy almost died from Xylitol! But my two often get raw fish and I've never had a problem re bones. Maybe as with meat it's just cooked?

 

Yeah, I missed those, but I didn't say that this is a complete list
Thanks for the note!

 

A short list of some more things harmful to dogs.I have this printout on my fridge for my dog sitter

 

I've yet to find any list that is accurate - things can be harmful whilst not being poisonous (and there is a distinct difference, raw dough could bloat, it won't poison) and even things that are listed as "poisonous" are sometimes not in the quantities that are normally consumed.

Raspberry is fine @Sandra Christiana

 

Hello Sandra, i'm not sure. My greys have stolen a couple a few times wit no ill effect . Then again they're big dogs so one or tow now and again didn't hurt them.
Generally i keep things i'm not sure about away from them but sometimes they get into the grocery before i could unpack

 

You're quite right about lists. I look at them as guidelines .The fruits veg and ingredients i'm sure about i keep away from Morgan and Rex . I'm glad to hear that raspberries are fine i love them and will not now worry if a couple are stolen from the shopping

 

My previous Welshie used to help himself from the canes in the garden! He would also eat every strawberry that ripened. We had been blaming the birds until he was caught red pawed.

The current one won't eat any of the fruits I've tried with him. He's strictly a meat and biscuits dog.