9 Common Food Bad For Dogs
I have a pet dog at home which is just about 1 year old. It’s a mix breed and I have been feeing it a lot of nonsense. Here are 9 things given to him which I thought were safe.
- Alcohol
- Bones
- Cat Food
- Chocolate
- Raw Eggs
- Onions
- Salt
- Tobacco Products
- Tomatoes
During weekends, I enjoy mixing my own cocktail of ‘Kahlua’, ‘Bailey’s’ and milk while watching football games. Sometimes, out of curiosity, I would pour a little into my dog’s bowl and see if it can get drunk. Now I know that alchohol can lead to injury, disorientation, sickness, urination problems or even coma or death from alcohol poisoning. Some dogs may be attracted to alcoholic drinks so don’t leave one setting where a dog can reach it.
I feed my dog once a day. Usually after lunch, I will give all the leftover chicken bones to it. I thought it would be safe because he is still alive today. Now I know that cooked bones can be very hazardous for your dog. Bones become brittle when cooked which causes them to splinter when broken. The splinters have sharp edges that have been known to become stuck in the teeth, caused choking when caught in the throat or caused a rupture or puncture of the stomach lining or intestinal tract. Exceptionally bad bones are turkey and chicken legs, ham, pork chop and veal.
I don’t have cats but know that cat food is not formulated for canine consumption. It is generally too high in protein and fats and is not a balanced diet for a dog.
My house has a lot of chocolates given by relatives and friends in their travels. Sometimes, when a chocolate is near expiry, I will feed my dog again. Luckily, he is still alive. =) Now I know that, cocoa powder and cooking chocolate are the most toxic forms. These forms of chocolate contain ten times more theobromine than milk chocolate. Even licking a substantial part of the chocolate icing from a cake can make a dog sick. The next most dangerous forms are semi-sweet chocolate and dark chocolate, with milk chocolate being the least dangerous. A dog needs to eat more than a 250gm block of milk chocolate, however the high amount of fat found in milk chocolate can lead to an attack of pancreatitis.
After gym, I’ll usually eat all the boiled egg whites and give my dog the yolk. It is only the raw eggs that should not be given to a dog.
All forms of onion can be a problem including dehydrated onions, raw onions, cooked onions and table scraps containing cooked onions and/or garlic. Left over pizza, Chinese dishes and commercial baby food containing onion, sometimes fed as a supplement to young pets, can cause illness.
Too much salt is bad too. Mainly, iodized salt and salty foods can cause stomach ailments and pancreatitis. Some dogs, especially large breeds, have been known to gulp too much water after eating salty foods and developed a life threatening condition called bloat during which the stomach fills with gas and twists, leading to a painful death unless emergency treatment is received immediately.
No one in my house smokes so I’m not really concerned about tobacco products. Anyways cigarette butts, cigars, pipe tobacco, nicotine patches, nicotine gum and chewing tobacco can be fatal to dogs if ingested. Signs of nicotine poisoning can appear within an hour and include hyperactivity, salivation, panting, vomiting and diarrhea. Advanced signs include muscle weakness, twitching, collapse, coma, increased heart rate and cardiac arrest.
There were a few times where I caught my mum feeding the dog a whole tomato. Little did she know that these contain atropine which can cause dilated pupils, tremors and irregular heartbeat. The highest concentration of atropine is found in the leaves and stems of tomato plants, next is the unripe (green) tomatoes and then the ripe tomato.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Grapes and Raisins are very toxic. It causes Acute Renal Failure (kidneys). Also, it causes them to stop eating and develop diarrhea.
Bread Dough (yeast) It expands and also ferments, creating alcohol like enzymes which can poison your pet. Can cause gastric distention, respiratory and vascular compromise, CNS depression and death.
April 12th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
I think it’s most confusing what is good or bad for a dog in regards to food in genral,you talk to a vet he tells you feed him this(when he was in vet school ,that mfg took him to lunch) you ask people in genral,conflicking answers,I personlly think no one knows
April 15th, 2009 at 11:25 am
(Scott) Grapes and raisins are toxic only when taken in large quantities. Like for example, if the dog is fed bowls after bowls of grapes and raisins, it’ll be toxic for it. However, bread is alright. I feed my dog bread all the time.
(bob) Some things yeah, some thing nay. But I still think the vet doc is credible enough.
June 18th, 2009 at 8:06 am
I think it is hard to tell what is good or bad for dogs due to the fact that like humans all dogs are different. Some things may affect this dog one way but a thousand other dogs may have no problems with it. It also works the other way what would kill thousands of dogs there are some that could eat it all day long. So I really don’t know but feed your dog what it likes or you will allow him to have if it makes him sick you know not to do it anymore. If it kills them I guess you really know you shouldn’t have fed them that and should probably dig a hole and have a small ceremony in the memory of the beloved friend that has passed.
June 18th, 2009 at 11:23 am
(Hodge) You have a point there. It’s okay to TRY giving food to dogs that are not known to harm their lives. As in they will still live if their bodies react negatively towards the given food.
August 4th, 2009 at 10:38 am
are figs ok for dogs to eat
August 4th, 2009 at 11:35 am
(mayo) I’m not sure but I feel figs are high in sugar but one or 2 can’t hurt. Worst that could happen is it gets a bad case of pooping. However, it’s just my opinion. Still, it’s better to feed your dogs safe food.
December 2nd, 2009 at 8:19 am
I’m glad you made sure to mention that it was only cooked bones that are bad for dogs, as raw bones don’t splinter and are actually good for them.
December 13th, 2009 at 2:46 am
My dog loved tomatoes and hot peppers(Hot,Hot, Hot peppers) and would eat them right off the vine!
March 28th, 2010 at 11:23 pm
I was wondering if chinese food was band for dogs although i remember when i was about 11 i fed this stray dog that kept coming to our tomato garden, a green tomatoe. I use to toss over the little ones to him and he would catch them in his mouth. He still comes around today and now i’m 13. And i do not feed him any more… only like hot dogs. =].
March 28th, 2010 at 11:26 pm
Well kara, that was not a very good idea to feed him tomatoes lol but chinese food is a little bad for dogs, if u are considering giving him sweet and sour chicken or something… altho, spicy stuff CAN upset his stomach a lot. rice is good. but if its like chow mein or lo mein, u shoyuld take out the onions and stuff before u giv him it. hope this he;ps. :)
March 28th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
I agree w/ ya Lolaa. There are other proffesional sites that show bad stuff for dogs.
April 6th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Give your dog good nutritional DOG FOOD or make your own with dog recipes-(too much work) and Make sure they can handle it. My dog is allergic to wheat-found out the HARD expensive way. There is no reason to experiment. Some of the stuff I have read on this site is outrageous and stupid. Dogs are not garbage disposals either.
April 14th, 2010 at 3:45 am
GB, I agree. I don’t understand why people insist on feeding their dogs table food or scraps. It’s not healthy for them, even if it isn’t outright poisonous. What is wrong with buying top quality (or making if you really feel like it) top quality dog food and feeding them that (in reasonable amounts)? They will be healthier and live longer as a result – and you won’t have to fork over as much cash for vet bills.
June 26th, 2010 at 12:44 am
someone should take your dog away. I don’t know what kind of idiot would feed their dog all kinds of wierd things just to see if it would hurt them. I feel sorry for your dog.
August 16th, 2010 at 10:49 am
If you were serious when you said you gave your dog these varying things, particularly the booze, rather than just taking journalistic liberties, YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE ANY PETS. Period. End of subject. You are ignorant and dangerous, and you will have a pet die an agonizing death.
I’m half tempted to trace this back and find your real name and address so the SPCA can get animal control to come take whatever animals currently live in your home. Yeah, they’ll probably die in a shelter, but at least that’s a humane death.
You’re disgusting.
December 7th, 2010 at 2:57 am
When you say bread dough, do you mean raw or cooked? We have 2 Maltese and they love little peices of bread at dinner.
June 14th, 2011 at 2:25 am
my dog just ate half a saltine cracker about an hour ago. she had some water afterwards but im pretty sure shes okay. shes had saltine crackers before ( compliments of my bro) and was ok. shes a smaller dog so her stomach wont twist like big dogs that drink water.
June 18th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
In addition to his regular food I feed 3-4 boiled chicken neck to my lab every day, and sometimes he gets the two ends of the chicken tight bones where the joints are.
July 16th, 2011 at 9:35 pm
I agree with this, a hungry person would eat anything, even his own peers, so if a dog is hungry he will eat anything. Dogs dont know, what is bad and good for them, that is why we here, humans with brains, well at least a few have some. If you can not afford to give your dog good food and only tablescrab you should not have a dog. Even the stores like W-Mart, Publix, Winn-Dixie have some good food you can afford, you dont need to eat like a King and smoke like an Idiot, share with your loved pet whatever you have on money so he can be healthy also and does not have Belly pain, where and who does not care. A dog can not speak he is not a human beeing so you are there to keep care and if you dont know what to do, go on-line Google anything, asked a Petshop Associate or a Vet.
August 26th, 2011 at 8:33 pm
hmmmm, well some of you are just out rite venting out aren’t you. what couldn’t argue with the hubby or the wify so your just being mean well the dude or lady already said they’d never do it again.
but well actually going back to the topic i come from a big family and have first hand experience that a little bit of everything is good as it builds up immunity and your immune system.i mean think about it; when you get an immunisation done the injection has a tiny bit of the disease or virus in it so your body can build up immunity towards it.
and further more if you have a deicate stomach or no someone who does and the food would upset your or that particular persons stomach well then surely it would be bad for the dog too. like for example i ate a lot of garlic everyday for a week and had an alergic reaction which is what we would guess would happen as it is quite strong. furthermore, i ate a big tub of ice cream once and was foaming at the mouth not to mention the tummy pain which is what we’d guess would happen. the list can go on…..
and i would like to point out that if you read the lables of your lovely pet food a lot of dog treats have garlic in it and a lot of dog food has beer in it.
November 27th, 2011 at 2:12 am
Hmmm – please note that the beer in dog food is non-alcoholic. Garlic and onions are toxic in LARGE amounts. A clove of garlic used in a bag of dog food is not really a LARGE amount, but again, it really depends on your dog.
In other words, you all need to know what is poisonous/dangerous to a dog’s system and never feed them those things.
Don’t ever compare a dog to a human being. It is not about strengthening their immune system. Some food that we, humans, enjoy are TOXIC, pure POISON, for dogs. What you feed them can kill them either slowly and painfully for the rest of their lives or quicky shutting down their organs and killing them instantly.
Please feed your dog natural, organic, healthy food so that you can enjoy a long, happy life with your four legged companions.
Also, unlike some humans, if you give a dog a inch of love, they give you a mile back.