Elizabeth February 27th, 2008
Never feed your dog the following foods: grapes, raisins, sultanas, onions, macadamias, chocolate, garlic, coffee or fruit pips.
To find out more, read on.
It’s a rare pet owner who doesn’t slip his critter the occasional treat. Our pets add so much to the quality of our lives that we look for ways to return the kindness, or to at least impart some measure of thanks for all they do. Yet though the urge to do good is there, the mechanism often isn’t.
Humans and the pets they keep have widely differing views on what constitutes welcome rewards or recognitions. Your dog, for instance, wouldn’t think much of a thank-you card, nor would your cat feel properly appreciated were he the recipient of a dozen roses presented in a nice vase. (Likewise, you would probably feel far less than delighted by the gift of a headless mouse.)
Yet food transcends the species. Almost every creature we would think to keep as a companion appears to take some delight in eating, so a gift of tasty yet out-of-the-ordinary ingestibles becomes a workable way of communicating “I love you,” “Well done!” or just “Thanks.” Unfortunately, good intentions can have deadly consequences when pet owners make the mistake of assuming all their favorite snacks are also suitable for their animals.
via Snopes
Word is spreading that dogs and onions don’t mix. Even so, Harry and I had to learn this the hard way after a big meal of bolognaise sauce a few years ago. There’s nothing like seeing your living room floor covered in blood-filled pee to make you remember that rule.
Harry was fine, although he risked acute renal failure and was very anaemic for about a week. Had I hesitated before taking him to the vet he might not be with us.
Somehow after 18 years of dog ownership no vet had ever warned me about the dangers of onion. This week I discovered a few more human foods that are also potentially fatal to dogs.
Please read the list, and pass the information on to any dog owners that you know. I’m living proof that a responsible pet owner can be completely ignorant, and risk making a horrible mistake.
ONION AND GARLIC
It doesn’t take much onion to kill a small dog, and repeated small doses are just as harmful as a single large dose.
Onions and garlic are other dangerous food ingredients that cause sickness in dogs, cats and also livestock. Onions and garlic contain the toxic ingredient thiosulphate. Onions are more of a danger.
Pets affected by onion toxicity will develop haemolytic anaemia, where the pet’s red blood cells burst while circulating in its body.
At first, pets affected by onion poisoning show gastroenteritis with vomiting and diarrhoea. They will show no interest in food and will be dull and weak. The red pigment from the burst blood cells appears in an affected animal’s urine and it becomes breathless. The breathlessness occurs because the red blood cells that carry oxygen through the body are reduced in number.
Source
GRAPES, RAISINS AND SULTANAS
This was news to me until a few days ago. Harry always whines at me when I eat grapes, so I’ve slipped him quite a few over the years. Once again, I had absolutely no idea that I was feeding something that could cause his kidneys to fail.
The database showed that dogs who ate the grapes and raisins typically vomited within a few hours of ingestion. Most of the time, partially digested grapes and raisins could be seen in the vomit, fecal material, or both. At this point, some dogs would stop eating (anorexia), and develop diarrhea. The dogs often became quiet and lethargic, and showed signs of abdominal pain. These clinical signs lasted for several days – sometimes even weeks.
When medical care was sought, blood chemistry panels showed consistent patterns. Hypercalcemia (elevated blood calcium levels) was frequently present, as well as elevated levels of blood urea nitrogen, creatinine and phosphorous (substances that reflect kidney function). These chemistries began to increase anywhere from 24 hours to several days after the dogs ate the fruit. As the kidney damage developed, the dogs would produce little urine. When they could no longer produce urine, death occurred. In some cases, dogs who received timely veterinary care still had to be euthanized.
Source
It’s crazy that an everyday fruit can have such dire consequences for a domestic animal. I wonder how many people know about it? That article goes on to say that pesticides, heavy metals and fungal contaminants have been ruled out as the cause of grapes’ toxicity, so it’s something to do with the grape itself.
MACADAMIAS
The toxic compound is unknown but the affect of macadamia nuts is to cause locomotory difficulties. Dogs develop a tremor of the skeletal muscles, and weakness or paralysis of the hindquarters. Affected dogs are often unable to rise and are distressed, usually panting. Some affected dogs have swollen limbs and show pain when the limbs are manipulated.
Dogs have been affected by eating as few as six macadamia kernels (nuts without the shell) while others had eaten approximately forty kernels.
Source
CHOCOLATE
Most dog owners already know that dogs shouldn’t eat chocolate, but here’s why. Chocolate contains theobromine, a compound that is a cardiac stimulant and a diuretic.
When affected by an overdose of chocolate, a dog can become excited and hyperactive. Due to the diuretic effect, it may pass large volumes of urine and it will be unusually thirsty. Vomiting and diarrhoea are also common. The effect of theobromine on the heart is the most dangerous effect. Theobromine will either increase the dog’s heart rate or may cause the heart to beat irregularly. Death is quite possible, especially with exercise.
After their pet has eaten a large quantity of chocolate, many pet owners assume their pet is unaffected. However, the signs of sickness may not be seen for several hours, with death following within twenty-four hours.
Cooking chocolate and cocoa are the most toxic forms of chocolate to a dog, so something like mud cake is a real landmine. A dog has to eat a fair amount of milk chocolate to be affected, but I have a policy of never buying “doggy chocolate” treats so that he doesn’t develop a taste for it.
OTHER DANGERS
According to Petalia, these are some of the other human foods and household items that are especially toxic to dogs:
- Pear pips, the kernels of plums, peaches and apricots, apple core pips (contain cyanogenic glycosides resulting in cyanide posioning)
- Potato peelings and green looking potatoes
- Rhubarb leaves
- Mouldy/spoiled foods (duh!)
- Alcohol
- Yeast dough
- Coffee grounds, beans & tea (caffeine)
- Hops (used in home brewing)
- Tomato leaves & stems (green parts)
- Broccoli (in large amounts)
- Cigarettes, tobacco, cigars
The Pet Center adds the following:
- Mothballs, potpourri oils, homemade play dough, fabric softener sheets, dishwashing detergent & batteries could be dangerous for your pet.
- Be aware of the plants you have in your home and yard. The ingestion of azalea, oleander, sago palm or yew plant material by your pet can be fatal. Easter lily, day lily, tiger lily and some other lily species can cause kidney failure in cats.
- Be alert for antifreeze/coolant leaking from your vehicle. Animals are attracted to the sweet taste and ingesting just a small amount can cause an animal’s death. Consider using animal-friendly products that use propylene glycol rather than those containing ethylene glycol.
If you’ve read this far, thank you! Don’t forget to tell other pet owners about this post, so that we can raise awareness of these foods. It’s not my usual style to embark upon a crusade like this, but what’s more important than protecting the animals who can’t take care of themselves?
