Top five foods never to feed your dogs

THERE is no denying that when our four-legged friends show us those puppy dog eyes, we tend to give in by rewarding them with a yummy snack.

But some of us tend to reward our pets with treats that are in fact detrimental to their health, without even knowing.

It’s important to know which foods to avoid and which symptoms to look out for.

Here is a list of the top five common foods not to feed your pooch.

Chocolate

Chocolate tops the list not because it is the most toxic, but because it is one of the most common accidentally ingested foods due to its mass appeal.

The holiday season definitely sees an increase in chocolate toxicity cases.

The chemicals in chocolate that cause the toxic effect are caffeine and theobromine and the concentration of these chemicals increases with the darkness of the chocolate.

White chocolate carries the lowest risk, and milk chocolate requires a certain amount of ingestion per body weight to cause intoxication and fatality.

If you suspect your dog may have ingested chocolate, an immediate visit to your vet is the best course of action.

Signs that your dog is suffering from chocolate intoxication include restlessness, pacing, muscle tremors, seizures, extreme thirst, rapid heart rate, and fever.

Grapes and raisins

There are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to grapes and raisins and the effects they have on dogs.

Grape ingestion has definitely been linked to acute kidney failure and even death in many dogs, yet others seem to be able to enjoy the fruit without incident.

Also a mystery is that some dogs can eat grapes without issue once, then become extremely ill on another occasion.

Symptoms of dogs suffering from grape toxicity are usually present within 12 hours of ingestion and include vomiting, lethargy, and diarrhoea.

As acute kidney failure progresses dogs will refuse food, drink excessively, and experience an increased need to urinate.

Hops

The severely poisonous effect of hops on dogs has become more widely known recently with the popularity of home beer brewing kits.

Both raw and cooked hops have toxic principles, and dried hops plugs are more dangerous than hops pellets.

The exact poisonous component within the plant is unknown at this time.

One of the major symptoms after ingesting hops is hyperthermia – extreme fever, with others being racing heart rate, increased respiration, vomiting, and abnormal blood clotting.

Although any breed can be affected, certain breeds seem to be more susceptible to the extreme fever aspect of hops toxicity.

Xylitol

Xylitol is commonly found in sugar-free gums, candies, and baked goods, but may also be in your brand of toothpaste.

The chemical causes canine blood sugar to rapidly plummet, leading to seizures and disorientation as quickly as 30 minutes after ingestion.

Some dogs will develop acute liver failure that can cause death quickly, even with veterinary attention.

If you even suspect your pet may have gotten into a sugar-free product, seek help immediately.

Garlic and onions

Garlic and vegetables from the onion family, including shallots and scallions, are rarely ingested in large enough quantities to cause toxicosis.

However, concentrated onion and garlic products like soup or dip mixes and garlic and onion powders can have the same effect as eating an entire onion or bulb of garlic.

Dogs who ingest large enough amounts of these products can experience severe damage to their red blood cells, which can take days to become evident.

Symptoms include lethargy, tiring easily on walks, pale mucous membranes, and dark orange or red urine.

Destruction of the red blood cells leads to anemia requiring blood transfusions to avoid death.

The five foods above can lead to tragedy for our dogs, but there are several other food items that should also be avoided.

Some of these can have toxic effects to certain dogs in large quantities, but all of them have the potential to cause some level of illness, organ damage, or pain.

They are:

Caffeine

Avocados

Macadamia Nuts

Alcohol

Dairy Products

Fatty Meats and Bones

Raw Meat, Eggs and Fish

Yeast Dough

Peach, Plum & Persimmon Pits

Excessive Salt and Sugar

Moldy/Expired Foods

If you suspect your pet may have eaten any of the above foods, seek veterinary care immediately — do not wait for symptoms to appear days later.

Information taken from BarkPost.