Toxic Foods You Should Never Give Your Dog

emumbert1

Raw eggs, raw meats and raw fish can lead to salmonella poisoning.

Yes, if the dog has immune system problems, but otherwise a dog's species-appropriate diet is raw meat.  Salmonella is not a problem for most dogs.  Their digestive systems are designed to handle it.

Ever see a dog get a raw bone and then repeatedly chew it, bury it, and dig it back up?  That is normal canine behavior and seldom makes a dog sick.  You think those bones don't have salmonella? 

With all the recent processed/unprocessed food recalls for salmonella poisoning one can hardly pick on just raw food for harboring that organism.

Ah, yet another unsolicitated answer, and an incorrect one at that, to yet another unasked question......

I'm not sure the BARF advocates and the prepared food advocates will ever come together. Vets and scientists warn against salmonella poisoning in pets. If it comes to opinion versus documented scientific evidence...I'll have to go with the trained professionals. Even if the risk of salmonella is small, I'd rather err on the side of caution than see a dog die in agony.

Thanks for your response, though. It's dialogue like this that makes being a part of a forum interesting.

I guess that I have to go with evidence in my own dogs.  They have been getting raw meat, bones and eggs for years and years with NO ill effects.

emumbert1

Is chocolate bad for dogs? Absolutely! Many people think this is a myth or an "old wives tale". Still others have never heard that chocolate can be harmful to your dog. Chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine and can be fatal to your dog, depending on size and the amount consumed. If your buddy snatches a chocolate chip off the floor, don't sweat it. If he snags a whole bag of chocolate chips or several chocolate bars, you will have a mighty sick dog.

While the danger is there, there are modifiers working.  Size of the dog, darkness of the chocolate effect the outcome.  A large dog eating a Hershey bar will probably have no ill effects, except for the desire to eat more chocolate.   I had a labX discover a box of chocolate and try to eat it all.  He passed some of the paper  next day, but no ill effects.

Before I knew grapes were a hazard, I had to fence in ours because Rags and Bear would graze on them as the grapes ripened.  They died of old age-Rags at 17.

While you don't feed the stuff to your dogs, some of the toxic products do not require rapid trips to the vet.  Most of us are aware of the different food dangers, but you have to realize that dogs consider cat droppings to be minitreats and birds dead three days to be dessert.  While there are foods we eat that dogs can not, there are foods dogs eat that make us sick.

LOL Doug at the 3 day dead bird!  My dogs have a good drop it and leave it, but, if they happen to be outside without me.......

 My dogs would not like to be without their occasional slurp of kefir...

I don't know, my vet will talk with me on my raw diet and will talk about protein vs. fibre, and we can discuss lots of options. Salmonella has never come up as a discussion point. Lots of vets these days are supporting owner's choices to feed raw diets.

I don't think anybody wants to see a dog die in agony. But, if you are going to stick with the *professionals*, then go PAST the vets who are paid by dog food companies to *promote* their food, and look at the actual physiology of a dog. The actual academic, empirical evidence. A dog has a *short* digestive system (compared to the complex one of a human), made to get food in and out relatively quickly. Their stomach pH is much more acidic than a dog's. Dogs don't get *salmonella* poisoning in the way that humans might. Two totally different species who react totally differently to the same organism. Unfortunately it's another example of a human-focused opinion on a non-human organism.

 An ill animal *may* be at increased compromise with certain organisms in food, but these days raw diets are actually recommended for cancer patients and other dogs with immune compromises, as a way to *help* their systems.

My guys have been eating raw for quite some time now, and I've yet to see any negative side effects in them, ourselves, and even my nephew who gets down and plays with the dogs.

Feeding raw foods is no longer *just opinion*. Ten years ago, it might have been. Now, not so much. It might be a good idea to catch up with modern research!

 According to this article, my dogs should be long dead. They eat dairy almost daily (it's not in their prepared diets, but they get Greek yogurt for snacks). Raw meat/eggs at LEAST once a week, avocado whenever I eat it (it's the seed that's poisonous, not the flesh). Garlic is a daily thing, in their prepared diet, toppers, or the supplement I give. They will all slurp black coffee, hot or cold, out of my cup. This is not something I encourage (I like my coffee dog spit free, thanks!), but it happens on occasion.

They just live on, beautiful, with clean teeth, shining coats, and wagging tails. 

I guess in general this is a good list for the average owner to use as a guide.  But, if you are a more advanced dog owner than you know this can be stretched.  Willow is THE diary queen-cheese, milk, yogurt, you name it! 

I didn't realize grapes were a hazard so thanks for sharing that! During the desperate after-surgery days of pill feeding, I tried everything including a grape. Glad Hap knew to outsmart me on that one.

Rasins too hapnthatch.

Um yeah, mine always get yogart with a fish based kibble (I prefer the paint ON the walls, not removed by paint peeling farts), or with a lot of meds.  If not yogart for meds, then cheese.