Poison Or Food?

[Skyler]

I was reading around a local forum for my city related to pets and found this blog. I was actually shocked at some of the foods that are actually poison to your dog. It was an article copied from today.msnbc.com. I knew some of these, but not all! I thought I would share it as there are probably many of you out there that dont know them all either.

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Bad news foods

Avocados

They contain a toxic component called persin, which can damage heart, lung and other tissue in many animals. This fruit is very toxic to dogs, cats and most animals.

 

Beer

Alcoholic beverages can cause the same damage to an animal's liver and brain as they cause in humans. But the effects can be deadly on animals since they are much smaller than us. The smaller the animal, the more deadly the effects can be. Even a small amount of alcohol may cause vomiting and damage the liver and brain.

 

Nuts

Walnuts and macadamia nuts are especially toxic. Effects can be anything from vomiting to paralysis to death. Within 12 hours of eating the nuts, pets start to develop symptoms such as an inability to stand or walk, vomiting, hyperthermia (elevated body temperature), weakness, and an elevated heart rate. These symptoms can be even worse if your dog eats some chocolate with the nuts. The effect can cause kidney failure, often leading to death.

 

Chocolate

Chocolate contains theobromine, which can kill your pet if eaten in large quantities. Dark and unsweetened baking chocolates are especially dangerous. Giving your pup a piece of chocolate cake or even letting him lick the chocolate icing on the cake could cause him to become ill. Theobromine can also cause a dog or cat's heart to beat very rapidly or irregularly, which could result in death if the pet is exercising or overly active.

 

Candy

Candy or anything containing Xylitol (a common sweetener found in some diet products) can cause a sudden drop in an animal's blood sugar, loss of coordination and seizures. If left untreated, the animal could die.

 

Caffeine

Coffee, tea or any product that contains caffeine stimulates an animal's central nervous and cardiac systems. This can lead to restlessness, heart palpitations and death, depending on how much the animal consumes.

 

Grapes and raisins

Grapes and raisins can lead to kidney failure in dogs. As little as a single serving of raisins can kill them. And the effects are cumulative, which means that even if a dog eats just one or two grapes or raisins regularly, the toxin that builds in his system will eventually kill him.

 

Onions

Onions are another common food that can be highly toxic to pets. They can destroy an animal's red blood cells and lead to anemia, weakness and breathing difficulties. Their effects are also cumulative over time.

 

Medicine

Hide medicine from your pets just like you would from your children. The most common cause of pet poisoning is from animals ingesting a medicine or drug normally prescribed for humans.

 

And this is not just because furry pals are getting into their pet parent's medicine cabinets. In many cases, pet owners give their feline and canine friends an over-the-counter medication to ease an animal's pain. But acetaminophen and ibuprofen, the active ingredients in many common pain relievers, are extremely toxic to dogs and cats. They can cause gastric ulcers, liver damage, kidney failure and sometimes death.

 

Good news foods

There are a few things that you CAN give to your furry pal. However, you should always consult a veterinarian before introducing a new food item to your pet.

 

Although these foods are normally harmless, some animals have sensitive gastrointestinal tracts. So even these healthy treats should be avoided if they cause gastrointestinal upset for your pet. Keep in mind that these and other "extras" should not make up more than 5 to 10 percent of the pet's daily caloric intake.

 

Lean meats

Any cooked lean meat should be fine for most dogs. High-fat meats, chicken skin and fat from steaks or roasts are not recommended. Ingestion may lead to gastrointestinal upset or even pancreatitis. This can be a very painful condition for dogs. In addition, most companion animals do not need extra fat in their diets. Never give your pet meat with the bone in it. Animals can choke on the bones, and they can splinter as well.

 

Vegetables

Carrot sticks, green beans, cucumber slices and zucchini slices are all OK. It's a jungle out there!

 

Fruit

Apple slices, orange slices, bananas and watermelon are all OK. Make sure the seeds have been taken out; seeds are not good for your pet!

 

Baked potatoes

Plain baked potatoes are fine, but make sure they are cooked — no unripe potatoes or potato plants.

 

Bread

Plain cooked bread is fine; just make sure there are no nuts or raisins added.

 

Rice and pasta

Plain, cooked pasta and white rice are OK. Often veterinarians recommend plain rice with some boiled chicken when gastrointestinal upset is present.

 

In case of emergency

Despite all the precautions you take to keep your pet pals safe, accidents do happen. That's why the ASPCA, Humane Society and animal advocates advise pet owners to keep the telephone numbers of their local veterinarian and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center — (888) 426-4435 — in a prominent location.

 

Common signs of poisoning include muscle tremors or seizures; vomiting and diarrhea; drooling; redness of skin, ears and eyes; and swelling and bleeding.

 

If you suspect your pet has consumed, inhaled or come in contact with a toxic substance, stay calm and call for help immediately. If you see your pet consuming anything you think might be toxic, seek emergency help immediately even if she or he is not exhibiting any symptoms.

 

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Ryan

[dali]

What a list !!

I knew about most of the foods but not the raw potato !

 

My mother's dog used to go crazy for raw potato and cucumber.

My puppy has been bringing us raw potatoes for a few days now ...he finds them at the back of the garden where the neighbors compost heap is just next to our fence.

The potatoes roll over the heap into our garden ( through the fence) , he thinks its great fun to go on a potato hunt back there....je's already eaten a few halves before we discovered... so far no tummy upsets !

 

I guess we have to rule out that fun bit of his day then

[Skyler]

If they are ripe then its apparently not a problem. It states no unripened potatoes or the plants themselves - I had no idea either. She has probably got ahold of ripe ones so no upset tummy. What I found most interesting is that some of these you can feed a few times with no issues. Its the fact that several of them build up toxicity in the system over time is the scary part. You think all is well and fine and then one day your doggy is sick and you dont know why. I was educated too when I read this. Hopefully this informs a lot of people.

 

I dont feed my dogs a lot of people food anyway. I do the occasional niblets when Im done eating (never during) but they must do a trick first - after all, nothing in life is free! Mostly meat pieces and they ALWAYS get a pepperoni each that I save from pizza. I think if you feed things like chicken broth on their dry food here and there or some left over spaghetti tossed in the kibble you are probably fine so long as you dont have onions in it.

 

Ryan

[mbc1963]

I've had dogs since 1970, and at some point in my life, I've given my dogs all of those things in small quantities. My last dog used to love to play with grapes, as if they were balls, until the skin split, when she would eat them. My current dog came home terrified of all people except the ones holding coffee cups, and he still loves to have the last tiny bit of tea from my cup every morning.

 

I think it's important to keep things in perspective. I can't imagine how any dogs raised before 1995 managed to survive - what with the way we gave them sandwich pieces containing onion, or cookies made with walnuts and chocolate chips.

 

My sense is that we live in a media-centered culture of near-hysteria right now. All things in moderation - including moderation.

 

Mary

[Skyler]

No hysteria, just education And youre right, some people can blow it out of proportion. Everyone knows chocolate is a no no but I had a BC get into a bag of Hershey Miniatures and eat half of it with nothing more than the dookies for the day.

 

There was a vet student on the blog that had this hosted and the problem is that some dogs are not affected much by some of these foods and yet for others it can be fatal. So as an example, out of say, 100 or 200 dogs one of them is going to have a serious reaction to raisins - Id just rather not feed it to them at all.

 

MBC1963 is right; dont freak out. But I do have to say that I am going to avoid this stuff regardless and therefore there isnt an issue

[Janet808]

I've had dogs since 1970, and at some point in my life, I've given my dogs all of those things in small quantities. My last dog used to love to play with grapes, as if they were balls, until the skin split, when she would eat them. My current dog came home terrified of all people except the ones holding coffee cups, and he still loves to have the last tiny bit of tea from my cup every morning.

 

I think it's important to keep things in perspective. I can't imagine how any dogs raised before 1995 managed to survive - what with the way we gave them sandwich pieces containing onion, or cookies made with walnuts and chocolate chips.

 

My sense is that we live in a media-centered culture of near-hysteria right now. All things in moderation - including moderation.

 

Mary

I hear ya. I'm glad you listed the foods, but I too at one point or another gave my dogs candy and chocolate. That's when I was young. But, like you say if in moderation everything should be fine. I'm sure like people, dogs can have different reactions to certain types of food, so it's probably better to be safe than sorry.

 

I had also heard garlic wasn't good for them either. Heck, we put garlic in practically everything we eat...so sometimes Misty gets the left over steak or whatever and well, it has some garlic on it. oops.

[Krambambuli]

Advice about what or what not to feed is always good. I still don't get the onion thing, because garlic is ok, right? I always thought they are related, but maybe not ....

 

Some dogs can eat things that are on the no-good list, and not be effected. My brother-in-law's dog regularly ate chocolate, because they are all chocolate addicts in that house (2 adults, 4 kids), and somehow something always dropped on the floor etc.. Once she ate most of a chocolate birthday cake when left alone in the house for a short period, the cake seemingly safe on a high shelf .... well, they didn't make that mistake twice. She was completely fine, except in the dog house, so to speak, for quite a while afterwards ... (She lived to almost 16, by the way and is dearly missed!)

 

But, I am not advocating feeding chocolate to your dog!!!!

 

I try feeding some veggies or fruit to Sky, but she doesn't like them. She thinks those small carrots are wonderful toys, though.

 

Andrea

[Lewie'sMom]

Oh, my gosh, this thread is so timely!

 

As I continue to introduce new foods to Lewie's raw diet I was wondering about onions. Normally, you won't find an onion in my house because I don't like them. The mixed veggies I've been giving him lately have (strong!) onions in them. The aroma made a little alarm bell go off in my head that maybe I'd heard somewhere onions aren't good for dogs; but as Mary said, all things in moderation and common sense.

 

Thanks for starting this post, Ryan! *thumbs-up*

 

edit: changed "onions are good", to, "onions aren't good"....dang, I've gotta proof read better!

[Lewie'sMom]

Oops, I just read this:

 

Lean meats

Any cooked lean meat should be fine for most dogs. High-fat meats, chicken skin and fat from steaks or roasts are not recommended. Ingestion may lead to gastrointestinal upset or even pancreatitis. This can be a very painful condition for dogs. In addition, most companion animals do not need extra fat in their diets. Never give your pet meat with the bone in it. Animals can choke on the bones, and they can splinter as well.

 

Now I have to chuckle. As a raw-diet novice I believe this to be false. The key is cooked and large animal weight-bearing bones. Someone PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong!

[dali]

Our previous vet advised garlic in tablet form or cooked for dogs , so they would have less problems with ticks . ( spelling?)

[painted_ponies]

Advice about what or what not to feed is always good. I still don't get the onion thing, because garlic is ok, right?

 

Apparently garlic is not ok. Your question got me wondering, because both onion and garlic are members of the allium family. Did some googling and both contain thiosulfates, which cause hemolytic anemia in cats and dogs.

[Northof49]

I was reading around a local forum for my city related to pets and found this blog. I was actually shocked at some of the foods that are actually poison to your dog. It was an article copied from today.msnbc.com. I knew some of these, but not all! I thought I would share it as there are probably many of you out there that dont know them all either.

-------------------------------------

 

Baked potatoes

Plain baked potatoes are fine, but make sure they are cooked — no unripe potatoes or potato plants.

----------------------------

 

Ryan

 

What the heck is an unripe potatoe - I am been gardening for 40+ years and have never heard that term

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

I never knew about avacado...just as well, I can't eat them either! To me, I look at the list, and think, well the majority of it isn't good for people either, so the chances of my dog eating it are as high as me eating it, I don't drink, I don't like chocolate, and there is no way I would give an already energetic bc sugar! But Mary has a good point, we've become a very, very, media driven society close to hysteria! If Daisy were too accidently get a pice of something she shouldn't have, I'll watch her for a reaction, but would go to the emergency unless there was a big problem. My dogs growing up mostly eat table scraps, including cooked chicken bones and my grandfather and his Fred (possible bc/spaniel mix) would eat a chocolate chip cookie every morning together. It was really cute! She would smile for the cookie and sit by his side munching away!

[Krambambuli]

So Garlic is not ok .... that makes more sense then! Thanks, Sally.

 

I think they mean green parts of the potato (leaves, stems and green spots on the potato). That's chlorophyll actually, but it indicates the presence of solanine, which is toxic to humans too, but you would have to eat an awful lot of it. I used to munch on raw potatoes all the time as a kid. But we were weird, I also liked raw green beans, uncooked spagetti, unsweetened rhubarb, beef tartar (raw ground meat, often with a scrambled raw egg mixed in) ... and to no ill effect, I'm still here.

 

Andrea

[Root Beer]

The garlic question is debated.

 

My understanding is that it has significantly less of the substance that makes it toxic than onions do.

 

Some people do feed a clove of garlic a day through the flea and tick season with no ill effects. Apparently, very large amounts of garlic would be needed for toxic levels to be reached. With onions that isn't the case.

 

I'm not saying that anyone should feed garlic, just that it is done and it is generally thought to be safe in small amounts. And that there doesn't seem to be a conclusive answer with garlic.

[JohnLloydJones]

Garlic is related to onions and presumably could induce the same anemic reaction as onions, yet it has been given in small amounts to dogs for years (both as flea/tick repellent and as a flavoring). Commercial kibbles sometimes list garlic in their ingredients. I have frequently attempted to find out what is correct. So far, I have not found any authoritative answer, so I continue to assume that small amounts used as seasoning are OK.

[JohnLloydJones]

I think they mean green parts of the potato (leaves, stems and green spots on the potato). That's chlorophyll actually, but it indicates the presence of solanine, which is toxic to humans too, but you would have to eat an awful lot of it.

 

Potatoes that have significantly greened can contain enough solanine to make you sick. If potatoes were introduced as a new food today, they would probably not be approved for human consumption! Potato apples (the fruit of the potato) would also be toxic, but most folks have never seen them.

[Krambambuli]

John, you are right about potatoes with lots of green!!! I looked again, and here is something I found"

 

 

 

Commercial varieties of potatoes are screened for solanine levels, and most have a solanine content of less than 0.2mg/g. However potatoes that have been exposed to light and started to green (see greening) can show concentrations of 1 mg/g or more. In these situations a single unpeeled potato can result in a dangerous dose.

 

Solanine Poisoning

 

Solanine poisoning is primarily displayed by gastrointestinal and neurological disorders. Symptoms include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps, burning of the throat, headaches and dizziness. Hallucinations, loss of sensation, and paralysis, fever, jaundice, dilated pupils and hypothermia have been reported in more severe cases.

 

In large quantities, solanine poisoning can cause death. One study suggests that doses of 2 to 5 mg per kilogram of body weight can cause toxic symptoms, and doses of 3 to 6 mg per kilogram of body weight can be fatal.

 

Symptoms usually occur 8 to 12 hours after ingestion, but may occur as rapidly as 30 minutes after eating high-solanine foods.

 

Most solanine occurs in the skin or just under the skin of potatoes. Peeled potatoes have been found to contain 30-80% less solanine than unpeeled potatoes, and green potatoes should always be peeled if they are to be used at all. Solanine and chaconine are also present in potato shoots.

 

Deep-frying potatoes at 170 °C is effective at lowering glycoalkaloid levels, boiling is ineffective, and microwaving only somewhat effective.

 

Source : http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/htdocs/Chem_Background

[WyoBC]

See, this is why I don't grow stuff and I don't cook

 

Thanks for all the info though. It's really interesting to read about this stuff. I really don't worry about it to awful much since I don't feed him anything but dog food and treats, but once in a while he'll catch something that falls off the counter and it's nice to know what's good and bad. Without paying that $65 to call the ASPCA everytime he eats something off the floor But I am not bitter about that at all :D