| What
to avoid |
Reasons
to avoid |
| Alcoholic
beverages |
Can
cause intoxication, coma, and death. |
Avocado
(fruit, pit, & plant) |
Can
cause difficulty breathing; fluid accumulation in the
chest, abdomen and heart; or pan creatitis. |
| Baby
food |
Can
contain onion powder, which can be toxic to dogs.
(Please see onion below.) Can also result in
nutritional deficiencies, if fed in large amounts. |
| Bones
from fish, poultry, or other meat sources |
Can
cause obstruction or laceration of the digestive
system. |
Bones
(cooked) |
Can
splinter and tear a dog’s internal organs. |
Caffeine
(from coffee, coffee grounds, tea, or tea bags) |
Stimulates
the central nervous and cardiac systems, and can cause
vomiting, restlessness, heart palpitations, and even
death within hours. |
| Cat
food |
Generally
too high in protein and fats. |
| Chocolate,
coffee, tea, & other caffeine |
Contain
caffeine, Theo bromine, or theophylline, which can be
toxic and affect the heart and nervous systems.
Chocolate can cause seizures, coma and death.
Baker’s chocolate is the most dangerous. The darker
the chocolate, the more dangerous it is. But any
chocolate, in large enough amounts, can kill a dog. An
ounce of chocolate can poison a 30-pound dog, and many
dogs will happily consume more than this. The symptoms
may not show up for several hours with death following
within twenty-four hours. |
| Citrus
oil extracts |
Can
cause vomiting. |
| Dairy
products |
Can
cause pancreatitis, gas and diarrhea. A small amount
of non-fat, plain yogurt is usually safe. |
Egg
whites
(raw) |
Raw
egg whites contain a protein called avidin, which can
deplete your dog of biotin, one of the B vitamins.
Biotin is essential to your dog’s growth and coat
health. The lack of it can cause hair loss, weakness,
growth retardation, or skeleton deformity. |
| Fat
trimmings |
Too
much fat or fried foods can cause pancreatitis. |
| Fruit
pips, seeds |
Apple
seeds, cherry pits, and peach pits, pear pips, plums
pits, peaches, and apricot pits contain cyanide, which
is poisonous. |
Grains
(large amounts) |
Grains
should not be given in large amounts or make up a
large part of a dog’s diet, but rice is generally
safe in small amounts. |
| Grapes
& raisins |
Can
cause kidney failure in dogs. As little as a single
serving of raisins can kill him. If the dog doesn't
eat enough at one time to be fatal, he can be severely
damaged by eating just a few grapes or raisins
regularly. |
| Ham
& bacon |
Contain
too much fat and too much salt, and can cause
pancreatitis. Also, large breeds of dogs that eat
salty food may drink too much water and develop a
life-threatening condition called bloat. This is where
the stomach fills up with gas and within several hours
may twist, causing death. |
| Hops |
Unknown
compound causes panting, increased heart rate,
elevated temperature, seizures, and death. |
| Human
vitamin supplements containing iron |
Can
damage the lining of the digestive system and be toxic
to the other organs including the liver and kidneys. |
Liver
(large amounts) |
Raw
liver or too much cooked liver (three servings a week)
can lead to vitamin A toxicity. This can affect
muscles and cause deformed bones, excessive bone
growth on the elbows and spine, weight loss, and
anorexia. |
| Macadamia
nuts |
Contain
an unknown toxin, which can affect the digestive and
nervous systems and muscle. Can cause weakness, muscle
tremor and paralysis. These symptoms are usually
temporary. |
| Marijuana |
Can
depress the nervous system, cause vomiting, and
changes in the heart rate. |
| Milk
& other dairy products |
Some
adult dogs and cats do not have sufficient amounts of
the enzyme lactase, which breaks down the lactose in
milk. This can result in diarrhea. Lactose-free milk
products are available for pets. |
| Moldy
or spoiled food, garbage |
Can
contain multiple toxins causing vomiting and diarrhea
and can also affect other organs. |
| Mushrooms |
Can
contain toxins, which may affect multiple systems in
the body, cause shock, and result in death. Wild
mushrooms can cause abdominal pain, drooling, liver
damage, kidney damage, vomiting, diarrhea,
convulsions, coma, or death. |
| Nutmeg |
Can
cause tremors, seizures and death. |
| Onions
& garlic (raw, cooked, or powder) |
Contain
sulfoxides and disulfides, which can damage red blood
cells and cause anemia. Cats
are more susceptible than dogs. Garlic is less toxic
than onions. |
Pennies
(made from the 1980s to today) |
Contain
zinc, which can cause kidney failure and damage to red
blood cells. A dog that consumes even one penny can
become quite sick, or even die, if the penny is not
removed. |
| Persimmons |
Seeds
can cause intestinal obstruction and enteritis. |
| Pits
from peaches and plums |
Can
cause obstruction of the digestive tract. |
| Potato,
rhubarb, & tomato leaves; potato & tomato
stems |
Contain
oxalates, which can affect the digestive, nervous, and
urinary systems. This is more of a problem in
livestock. Potato peels and green potatoes are
dangerous. |
| Raw
eggs |
Contain
an enzyme called avidin, which decreases the
absorption of biotin (a B vitamin). This can lead to
skin and hair coat problems. Raw eggs may also contain
Salmonella. |
| Raw
fish |
Can
result in a thiamine (a B vitamin) deficiency leading
to loss of appetite, seizures, and in severe cases,
death. More common if raw fish is fed regularly. |
| Salt |
If
eaten in large quantities it may lead to electrolyte
imbalances and kidney problems. Large breeds of dogs
that eat salty food may then drink too much water and
develop bloat, which is fatal unless emergency
treatment is given very quickly. |
| String |
Can
become trapped in the digestive system; called a
"string foreign body." |
| Sugary
foods |
Can
lead to obesity, dental problems, and possibly
diabetes mellitus. |
| Table
scraps (in large amounts) |
Table
scraps are not nutritionally balanced. They should
never be more than 10% of the diet. Fat should be
trimmed from meat; bones should not be fed. |
| Tobacco |
Contains
nicotine, which affects the digestive and nervous
systems. Can result in rapid heart beat, collapse,
coma, and death. |
| Tomatoes |
Can
cause tremors and heart arrhythmias. Tomato plants and
the most toxic, but tomatoes themselves are also
unsafe. (All parts of the plant except the tomato
itself are also poisonous to humans.) |
| Walnuts |
Walnuts
are poisonous to dogs. |
| Xylitol |
Diet
products containing the sweetener Xylitol can cause a
sudden drop in blood sugar, resulting in depression,
loss of coordination and seizures. Unless treatment is
given quickly, the dog could die. |
| Yeast
dough |
Can
expand and produce gas in the digestive system,
causing pain and possible rupture of the stomach or
intestines. |