I like to classify people foods into 3 categories. The first are foods that are 'Toxic'. These are foods that can kill the pet even in small amounts. The second is 'Harmful'. These are those like fried chicken that are going to take more time and a larger amount to cause a problem. The third is 'OK in moderation'. These are things like green beans that can help by supplementing a good quality dog food. Just to clarify 'dog food' is not a bad word.... I personally, think dog kibble is amazing! It's like the gum off of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"! It meets all the pet's nutritional needs in a small bite sized kibble... Amazing! Let's just hope that no pets become little blueberries...
Here's the video from youtube... LOL!
I'm going to start with the 'Toxic' foods, because they are the most exciting to me. Animals can die from eating the following foods. These are not all the possibly toxic foods, just the most common. If you know your pet has eaten them contact your veterinarian immediately.
-Chocolate: All types are toxic but the baking and dark chocolates are the worst.-Caffeine: This has a very similar affect as chocolate. The lethal dose is 140mg/kg. Instant coffee has ~60mg of caffeine per teaspoon!
-Grapes: Grapes have been shown to cause sudden kidney failure. They are still unsure what part of the grape is causing the disease. I recommend to owners to avoid all grapes and raisins.
-Onions/Garlic: These can cause destruction of the Red Blood Cells. I always put this one in, not becuase many dogs like to go around eating onion or garlic... But, because ALOT of pets eat off their owners plates. Many of the dishes we cook contain onion and/or garlic. I know pretty much everything I cook has one or the other!-Raw Yeast Dough: I put this one on here because my parent's dog ate a large amount of rising bread once. Within 20 minutes their little skinny Wiener dog, looked like she was pregnant with 10 puppies! She literally was growing before our eyes! The bread will continue to rise in the stomach. It can lead to bloating and the bread also puts off a gas that has a similar affect to alcohol. If the dog isn't made to vomit it up the effects will lead to death.
Next on the list is 'Harmful' foods. I don't have a strict list of foods for this category. I feel like this is any food that is high in calories, salt, sugars, and fat! The first problem with this is obviously that the pet becomes overweight. I read the other day that over 56% of pets in the United States are overweight!! The more life threatening problem to me is pancreatitis. The pancreas has a very important job of helping regulate blood sugar and making enzymes to aid in food digestion. When the pancreas gets inflamed from eating bad foods we call it pancreatitis. The pancreas becomes swollen and painful. It then in turn causes all the organs around it(liver, stomach, intestines) to become inflamed. These dogs are usually painful, vomiting and having diarrhea. If left untreated pancreatitis can lead to death.-Fried Anything(usually its chicken-it no longer has any good qualities after its fried)
-Sweets: Pretty much any dessert we eat. Some fruits like bananas and watermelon also have a lot of sugar
-Salt: Chips, French fries, and Hot Dogs(sorry Scrappy)
-Fats: Pretty much anything that comes from a drive thru window, hamburgers, cheese, bacon, etc.
If it's bad for you, it's much worse for your dog!. Please remember your pet weighs a significant amount less than you do! That means they need to eat a significant amount less than you do!
Lastly we have "OK in moderation". This is those foods that I recommend to pets that have health problems. This can be obesity(from all those burgers) to pets with food allergies. I think that these foods are ok if given in moderation or as a treat. I classify a 'treat' as once a day or less. If it becomes more than that it's now part of the daily diet. Here is a short list of foods that are OK.
-Green Beans (low salt if you get the canned)
-Plain White Rice
-Boiled-Boneless Skinless Chicken
-Baby Carrots-Air popped Popcorn (no salt or butter)
If you have questions about other foods I would encourage you to contact your veterinarian.
