Toxic Food That Pets Should Always Avoid

Many of us spend mega dollars on food for our pets, but despite buying the best food available, some pets would still rather eat what we eat. However, certain foods can be dangerous to your pet causing varying degrees of illness. Some food is toxic due to ingredients and some by improper cooking, storage or poor hygiene.

Here are some of them:

1. Alcoholic Beverages – Ethanol is the component in alcoholic beverages that can be toxic when an excessive amount is ingested. Pets are much smaller than us and can be highly affected by small amounts of alcohol. Make sure you take caution when drinks and pets are together. Toxicity can cause a wide variety of signs, and may even cause death. Signs can include odour of alcohol on the animal’s breath, staggering, behavioural changes, excitement, depression, increased urination, slowed respiratory rate or cardiac arrest and death.

2. Apples, Apricots, Cherries, Peaches and Plums – Ingestion of large amounts of stems, seeds and leaves of these fruits can be toxic. They contain a cyanide type compound and signs of toxicity include apprehension, dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, hyperventilation and shock.

3. Avocados – The leaves, fruit, bark and seeds of avocados have all been reported to be toxic. The toxic component in the avocado is “persin”, which is a fatty acid derivative. Symptoms of toxicity include difficulty breathing, abdominal enlargement, abnormal fluid accumulations in the chest, abdomen and sac around the heart. The amount that needs to be ingested to cause signs is unknown. Do not feed your pet any component of the avocado.

4. Baking Powder and Baking Soda – Baking soda and baking powder are both leavening agents. A leavening agent is a common ingredient in baked goods that produces a gas causing batter and dough to rise. Baking soda is simply sodium bicarbonate. Baking powder actually consists of baking soda and an acid, usually cream of tartar, calcium acid phosphate, sodium aluminum sulfate or a mixture of the three. Ingestion of large amounts of baking soda or baking powder can lead to electrolyte abnormalities (low potassium, low calcium and/or high sodium), congestive heart failure or muscle spasms.

5. Chocolate – Chocolate, in addition to having a high fat content, contains caffeine and theobromine. These two compounds are nervous system stimulants and can be toxic to your dog in high amounts. The levels of caffeine and theobromine vary between different types of chocolate. For example, white chocolate has the lowest concentration of stimulants and baking chocolate or cacao beans have the highest concentration. Depending on the type of chocolate ingested and the amount eaten, various problems can occur. The high fat content in chocolate may result in vomiting and possibly diarrhea. Once toxic levels are eaten, the stimulant effect becomes apparent. You may notice restlessness, hyperactivity, muscle twitching, increased urination and possibly excessive panting. Heart rate and blood pressure levels may also be increased. Seizure activity may occur in severe cases.

6. Coffee (grounds and beans) – Dogs that eat coffee grounds or beans can get “caffeine” toxicity. The symptoms are very similar to those of chocolate toxicity and can be just as or even more serious.

7. Fatty Foods – Rich and fatty foods are favourites of dogs. They often get them as treats, leftovers or from getting into the trash. These fatty foods can cause pancreatitis. Pancreatitis can affect any pet but miniature or toy poodles, cocker spaniels and miniature schnauzers are particularly prone. Signs of pancreatitis generally include an acute onset of vomiting, sometimes diarrhea and abdominal pain. Abdominal pain is often evidenced by hunched posture or “splinting” of the abdomen when picked up. The dog may become very sick quickly and often needs intensive fluid and antibiotic therapy.

8. Dairy products – Dairy products are not highly dangerous but can pose problems for two reasons. One is their high fat content and like other foods with high fat content, there is a risk of pancreatitis. The 2^nd reason is that pets poorly digest dairy products since they lack the enzyme required to digest lactose. This affects some pets more than others causing gas to diarrhea. Small amounts of plain yogurt or cheese are tolerated by most dogs but it is probably safest to avoid dairy products altogether.

There are also other foods that can be harmful to your pets including grapes and raisins, macadamia nuts, nutmeg, onions and garlic and yeast dough. 

One thing I think we must all remember when feeding our pets is to be “sensible” and use our common sense. If the food if moldy or rotten, DON’T give them to your pets or the dog next door, they belong in the rubbish!! Just because they are animals, and is willing to eat pretty much anything/everything we give them (especially dogs), it doesn’t mean that they have a “steel” gut. I often hear people say “oh, they’ll be alright, they’re dogs, they can eat anything”. Certainly not the case when you have to rush to the emergency afterhours clinic, and then ending up with a vet bill of easily over thousands of dollars.

Remember, prevention is the best cure. Make sure you’re feeding your pet a high quality diet with plenty of opportunities to play and exercise. Watch for any signs of illness and if you notice any of them, discuss it with your vet asap!