Dogs, as our best friends, share our hearts and homes and do everything with us. Together we spend out time walking around town, travelling in the car, enjoying in the yard, and cuddling on the couch. Knowing how much time we spend with our canine friends, it’s natural to assume they can eat with us as well, especially when many of us grew up feeding our childhood dogs table scraps.

In actuality, it is shocking to learn that not all common human food and drink are safe and that many of the foods served on our tables are harmful to our dogs, causing everything from gastrointestinal distress to severe organ damage. Some foods can even have fatal consequences, in some cases.

So as responsible dog owners, it’s important for us to know which typically-human food items that we should not allow our dogs to eat. In this article, we have laid out some of these foods,m and how these human foods can be dangerous for dogs.

Onions, Garlic, and Chives

These vegetables and herbs are extremely toxic to dogs, whether dry, raw or cooked. Garlic is thought to be five times more potent than onions.

All of these foods can irritate the gastrointestinal tract and cause red blood cell damage and anemia. Although cats are more vulnerable to this kind of damage than dogs, dogs are also at risk if a significant amount is consumed.

Illness symptoms do not always appear immediately and can appear up to a few days later.

Chocolate

Chocolate is well-known to be toxic to dogs.

Chocolate contains theobromine, an alkaloid that primarily affects the gut, heart, central nervous system, and kidneys. Especially dark chocolate has the highest concentration of theobromine. Theobromine poisoning symptoms will appear four to twenty-four hours after your dog consumes chocolate.

When chocolate is concerned, the concentration of cocoa is going to be the most significant factor in the level of toxicity, which is why dark chocolate is of greater concern than chocolates with more milk and sugar content.

When I first got Grimm, I made the mistake of leaving a chocolate bar on the coffee table when I got up to grab a glass from the kitchen. Needless to say it was gone when I returned.

I called his vet to ask if the piece of chocolate was going to be an issue, and they advised me to monitor him, as the piece of chocolate was small with a low cocoa content.

Unfortunately, I had to call them back and did end up taking him to the vet, bringing us to the next toxic food on the list:

Grapes and Raisins

Much to my dismay, the little piece of chocolate Grimm ate that day (which on its own would have been no big deal based on the amount he took) was filled with almonds and…raisins. When I called the vet back after realizing there were an unknown number of raisins in the piece of chocolate he ate, they told me to come in to have his stomach pumped.

Of all the things I could slip up on, it had to have been a raisin chocolate bar…

The ingredient or compound in grapes and raisins that makes them so toxic to dogs is still unknown. But they are one of the most dangerous foods for dogs. Even small quantities can cause acute kidney failure, which is frequently indicated by your dog’s inability to urinate.

Luckily, I had money set aside for emergencies like this, and got Grimm the full package, including bloodwork afterwards to ensure that his kidneys were doing well. It seems that we got the grapes before they were processed, and avoided a worse outcome.

Xylitol

Xylitol is a sugar substitute (artificial sweetener) found in a variety of human foods such as gum, candy, baked goods, and toothpaste, etc. Dogs are extremely sensitive, and even small amounts can be toxic. It can cause the release of insulin in most species, which can cause hypoglycemia (low sugar levels) leading to acute liver disease in dogs, as well as blood-clotting disorders.

Alcohol

When I was a kid, my mom told me about my grandfather’s friend who would give his dog beer while hanging out with his buddies. And while it may have been funny for him to see the dog “get a buzz,” this was a massively irresponsible thing to be doing as a dog owner.

In addition to the same concerns with human alcohol consumption, dogs are effected even more. Even trace amounts of alcohol found in drinks, syrups, and even raw bread dough can be toxic to dogs. Such products can cause sudden drops in blood pressure, body temperature, and blood sugar, which can lead to seizures and even respiratory failure.

Your pet should not be given alcohol under any circumstances.

Macadamia Nuts

Macadamia nuts are among the most dangerous foods for dogs. Macadamia nuts (member of the Proteaceae family) can cause vomiting, high body temperature, weakness, and lethargy. The Symptoms generally appear within 12 hours of ingestion and last for 24 to 48 hours.

Coffee

Just like chocolates, coffee is a stimulant and toxic for dogs. Coffee grounds and other condensed caffeine sources can also be dangerous. Toxicity signs are also similar to chocolate poisoning.

Avocado

Avocados are toxic to many animals (not just dogs) because of a fungicidal toxin called persin, which is found in its leaves, fruit, and seed and can cause diarrhea and vomiting in dogs.

Proceed with Caution

While some foods, like those listed so far in this article, are toxic to dogs and should be avoided at all cost, other foods are okay in moderation but can cause other issues for our pets. Below you will find a list of foods that need special consideration when feeding to make sure that our dogs receive a healthy and balanced diet.

Corn (on the cob)

Although dogs can digest corn and it is a common ingredient in many commercial dog foods, the cob can cause a blockage in the dog’s intestine. So, if you’re going to share some corn, make sure it’s off the cob.

Nuts

Many nuts, (for example: walnuts, pecans, and almonds), are high in oils and fats. In pets, an excess of these fats can cause vomiting and diarrhea, as well as pancreatitis.

Milk and Dairy Products

Milk is not specifically toxic for dogs, but still it is included in the “not to feed” list because adult dogs don’t have lactase enzyme (the enzymes that are involved in the digestion of lactose in milk), so most dogs are unable to digest milk and other dairy products. In short, dogs are lactose intolerant, and will have similar symptoms to ingesting dairy as you’ll see in humans that can’t process lactose.

Raw/Undercooked Meat

While raw feeding has become immensely popular for pet dogs (and I have tried it myself!), it still stands to “proceed with caution” in raw animal products due to the risk of contamination from human error. Bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli can be present in raw meat (and, to be fair, many kibbles and commercial foods) and are harmful to both pets and humans. If you decide to feed a raw diet, do your research and proceed with caution!

Cooked Bones/Large Bones

Feeding cooked bones to a domestic pet can be extremely dangerous, as the bone may splinter and become lodged in or puncture your pet’s digestive tract. Mild results from eating cooked bones can be as little as a bit of diarrhea or blood in the stool for a short time, or can be very severe in some cases. Avoid whole cooked bones at all costs.

That said, animal bones are very nutritious for dogs, and I use ground cooked bones in my homemade dog food by putting entire chicken frames through my Weston 22 meat grinder. Because the pieces are finely ground before they are cooked, they do not pose a risk to my dogs when included in their food.

Raw bones are mechanically safer for dogs in comparison to cooked bones, but large weight-bearing bones like cow ribs and legs are hard enough that enthusiastic chewers could break teeth on them. Also avoid any raw meaty bones that are of a size that could pose a choking risk to your dog.

Raw Egg

Fully cooked eggs are a safe and good source of proteins; they are another core ingredient to my homemade dog food, shells and all. Raw eggs, on the other hand, contain avidin, an enzyme that reduces the absorption of biotin (a B vitamin), which can cause biotin deficiency leading to skin and coat problems. So if you feed raw egg, do so in moderation.

Salt

Sharing salty foods with your dogs, such as chips or pretzels, is not a good idea. Excessive salt consumption can result in excessive thirst and urination, as well as sodium ion poisoning. Vomiting, diarrhea, depression, tremors, elevated body temperature, and seizures are all symptoms of too much salt ingestion. In extreme cases it may even result in death.

Processed/Deli Meats

In the grand scheme of things, ham and other preserved meats like pepperoni, hotdogs and sausage, deli meat, etc, are really just OK for dogs, but not the healthiest and should be avoided in large quantities. Sharing a small piece occasionally is ok but does not make it a routine, as these preserved meats contain a lot of sodium and fat that can cause mild tummy aches all the way to severe intestinal distress.

Yeast

Unbaked bread dough is extremely dangerous for your dog because the fermenting yeast quickly enters the bloodstream and produces enough ethanol to cause alcohol poisoning. Furthermore, as it travels through the digestive system, yeast dough can rise, possibly twisting or displacing the stomach or other parts of the digestive tract. Although the yeast does not cause any lethal effects, it can cause severe bloating in your dog’s stomach, causing intense pain and discomfort.

Honorable Mentions for Foods to Avoid with Dogs

There is a long list of human foods that are harmful to dogs, or that cause some other potentially-harmful effects. We have discussed above some common food items; below is the list of some other human food items that are not good for dogs.

• Coconut and Coconut Oil
• Citrus
• Almonds
• Cashews
• Cheese
• Cinnamon
• Apple seeds
• Apricot pits
• Cherry pits
• Mushroom plants
• Mustard seeds
• Rhubarb leaves
• Walnuts
• Spinach
• Iron supplements
• Tobacco
• Peaches
• Currants
• Leeks
• Mustard