Owning a pet dog is one of the most enjoyable experiences a person can have. The unabated love and loyalty a pooch shows is something truly special. When it comes to taking care of your dog, a key element is making sure the animal has a proper diet. You want to prolong the life of your dog for as long as you can by providing a healthy and nutrient-rich diet.
Unfortunately, there are those who don’t prioritize a dog’s diet as much as they should. Whether its feeding the dog scraps from the table — or letting it eat whatever it wants — the dog could run into some serious health problems down the line if not properly cared for. This piece in particular will speak about five different types of food which can be toxic, harmful, and deadly for your beloved pooch.
Chocolate
While humans find chocolate to be delicious, it’s one of the absolute worst things one could give to their dog. There’s a chemical inside of chocolate called theobromine (which is quite similar to caffeine). Dogs aren’t able to metabolize theobromine as well as humans can. Toxic levels can build up in the system of dogs, and it can lead to internal bleeding, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, or even e heart attack. If the dog eats chocolate, the plan should be to get the dog to vomit it out within a few hours of consuming it. The veterinarian should also be contacted. Since this caffeine-adjacent chemical is bad for dogs, coffee and tea should also be avoided at all costs.
Avocado
Avocados are a big-time super food for humans — though are not great for our furry friends. Persin is a component found in avocados (as well as in fruit). If consumed, dogs can be subject to vomiting and diarrhea. The scary part about avocados are the seeds. They can get lodges in the intestinal tract of a dog, and it could lead to an obstruction. Persin is not only in the actual avocado itself, but also on the skin and in the leaves of the avocado. Eating large amounts of avocado could also lead dogs to having pancreatitis.
Garlic and Onions
All parts of an onion are toxic for dogs. It doesn’t matter whether the onion is cooked or not — or if it comes in a granulated/powdered form. Duly, anything in the ‘onion’ family (garlic, leeks, chives, shallots) are also quite harmful to dogs. Larges quantities of garlic can make the dog anemic (after damaging its red blood cells). Other bad side-effects can include lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, pale gums, and body weakness.
Grapes/Raisins
Grapes/raisins are some of the worst things any animal can eat. Simply put, these fruits can cause severe kidney damage/failure in dogs. It doesn’t even take a large amount to impact the animal negatively. Vomiting, diarrhea, and a lethargic disposition are signs to look for. At all costs, owners should keep their dogs away from grapes.
Raw Flesh
In movies, we’ve seen countless examples of dogs eating raw steaks or some sort of uncooked meat. While we’d assume this primal devouring of flesh would be normal, studies indicate that feeding raw meat to dogs is actually bad for them. The bacteria in the raw meat can cause food poisoning — along with vomiting, a fever, and other sorts of illnesses. The same can be said for dogs that eat raw fish. To be on the safe side, owners should cook the meat before giving it to their dogs.
Image Source: Eli’s Friends