Donny Tyler’s dog got severe renal failure from eating raisins and grapes. His dog died. He asked me to warn others about his tragedy (see comment posted).
It’s hard to imagine a grocery list of food that dogs can’t eat, but you might be surprised at what human food can be downright dangerous for dogs and cats.
Raisins and grapes — A few years ago, the ASPCA poison control center had over 140 cases of raisin and grape ingestion by dogs. Of these cases, “over 50 animals developed clinical signs ranging from vomiting to life-threatening kidney failure, and seven dogs die,” says the ASPCA. All dogs react differently to the grapes and researchers aren’t sure what exactly is the culprit, but eating grapes or raisins can cause illness and even death for your dog.
Onions, chives, and garlic — These spices have sulfur compounds call disulfides that can lead to serious gastrointestinal problems, but more so for cats than dogs.
Chocolate — Here’s a product that I am thankful was never tested on animals, as it wouldn’t be sold on the market today if it had. Chocolate has a chemical called theobromine in it that is similar to caffeine. In high concentrations, which you find more in dark chocolate than milk chocolate, revs up your dog’s heart and can cause your dog to literally have a heart attack. Don’t freak out if your dog scoops up a few fallen M&Ms or a peanut butter cup, but do be concerned if your dog just ate a brownie or two.
Avocados — Dogs have to eat a lot of avocados before problems occur, but such things as gastric distress and diarrhea can occur. Avocados are toxic to birds, rodents, rabbits, horses, cattle, and goats.
Citrus peels — The acids from these fruits can cause severe GI upset in dogs. Cats generally are repelled by the smell of citrus and so aren’t likely to be caught with an orange peel in their mouth. But this tends to be more a problem for grazing animals. A pet eating one orange peel may just have a mild stomach upset.
Other foods and drink to keep away from pets: coffee, alcoholic beverages, apricot pits, cherry pits, peach pits, candy with the sweetner Xylitol), macadamia nuts, walnuts, moldy foods (even aged cheese), mushroom plants, tomato leaves and stems (green parts), and yeast dough, which can expand in their stomachs.