These 12 Everyday Foods Could Make Your Dog Very Sick (#4 & #12 are fatal)

Obsessed with Avocados? That makes two of us! Unfortunately, this popular, healthy fruit does more harm than good to dogs. Avocados contain a naturally occurring chemical called persin that’s toxic to our furry friends, but not to us.

In dogs, persin causes serious symptoms such as diarrhea, heart congestion, vomiting, and lethargy. Besides that, the high-fat content in avocados can wreck having on your pup’s stomach and pancreas. So, keep all that creamy green richness to yourself.

Can Dogs Eat Avocados? The Canine Avocado Debate

Most dogs can safely consume plain bread without falling sick afterward. The enemy, though, is raw dough. If baking is among your favorite pastimes, always ensure to place your dough somewhere your pup can’t easily reach.

When a dog ingests raw dough, the yeast will cause the dough to rise in their tummy, resulting in extreme bloating, pain, and intestinal blockage. That’s not all. As the dough ferments inside their stomach, it will produce ethanol, which will ultimately cause alcohol poisoning.

If your furry friend develops alcohol poisoning, they’ll experience symptoms such as disoriented behavior, low blood sugar levels, nausea, vomiting, and seizures.

Can Dogs Eat Bread or Will it Make Them Sick? 

Small and tasty as they are, macadamia nuts are among the most harmful nuts you could ever feed your dog. According to the MSD Veterinary Manual, the toxic element of macadamia nuts is still unknown.

If your dog consumes macadamia nuts, they’ll likely experience life-threatening symptoms such as severe muscle tremors, difficulty walking, abnormally high body temperature (hyperthermia), vomiting, and extreme panting.

Can Dogs Eat Nuts? Understand the Risks of Feeding Walnuts, Macadamia Nuts, Cashews, Almonds, Pistachios & Pecans To Dogs

Compared to humans, dogs are increasingly sensitive to the intoxicating effects of alcohol. Letting your dog have a taste of your go-to wine is a bad idea, as this will lead to symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, drop in blood sugar levels, excessive salivation, hyperthermia, and damage to their central nervous system.

In severe cases, alcohol poisoning in dogs can cause death. So, be careful where you leave your unfinished glass or bottle of wine.

Love starting your mornings on a “caffeinated” note? Great! But it’s advisable not to share that caffeine goodness with your furry friend. Here’s why: Unlike humans, our canine friends have a much lower tolerance for caffeine. This means the caffeine in coffee, tea, coffee grounds, and energy drinks has a potent effect on dogs and can, therefore, lead to life-threatening symptoms.

Caffeine poisoning in dogs is associated with symptoms such as an abnormally high heart rate, vomiting, diarrhea, and tremors.

It’s unlikely that your dog will exhibit severe symptoms after lapping up a small amount of a caffeine-packed beverage, though. In most cases, serious symptoms occur if a pup ingests the caffeinated drink in large amounts.

Peanut butter is a popular treat for dogs, but it’s crucial for pet owners to ensure it doesn’t contain xylitol, an artificial sweetener highly toxic to dogs. While most brands of peanut butter are safe, some manufacturers have started adding xylitol to their products to reduce sugar content and appeal to health-conscious consumers. Ingestion of even small amounts of xylitol can lead to severe health issues in dogs, including hypoglycemia and liver failure. Therefore, before offering peanut butter to a dog, it’s essential to carefully read the ingredient label to confirm it is free of xylitol, ensuring a safe and enjoyable treat for your pet.

There are currently five peanut butter brands that use xylitol: Go Nuts Co., Krush Nutrition, Nuts ‘N More, P28 Foods, and Protein Plus PB. I recommend using a brand made specifically for dogs that doesn’t contain all of the bad fats, sugars and of course xylitor. Try BUDDY BUDDER 100% Natural Dog Peanut Butter

Also watch out for sugar free candies and some toothpaste.

The softer the bone, the better? Not exactly. For the sake of your dog’s health, cooked bones should be off-limits.

While you may want to save your pup the hustle of gnawing on a hard bone, it’s advisable to never feed them cooked bones. The cooking process makes the bones unsafely brittle. When your dog chews a cooked bone, the sharp pieces that break off can pierce their mouth, throat, and internal lining, resulting in severe internal bleeding.

To add to that, these sharp bone fragments often pose a choking hazard and can lead to chronic constipation.

Nutmeg instantly takes any dish from “meh” to “YUM!”. However, this spice isn’t safe for our furry friends to consume. Nutmeg contains a natural compound known as myristicin, which is what gives this nutty spice a distinct aroma and flavor.

Myristicin leads to nutmeg poisoning in dogs. If your canine companion consumes a snack or food that contains high amounts of nutmeg, they risk developing symptoms such as increased heart rate, a spike in blood pressure, disorientation, seizures, gastrointestinal upset, difficulty in breathing, and abdominal pain.

You might be thinking, who the heck would give their dog nutmeg. But, nutmeg is found in popular holiday foods like pumpkin pie, and dogs love pumpkin. Instead, use this pumpkin pie recipe that is safe for pups.

Generally, ripe tomatoes are safe for dogs when consumed in moderation. The same can’t be said about unripe tomatoes, though.

The danger of unripe tomatoes is they contain a compound called tomatine, which is toxic to dogs. Consuming green, unripe tomatoes — especially in large quantities — will result in your dog developing tomatine poisoning. Signs of tomatine poisoning in dogs include drooling, lethargy, gastrointestinal upset, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, muscle weakness, and tremors.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Cherries, plums, and apples themselves are not toxic to dogs, particularly when fed occasionally and in moderation. However, there are certain parts of these fruits that you shouldn’t give to your pup — like the core and pits (commonly called seeds).

The cores and seeds of dog-safe fruits like cherries, plums, peaches, and apples contain a natural compound called cyanide, which can cause poisoning in dogs. Chewing cyanide-loaded seeds or cores can lead to your dog developing symptoms like excessive panting, appetite loss, breathing difficulties, abdominal pain, and vomiting.

Can Dogs Eat Cherries? Yes, But Here’s What You Need to Watch Out For

We know, we know. Our canine companions are carnivores, and they ate raw meat in the wild before domestication. But just because they can consume and easily digest raw meat doesn’t mean it’s good for them.

The major risk associated with uncooked meat is that it contains high amounts of bacteria, such as salmonella and E. coli, which cause severe food-borne illnesses. So, if you wouldn’t want frequent vet trips to become the norm in your household, always offer your pup cooked meat.

It’s crucial to understand that chocolate is highly toxic to dogs and should never be fed to them under any circumstances. If you’re looking to treat your pet, consider dog-safe alternatives like carob, which offers a chocolate-like flavor without the risk.

Chocolate contains theobromine, a compound that is harmless to humans but lethal to dogs. The toxicity level varies depending on the type of chocolate. White chocolate has minimal theobromine, milk chocolate contains a moderate amount, and dark chocolate is particularly high in this toxic compound.

The lethal dose of chocolate for dogs depends on several factors including the dog’s weight, the type of chocolate ingested, and the total amount consumed. In emergencies where a dog has eaten chocolate, immediate consultation with a veterinarian is crucial. If veterinary help isn’t immediately available, using an online chocolate toxicity calculator can provide a quick assessment. These tools consider the dog’s weight, the type and amount of chocolate consumed, and can be invaluable in assessing the potential risk to your pet’s health.