[nagdu] Human Foods That Are Poisonous to Dogs

[Danielle Ledet]

Got this from my friends Amy and Sita. Author unknown.

 Human Foods that Poison Pets

 Feeding pets food that we enjoy is not only wrong, it can also be
fatal. There are some foodstuffs

 that humans relish which cause illness and death if eaten by pets.

 Chocolate, macadamia nuts and onions are good examples. Each of these
foods contains chemicals

 which rarely cause problems for humans, but for dogs, these same
chemicals can be deadly.


 Chocolate toxicity
 Chocolate contains theobromine, a compound that is a cardiac
stimulant and a diuretic. When

 affected by an overdose of chocolate, a dog can become excited and
hyperactive. Due to the

 diuretic effect, it may pass large volumes of urine and it will be
unusually thirsty. Vomiting and

 diarrhea are also common. The effect of theobromine on the heart is
the most dangerous effect.

 Theobromine will either increase the dog’s heart rate or may cause
the heart to beat irregularly.

 Death is quite possible, especially with exercise.

 After their pet has eaten a large quantity of chocolate, many pet
owners assume their pet is

 unaffected. However, the signs of sickness may not be seen for
several hours, with death following

 within twenty-four hours.

 Cocoa powder and cooking chocolate are the most toxic forms. A
10-kilogram dog can be seriously

 affected if it eats a quarter of a 250gm packet of cocoa powder or
half of a 250gm block of

 cooking chocolate. These forms of chocolate contain ten times more
theobromine than milk

 chocolate. Thus, a chocolate mud cake could be a real health risk for
a small dog. Even licking a

 substantial part of the chocolate icing from a cake can make a dog unwell.


 Semi-sweet chocolate and dark chocolate are the next most dangerous
forms, with milk chocolate

 being the least dangerous. A dog needs to eat more than a 250gm block
of milk chocolate to be

 affected. Obviously, the smaller the dog, the less it needs to eat.

 Onion and garlic poisoning
 Onions and garlic are other dangerous food ingredients that cause
sickness in dogs, cats and also

 livestock. Onions and garlic contain the toxic ingredient
thiosulphate. Onions are more of a

 danger.

 Pets affected by onion toxicity will develop haemolytic anaemia,
where the pet’s red blood cells

 burst while circulating in its body.

 At first, pets affected by onion poisoning show gastroenteritis with
vomiting and diarrhoea. They

 will show no interest in food and will be dull and weak. The red
pigment from the burst blood

 cells appears in an affected animal’s urine and it becomes
breathless. The breathlessness occurs

 because the red blood cells that carry oxygen through the body are
reduced in number.

 The poisoning occurs a few days after the pet has eaten the onion.
All forms of onion can be a

 problem including dehydrated onions, raw onions, cooked onions and
table scraps containing cooked

 onions and/or garlic. Left over pizza, Chinese dishes and commercial
baby food containing onion,

 sometimes fed as a supplement to young pets, can cause illness.

 Onion poisoning can occur with a single ingestion of large quantities
or with repeated meals

 containing small amounts of onion. A single meal of 600 to 800 grams
of raw onion can be dangerous

 whereas a ten-kilogram dog, fed 150 grams of onion for several days,
is also likely to develop

 anaemia. The condition improves once the dog is prevented from eating
any further onion


 While garlic also contains the toxic ingredient thiosulphate, it
seems that garlic is less toxic

 and large amounts would need to be eaten to cause illness.

 The danger of macadamia nuts
 Macadamia nuts are another concern. A recent paper written by Dr.
Ross McKenzie, a Veterinary

 Pathologist with the Department of Primary Industries, points to the
danger of raw and roasted

 macadamia nuts for pets.

 The toxic compound is unknown but the affect of macadamia nuts is to
cause locomotory

 difficulties. Dogs develop a tremor of the skeletal muscles, and
weakness or paralysis of the

 hindquarters. Affected dogs are often unable to rise and are
distressed, usually panting. Some

 affected dogs have swollen limbs and show pain when the limbs are manipulated.

 Dogs have been affected by eating as few as six macadamia kernels
(nuts without the shell) while

 others had eaten approximately forty kernels. Some dogs had also been
given macadamia butter.

 Luckily, the muscle weakness, while painful, seems to be of short
duration and all dogs recovered

 from the toxicity. All dogs were taken to their veterinary surgeon.

 Pet owners should not assume that human food is always safe for pets.
When it comes to chocolate,

 onions, garlic and macadamia nuts, such foods should be given in only
small quantities, or not at

 all. Be sure that your pets can’t get into your stash of chocolates,
that food scraps are disposed

 of carefully to prevent onion and garlic toxicity and that your dog
is prevented from picking up

 macadamia nuts if you have a tree in your garden.



 Other potential dangers
 • Avocado (all parts) - the toxic ingredient in avocado is called
persin (toxic amount unknown).

 Most documented cases of poisoning have been in livestock that have
eaten all parts of the avocado

 and in large amounts. The toxin may be confined to the leaves, bark,
skin or seed but the flesh is

 thought to be poisonous to birds.
 •  Pear pips, the kernels of plums, peaches and apricots, apple core
pips (contain cyanogenic

 glycosides resulting in cyanide poisoning)
 •  Potato peelings and green looking potatoes
 •  Rhubarb leaves
 •  Moldy/spoiled foods (keep garbage lid firmly on)
 •  Alcohol
 •  Yeast dough
 •  Coffee grounds, beans & tea (caffeine)
 •  Hops (used in home brewing)
 •  Tomato leaves & stems (green parts)
 •  Broccoli (in large amounts)
 •  Raisins and grapes
 •  Cigarettes, tobacco, cigars
 •  Xylitol (sweetener often found in sugar-free gum)
 •  Cooked bones - they can splinter and cause gut perforation, as
well as blockages in the

 intestine, tooth fractures, and cooked chop bones can get stuck
across the roof of the mouth
 •  Corn cobs - a common cause of intestinal blockage requiring surgical removal


-- 
Danielle

Email: singingmywayin at gmail.com