Several years ago, my mom would freeze grapes and feed them to her two dogs. The dogs loved them. My mom was unaware that she was giving her beloved pooches a potentially toxic food.
Fortunately, she discovered that grapes could be dangerous to canines and immediately stopped giving her fur babies their favorite frozen treat.
Experts say grapes are just one of many human foods that can make your dog ill — or worse.
“Our bodies may break down foods or other chemicals that a dog’s can’t tolerate,” Carmela Stamper, a veterinarian at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, says in a statement.
Although most dog owners know to avoid giving chocolate to Fido, other food types can also make your pooch sick. We looked at two lists — one from the FDA and another from Consumer Reports — and identified these seven foods:
- Grapes, raisins and currants: Although some dogs — like my mom’s — are unaffected by these fruits, they can cause kidney failure in other canines.
- Raw meat: Consuming uncooked meats — which can contain deadly bacteria like E. coli and salmonella — is a dangerous practice for both humans and dogs.
- Alliums: Onions, garlic, chives and other alliums are associated with hemolytic anemia disorder, which can damage dogs’ red blood cells.
- Macadamia nuts: It’s recommended that you keep your canine away from all nuts, but macadamia nuts can be especially dangerous to dogs. Why? Experts aren’t sure. “Nobody has really figured out the toxic principle here,” Martine Hartogensis, a veterinarian who works with the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, tells Consumer Reports.
- Fried and fatty foods: A dog’s pancreas can become inflamed from eating overly fatty foods, which results in its organs producing enzymes that can damage intestines.
- Salty snacks: If your dog consumes too much salt it can cause sodium ion poisoning, which often results in excessive thirst, fever, seizures, vomiting and diarrhea. “It’s almost like [dogs] get drunk,” Hartogensis says.
- Moldy foods: Make sure your dog doesn’t have access to moldy foods in the garbage or in a compost heap.
For more advice, check out:
Do you feed your dogs any foods off this no-no list? Sound off below or on our Facebook page.
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