Many people believe that what is good for the owner is good for his companion too. But, one has to be very wary of whatever food is put in front of the dog lest it should turn out to be POISONOUS FOOD FOR THE DOG.
The first in the list of poisonous food for dog is chocolate and cocoa. Theobromine in chocolate is a diuretic and a cardiac stimulant. If ingested in large amounts, the dog becomes hyperactive, and passes large volumes of urine. Vomiting follows. The heart rate escalates and death is possible if the dog is exercised. Both cocoa as well as cooking chocolate is poisonous food for dogs. Milk chocolate has lesser amounts of theobromine. In a nutshell, even licking the leftover icing from a cocoa cake can be putting poisonous food right in front of your beloved dog. Obviously, the age of the dog, its size and energy level will dictate how long the dog will survive or how badly it will be affected.
Onions and garlic are other poisonous foods for dog. Onions are especially toxic. Onions cause hemolytic anemia; that is, the red blood cells burst as they circulate through the body. Eating onion can cause diarrhea and vomiting. Passing dark colored urine, weakness, confusion, dizziness and accelerated heart rate are other symptoms of onion poisoning. Left over pizza, commercial baby food containing onion, and Chinese food are all poisonous food for dog. Mushrooms are also poisonous for dogs. They can lead to abdominal pain caused by liver or kidney damage. Vomiting and diarrhea followed by convulsion, coma and death is quite possible if mushroom is eaten. Macadamia nuts are another poisonous food for dog. These may cause muscle tremor, weakness and ultimately paralysis.
The seeds of fruits like apple, cherries, peach etc contain cyanide and are poisonous food for dogs. Unlike humans, dogs will not spit out the seeds. Smaller varieties will become very sick if they eat these seeds. Poisonous food for dogs also includes tomatoes and tomato plants. Tremors and heart arrhythmia are the direct results of eating tomato plants. Raw eggs and raw meat can be poisonous food for dog. Raw eggs may contain salmonella, and raw meat will contain bacteria if the quality is not ensured. Splinters of bones in the raw meat may tear the internal organs of the dog.
Grapes and raisins are another category of poisonous food for dog. Symptoms of poisoning include diarrhea, vomiting, and kidney failure and tummy pain. This is a matter that has to be taken up with the vet immediately. Caffeinated beverages that are human favorites are highly poisonous food for dogs. Sometime, dogs eat medicines, rat poison or other chemical substances left at home.
Some dog owners consider their pets to be the next best alternative to a recycling garbage bin. Feeding your dog with moldy leftovers just because you are hesitant to waste "good" food is akin to poisoning your dog. Moulds and bacteria go hand in hand. If the dogs are small, they will not be equipped to ward off diseases caused by these bacteria. Indigestion followed by diarrhea and vomiting occurs. If chronic diarrhea occurs, secondary infections may set in, thus robbing your dog of his very life.
Feeding scraps to dogs during dinnertime is to be avoided because a large variety of human food is poisonous food for dogs. Extra care must be taken to see that the dog does not inadvertently get into your stash of chocolates, left over pizza or even cigar cases. Many times, the effects of poisoning are sudden and may be fatal. In this case, prevention is definitely better than cure or even regret. Keeping your dog away from poisonous dog food is a matter of disciplining him and urging him to eat only what is given in his bowl or plate and not allowing him to rummage for food everywhere.
(This article was reproduced from http://www.web-rover.com/dogfood/poisonousfoodfordogs.php)
2 comments:
While I agree with most of what you say, I don't agree at all with this :
"Raw eggs and raw meat can be poisonous food for dog. Raw eggs may contain salmonella, and raw meat will contain bacteria if the quality is not ensured. Splinters of bones in the raw meat may tear the internal organs of the dog."
Dogs naturally have shorter digestive tracts and more acidic stomachs than humans, so they are not affected as much by bacteria and not at all by salmonella. So raw eggs and meat are fine to be fed to dogs.
Bones should never be given cooked because cooking softens them and causes them to splinter. It is fine for dogs to eat uncooked bones - how else did dogs survie in the wild?
If you've never heard of predator/raw feeding or barf I suggest you might want to read about it. Cooking kills nutrients, so cooking meat for our dogs is not as good as raw meat.
Anyway, that is my opinion :)
To greenasia:
Wild dogs eat freshly killed meat - so there is no Salmonella or any other disease causing bacteria. But the meat we eat can be highly contaminated due to farming techniques, slaughtering process and storing methods. Also we do not know how many dogs ( or other animals) die of bone impactions in the throat. But we do know that many Lions die of bone fragments penetrating the throat or bowel-- and also domestic dogs. Many Sushi eaters get tape worm infections due to presence of tape worm eggs - so are many raw beef eaters.
Don't forget-- our dogs have changed almost beyond recognition due to thousands of years of domestication. Domestic dogs are -- well domesticated-- and they have lost their abilities to fight off many infections. Hence most dog breeds can fall sick after eating raw beef unless one is meticulous.
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