Have you got a furry friend that you just love unconditionally, no matter what they do. Yes they may poop on the carpet, they may destroy the sofa and wake you up for early morning walks in the winter rain. But you still love them with all of your heart, well that’s unconditional love. No matter how much they ruin your day, they can remake your day with their cute beady eyes. I’m sure if you’re reading this you’re a dog lover, new dog owner or you’ve accidentally let that little guy get hold of some food that he wasn’t supposed to get hold of. If you’ve owned a dog before, I’m sure you know that chocolate is not suitable for them.
Chocolate is kind of the most well known food that you shouldn’t let your furry little friend consume. I myself have a little jack russell called fayie and I had to scoop a piece of chocolate out of my dog’s mouth on multiple occasions, it’s not fun. As much as dogs are cute, they have very wet, sticky, and fishy mouths. Not a good experience is it? So we’ve got chocolate out of the way, let’s get stuck into the top 6 things that you should not give to your dog. I’m writing this article for your dog and you, your dog will be eating more healthy foods and not dangerous foods and you won’t have to get your hands wet. It’s gonna be a win win, so i suggest that you stay tuned.
1 – Alcohol
Let’s get the previous one out of the way first. Did you know our bodies aren’t even designed to consume this toxic substance that’s so widely accepted. Nowadays I’m sure you’ve used hand sanitiser right, no I haven’t gone off topic. What does it do? It kills right? Alcohol is a toxin that kills microorganisms, it has the potential to kill you too. But our bodies over the years have adapted, they’ve become more strong and able to handle this regular drinking occurrence. But dogs, not surprisingly, have not, they don’t really have the freedom to head down to the bar on a friday night after a hard week of being a good boy. You get the picture, no vodka for the dog otherwise he may be taking a little trip to doggy heaven.
2 – Avocados
First things first, avocados are extremely healthy. They are actually one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet. But, they contain an extremely high amount of fat. Yes , I know these are good fats. They may be good fats, but that doesn’t make them not fats. And fats can cause a lot of gastric distress in not only animals but also humans. But we’re talking about dogs. On top of that, they also contain very high levels of persin. Persin is a toxin, i won’t get too much into what can happen to the dogs if they eat avocado. But their lungs will fill up with fluid and they’ll struggle to breath. So if they do pass away, it won’t be a happy peaceful ending for them. Also you may have noticed the humongous stone or seed, whatever you call it. Your dog is likely to choke on this, not pretty.
3 – Artificial sweeteners
Now, you may be thinking. What the hell, why would I give my beloved dog artificial sweeteners. You may not know this, but many foods now contain artificial sweeteners, foods like sweet treats, most sugar free products and even sometimes peanut butter. So i beg you, please check the label before leaving stuff in the dogs view or willfully give it to them for supper.
4 – Tomatoes (unripe)
So don’t panic, if theyve been eating tomatoes that you eat they’ll most likely be absolutely fine. Shouldn’t be any problems whatsoever, but when the tomatoes are not ripe and sweet. Exercise caution, keep them out of reach until they are ripe and you’ll bypass any trouble for your dog. But how come? When unripe they contain high levels of ‘tomatine’, this chemical will cause damage to your little dogs nervous system, kidneys and their digestive tract and system. So just to be safe I’d recommend not giving tomatoes to your dog if you want to avoid any issues for them.
5 – Grapes and raisins
It is super important that you take this advice. If your dog has maybe consumed any grapes or raisins, get them to the vets immediately. The problems will hit fast, some of the problems are kidney damage or worse kidney failure. Which just like the avocados will not be a nice death. Raisins are very easy to accidentally drop, especially if you’ve got a kid in the house eating them. So if you wanna be on the extra safe side, just don’t keep them in the house.
6 – Potatoes (plants)
So again, don’t worry. Your little one can eat potatoes, but if you have a garden and you grow your own. First of all, well done. It’s pretty cool that you grow your own produce. But maybe put them in a section that your dog won’t be able to get too. The plants can cause diarrhea and vomiting, and that carpet will be difficult to clean after a little potato explosion. Having diarrhea can obviously go on to cause dehydration and other issues, so please keep the plants away and your dog will be happy as usual.
Closing thoughts
So most of these are very obvious, just exercise caution when allowing your dog or any animal you have to eat something other than their usual food. Unless it’s a goat, they’ll eat pretty much anything. Good luck!