Food Safety and Your Pet!

The summertime is known for parties, cookouts and barbecues often you may bring your dog to enjoy the fun with you. But what you may not know is that there are some foods that you should not be feeding your dog and many are snack foods commonly at parties. This is a list of foods that you may not normally think would be toxic for dogs.

Sugary foods: Foods that are high in sugar like candy can make your pet’s blood sugar levels drop and in severe cases, vomiting, seizures, and liver failure have occurred. For humans it can be a nice treat but for dogs the sweetener, Xylitol is damaging to their health. Xylitol can also be found in gum and many different types of candy. It is best to keep foods like these out of their reach.

Salt and Salty Snacks: While small amounts won’t severely affect them, too much may make your pet have an excessive thirst, diarrhea, vomit, and seize. It is best to avoid giving them too many salty snacks like pretzels, chips, and salted popcorn. Foods like these are common at parties and are commonly given to dogs.

Chocolate, Caffeine, and Coffee: For humans coffee can get you energized and alert for the day, but for dogs and cats it can cause hyperactivity, tremors, seizures, vomiting, diarrhea, and could affect their heartbeat. Most pet owners know that chocolate is a known poison for dogs but the worst kind is darker chocolate and chocolate mulch. It has similar symptoms as coffee and caffeine.

Grapes and Raisins: You may not think that a fruit could be so harmful for dogs but it can actually cause kidney failure. While the cause of this isn’t known yet you can spot early signs which include vomiting.

It is always a good idea to keep your vet’s number and the closest emergency vet around because it may come in handy. It is also important to keep the ASPCA’s poison control number on hand, (888) 426-4435. Keep an eye on foods that could be easily accessible to your pets and avoid potential problems before they happen.

For more information you can visit the ASPCA’s website and learn more about food you your dog shouldn’t be eating: www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/people-foods-avoid-feeding-your-pets