Dog Food Poisoning and Intolerance

Posted by Dr Sam, On 23 Jan, 2023 | Updated On 18 Sep, 2023 No Comments »

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There are quite a few homemade food items dogs must NOT eat. These substances are harmful because a dog’s body cannot break them down and they can lead to slow or acute poisoning.

The Following are the Homemade Food You Mustn’t Give Your Dog

1. Alcohol: Your dog shouldn’t be sharing that beer with you. When she does, alcohol is formed in the stomach and can cause acute alcohol poisoning.
2. Yeast: Consumption of raw dough or uncooked bread causes intestine constipation. It also causes alcohol poisoning from internal fermentation.
3. Chocolate: Chocolate contains theobromine which dogs cannot break down. Even small amounts of chocolate can cause inability to control urine and bowel, seizures, heart attack and, in the worst case, death.
4. Raisins and Grapes: Raisins and grapes contain tannins that can damage the liver and kidneys of your dog.
5. Onions and Garlic: Dogs lack the necessary enzyme to break down onions and garlic. Eating them may cause colic, diarrhea, vomiting and serious digestive disorders. Onions are found in most ready-meals and cold cuts.
6. Salt: The dog’s body is not adapted to salty food and large amounts of salt can cause high blood pressure and vomiting and can lead to poisoning. The salt levels in cooked food, cold cuts, etc., are far too high to be suitable as dog food.
7. Xylitol: This is an artificial sweetener that lowers the dog’s blood sugar and can cause difficulty in walking, collapse and stroke. Xylitol is found in sugar-free products like candy, sweets and cookies.
8. Sugar: Sugar that is not absorbed in the gut is stored in the liver and muscles and causes weight gain.
9. Nutmeg: Its consumption gives dog Seizures, Tremors and Nervous System Disorders. These side effects can be fatal. Never spiced up your dog’s homemade food with nutmeg.
10. Macadamia nuts: Its consumption can give dogs; stiffness, tremors, hyperthermia, and abdominal pain. These effects are not fatal and most dogs recover quickly with appropriate treatment. But be on the safe side, don’t it give to your dog!
11. Hops: is a beer-making plant. It can cause malignant hyperthermia (very high body temperature) in dogs. The results are usually fatal. Hops should be kept away from all dogs because small amounts of it can trigger a possibly deadly reaction. Hops are still deadly to dogs even after being used in brewing.

Food intolerance is the result of poor digestion, such as lactose intolerance. People and dogs with lactose intolerance are either missing or have low levels of the milk digesting enzyme called lactase.
Lactose: is a sugar disaccharide compound found in milk. Puppies have an enzyme that can break it down. Adult dogs lack this enzyme and milk can often cause diarrhea.

Yoghurt, mature cheese, cottage cheese, tofu and high-fat dairy products are low in lactose, but high in fat. Still not all dogs can tolerate them. So do test tolerance for your dog as described in the Allergy Trial Test above.

Conclusion

Prevention of food poisoning in your dogs is entirely up to you. It takes deliberate effort and consists of housing dogs in safe surroundings, disposing of food items in secure dog-proof containers, and not leaving dogs unsupervised for long periods.

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