What people foods are worst for a dog?

Question

We've got a 3yr old Taco Bell dog and my in laws are so picky about what to feed him. I've had several dogs in my life and have given them everything from chocolate to steaks and they've all lived happy lives with ni problems. So what is bad and what is good?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

I posted a long answer about several things to NOT give your dog, etc. I've now copied and pasted it below ... good luck!


"As a general rule, giving dogs chocolate on purpose is NOT a good idea. The problem with chocolate is the theobromine and the caffeine content. Theobromine, if ingested, can cause hyperactivity, vomiting/diarrhea, increase urination, irregular/rapid heartbeat, seizures and tremors. Caffeine content can also cause hyperactivity, rapid heartbeat, tremors and seizures as well. When it comes to chocolate and dogs, here are some helpful guidelines for how much is too much:
Milk Chocolate - one ounce per pound of body weight (more is harmful)
Semi-Sweet Chocolate - one ounce per 3 pounds of body weight
Baker's Chocolate - one ounce per 9 pounds of body weight (this is the most dangerous of all)
The other issue I see is the milk you're adding. Dog's do not possess the enzyme that is necessary to digest dairy products. It's not a deadly thing, but you'll suffer some concequences, nonetheless. Fragrant diarrhea (or terrible gas build-up) may very well follow.
As many others have mentioned other harmful foods, here is my own laundry list of dangerous foods:
- alcohol (duh)
- anti-freeze (duh again)
- avocado (can be lethal - guacamole too)
- broccoli (can cause upset stomach in large quatities)
- grapes/raisins (just 6 grapes CAN kill a dog)
- raw eggs (Avidin in it can cause major deformations)
- fatty foods (can trigger pancreatitis in prone dogs)
- liver (can cause vitamin A toxicity)
- mistletoe (in larger amounts, generally)
- mothballs (duh)
- nuts (can cause bladder stones, and many other debilitating conditions)
- green potatoes (contain solanum alkoids that can be dangerous)
- Plants (like rhododendron, azalea, oleader, rhubarb, cycads, yew, and other houseplants)
- nutmeg (can cause seizures and death)
- onions (one small onion can contain enough thiosulphate to kill a dog)
- salmon (especially raw, can cause salmon poisoning disease that can kill a dog within days)
- salt (can trap gas in the intestines and kill a dog)
- sugarless candy/gum (xylitol can cause liver damage)
- tomatoes (contain atropine, a dangerous substance)
- yeast dough (will rise in the stomach and can cause a rupture in the stomach or intestines)
- fruit pits/seeds (apple seeds contain arsenic ... so do peach pits)"

Also, to respond top some other posts ... milk chocolate CAN kill a dog, it just takes more of it than, say, baker's chocolate. Also, chicken bones can be perfectly fine for a dog, but not cooked chicken bones (when cooked, the bones get brittle and splinter ... raw bones are usually fine, as many dogs on a BARF diet (bones and raw food) eat entire pieces of chicken whole, bones and all). Dogs can absolutely digest human foods ... every meat and vegetable out there was animal food before it was ever human food! Animals have been around longer than humans. It's the cooking/seasoning process that might make some foods not ok for dogs. But many raw or cooked (not seasoned) "human foods" are not only ok for dogs, but are actually very good for them!

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Awesome thank you very much. You listed things i didn;t even think of.

Answer 2

left over meatloaf

Answer 3

Chocolates are VERY bad for dogs

Answer 4

chocolate can kill dogs. also, don't give a dog chicken on the bone because the bone will turn to splinters when the dog bites it and that can also kill it.

Answer 5

I've heard chocolate can kill a dog

Answer 6

My vet says not to feed them people food at all, that dog's intestines are not designed to digest human food and it's really not good for them. However, he said to broil some healthy fish for my dog every now and then and feed that to him.

Answer 7

I wouldn't feed them to much greasy foods and chocolate. Proteins like chicken with no seasonings are a great meal. Also some dogs like carrots or celery something to gnaw on.

Answer 8

I would say the worst food for a dog [or any other animal] is chocolate. If the animal [in this case, a dog] eats just the littlest bit of chocolate, he/she could get get sick, or maybe even get diarreha.

Answer 9

Chocolate is bad for dogs, it contains something which dogs find toxic - and can actually be fatal if eaten in large quantities.

You know though, dogs should not eat people food because dogs are not people.

Different species, different dietary needs. It makes sense.

The best thing you could do for your dog, is to feed it something that is designed to be eaten by dogs - not human treats - human treats are for humans.

Answer 10

chocolate can kill dogs.

Answer 11

Chocolate and onions can cause intestinal blockage and should never be givin to dogs.

Source(s):

My life with dogs and Vet's advice

Answer 12

Chocolate,grapes,onions,garlic (in abundance),junk food like pizza, chips,sugary snacks,even sugar substitutes are all bad for your dog

Answer 13

Everything but meat is bad. In excess, it leads to an early death from heart or organ failure.
Happy lives is one thing, a healthy one is another.

Chocolate is very bad- considering your dogs size, even a tiny bit would probably put it in to overdose seizures. Thousands of dollars later with actived carbon, intensive care, with the dog in pain the whole time, there is a slight chance you will still have a dog.

Source(s):

worked in an emergency veterinary clinic.

Answer 14

Chocolate is dangerous. Try finding a veterinary website and look it up. There are lots of sites on the wire.

Answer 15

Whatever everyone else said. People food itself is bad to begin with, and yes chocolates are the worst of the lot. They can really kill a dog. Even a small amount of chocolate can kill a puppy.

Answer 16

Please don't give the dog bones (like chicken bones) it can cut their inside or even choke on them. I've given everything to my dogs just like you except bones, and my are dogs are very happy and healthy.

Answer 17

Milk chocolate won't kill a dog. Dark chocolate might. The reason is the caffine content is very high. Be very careful about feeding a dog any type of darker chocolate. We had a beagle that managed to pull a whole bag of Dove dark chocolate off the kitchen table - by pulling the table cloth off. He ate the whole bag by himself and was a bit hyper. The animal hospital said that he was borderline as to whether or not to bring him in. His stomach was pumped with charcol and he was just fine.

Onions and mushrooms are the worst for a dog. Avoid feeding these two foods to any dog or cat. Spicy foods or foods that would make you feel somewhat off are not good for your dog. Meat - plain without seasoning is the best to feed them.

Make sure that table scraps don't make up the marjority of his diet. Otherwise he can have a treat.

Answer 18

I know of certain foods which are big "no no" foods for dogs, such as, garlic, chocolate, grapes/raisins (believe it or not). But dogs are usually pretty clued up to these and usually won't touch them anyway. The other food personally I have found is not good to give them are onions that includes sauces that contain onions, and other leftovers. Your dog may have different intolerances and certain foods may cause allergies. If you see your dog trying to chew it's own leg desperately - a common behaviour in dogs - shortly after eating then most likely he has an allergy to that food he has just eaten.

Source(s):

Personal experience

Answer 19

Chocolate is horrible for dogs. It is not good for their indegestion system as well it can give them an early departuure in life. There is not much wrong with giving pets table scraps, except for weight gain and those types of problems, as well as begging. Good luck!

Answer 20

chocolate!
chicken bones!
hot dogs
cheese!
apples
Apricot
Avocado
Baby Food
Bread Dough
Broccoli
Caffeine
Cherries
Corn Cobs
Citrus Oil Extracts
Eggs (Raw)
Grapes or Raisins
Liver
Macadamia Nuts
Mouldy or Spoiled Foods
Mushrooms
Nutmeg
Nuts
Onions
Peaches
Pears
ECT.
ECT.
ECT.
look at the link for more

Source(s):

http://mooreshaven.com/pets/dogs/safety/badfoodslist.html

Answer 21

Bad Foods For Dogs List:

Alcohal
Anti-freeze
Apple seeds
Apricot pits
Baby food with onion powder
Bones that are cooked
Bread dough
Broccole (if feed in excess)
Candy (sugarless)
Cherrie seed its
Chocolate (cooking powder and squares most toxic)
Cigarettes
Citrus oil extracts
Dairy products in excess
Eggs (raw)
Grapes or raisins
Hops
Liver (in excess can cause hypervitaminosis A)
Macadamia nuts (toxic)
Musrooms
Nutmeg
Nuts in general can cause bladder stones
Potatoes (green skins and sprouts)
Raisins
Rich fatty foods
Rhubarb (leaves)
Salmon (raw)
Salt
Table Scraps (no more than 10 %)
Tomatoes

Check the website below for more detail on these items. I was surprised to find out all the foods that are bad for dogs. If your dogs eats some of these foods it may be slowly hurting your dogs health.

Source(s):

Bad Food For Dog List: http://mooreshaven.com/pets/dogs/safety/…

Answer 22

chocolate and grapes are very bad for dogs also like bones from chicken or ribs stuff like that

Answer 23

chicken bones and all bones expect for rib bones

Answer 24

Sugars, chocolate,onions,potatoes. Those are the four top foodstuff I can think of. Of course the dogs won't die from a small amount of these foods but it will make them ill whether we see it or not. Even in small amounts. You might consider a mars bar a small amount....but if you were to eat ten of them at once then you would get a good idea of what your dog is going through with just one bar!!!
Dogs are scavengers and will eat anything they can get a hold of. This is a born survival trait in the animal.So if their stewards are going to give them sugars, chocolates,onions,and potatos, then for sure they are going to take it. They don't know any better. We do.