Can you all add to a list of things that are poison to a dog, or will make them very ill.
It is suprising how many people don't know that you should not give chocolate to a dog
What other foods or plants can you think of that they can't have.

i've heard raisans and sultanas and other dried fruits are bad for them

Grapes and Raisins

Onions

Chocolate

Coffee, Coffee grounds, tea and tea bags

Macadamia Nuts

Animal fat and fried foods

Bones

Tomatoes

Avocados

Nutmeg

Apples, Cherries, Peaches and similar fruit

Raw eggs

Salt

Meats:
Meats should be boneless and it's best if the skin is removed. I don't consider raw meat a good idea because of the small risk of food poisoning and parasites.
Skinless, boneless chicken breast
Skinless, boneless turkey breast
Boneless fish

Vegetables:
Dogs have shorter digestive tracts than humans and cannot digest most vegetables whole or in large chunks. It's best to put them through a food processor before giving them to your dog
Carrots
Green Beans
Lettuce
Potatoes
Yams

Grains:
Grains should not be given in large amounts or make up a large part of a dog's diet, but these foods are generally safe in small amounts
Rice
Bread

Dairy products
Use caution with dairy products as they are high in fat and can cause pancreatitis, gas and diarrhea. Usually, nonfat plain yogurt is safe in small amounts

There is more info. on all of these food products on http://www.starbreezes.com/11/foodsafe.html

Sorry JH Bex, but dogs are fine with raw bones, eggs (cooked and raw), apples, pears etc, carrots (vet-recommended!), potatoes (cooked).

Mine have no problem with tomatoes :) and raw meat WITH bones is fine too (as long as not cooked) :) Sorry - JG - just noticed that you had put raw bones :D

Daisy

Mine also enjoy bones (if they weren't safe, I think we'd have a lot of people who fed BARF in trouble!), raw eggs and carrots!

:) Mine have all that lot nearly every day and the older one has done for nearly 5 years now - I don't think that he would be quite so fit if they were bad for him :D

Daisy

Anna would leave home if denied her "Cup" of tea! (Weak, little milk and sugar)

In most of these cases it is a case of a LITTLE of what you fancy does you no harm but too much would not constitute a balanced diet. In fact there is almost nothing on that list which my dogs have not had a little of at some time or other. Of course, small dogs should have rather less than big dogs and some dogs have a greater intolerance than others.

Regards, John

Sorry Bex buts that a lot of mis information you`ve given there.
Chocolate I agree with you on.

Grapes & raisins. I believe theres some info out there quating a few dogs that have suffered poisining from them but as far as I`m aware no direct info stating what/amounts or how it occured. Mine have them in moderation now & again.
Ditto onions.
Never give my lot coffee, but the amount of times my lot snaffle the dregs but don`t think they like it anyway! And so many of my friends dogs have a cup of tea n piece of toast in the morning it`s not true!
Don`t know about macadamia nuts.
Animal fats....well what do you think is in complete/tinned foods? Fried foods...what is rendered fat? I wouldn`t give fried foods as a normal part of my dogs diet but if I have left over fried foods they have it. And seeings tho I feed my lot raw meat animal fat plays a big part of their diet.
Bones are also a big part of my dogs diet & they are NOT poisonous :)
Tomatoes are a part of my lots diet, again NOT poisonous. The same applies with avocados, in fact they are very good for them!
Apples cherries, peaches are good for them, where on earht have you got your info from????
Meat should NOT be boneless, a meat only diet for a dog would be very harmful! Only necessary to skin it first if dog has a specific problem.
Whole unskinned fish WITH bones are fine for dogs.
Not sure what you are saying about veg but the ones you have mentioned are very nutritious for dogs! the one thing you have right tho is they should be liquidised first :)

Grains in small amounts should be OK with most dogs, barley/oats/wholewheat made digestable first are again nutritious for dogs. Not whit rice or bread tho.

Dairy products, well all I can say is since my lot have been fed a raw diet they have no problems with them :) But there again it is raw goats milk, cheese & yoghurt not the processed dairy products. Again, it is only a part of their diet & in moderation ;) :D

Christine, Spain.

Raw eggs ARE perfectly good for them & again NOT poisonous.

I spoke to someone in the park today and was telling her that my dog had been spoiled when she stayed with my parents over new year as my dad mixed some stovies in with her food as a treat and the woman was horrified.  she told me that dogs cannot eat potatoes because they are too starchy, and the starch blocks the pores (?) on the dogs tongue which means they can't sweat properly.  this sounded totally ridiculous to me so can someone please provide me with a fact or two about dogs and potatoes so I can tell her she is depriving her dog unneccessarily.  thanks in advance.

Green potatoes are poisonous to dogs, as they are to humans. i haven't personally ever fed potatoes to my dogs, but as far as I'm aware regular potatoes aren't harmful as such, but shouldn't be a part of their normal diet, but I would be interested to know if there is any substance to this 'blocking tongue pores' theory.

edit: just did a search on yahoo and there are various dog treats/foods out there with potato as their main bulk. I'm not saying this proves they're safe (as I would never touch many commercial foods out there with a barge pole!) but it would suggest that her theory might be wrong...

Mashed potato (no milk, no butter) is often recommended by vets as an alternative to rice if a dog has a stomach upset. Also, if it's so bad, why do Wafcol do a Salmon and Potato variety of dog food?

Grapes and raisins are very poisonous, so are the red berries on a Yew tree. In fact there are alot of
"innocent" garden plants that can cause skin irritation and illness.

This has been discussed before, but isn't it just the tomato plant that is poisonous to dogs?

Yew berries i agree with, they are extremely poisonous.

Lindsay
X

Oh.. sorry about that! Just what I got off that website!

Almost had a heart attack when I read that! Mine was given avocado, tomato, raw egg and bones all in the past few days.. she hasn't complained tho  :-D

I've not given bones for years and never have Avocados but Tomato's are a regular treat for my labs in the summer. They come into the greenhouse and wait for me to pick them one. Also all my dogs get the occasional raw egg.

Regards, John

I got a shock as well mine get a few of those listed calmed down when I read on.
                   PHEW!
                               sharon

Oh dear!
Mine loves licking out the skin of an avocado - I had no idea they were poisonous.

Just read Christine's post - avocado's are ok

On the subject of avocados, one of my friends used to live in zimbabwe and had several GSDs who used to help themselves to the fruit off the avocado tree/bush (whatever they grow on!) when it was in season. She said they had the most beautiful glossy coats... and fat bellies too!

:-)

OK. Here's a few ideas.

Grapes and Raisins. Yes. (Possibly the odd one or two will cause no harm, mine have had a few Raisins but not many.

Onions. Yes. Lower the haemoglobin level in blood. Again, a little in your leftovers is unlikely to do harm but be aware.

Chocolate. Yes. Dark chocolate is worse than milk and dog Choc Drops are OK

Tea and Coffee. Yes, Caffeine, but they would need a lot to cause trouble. Anna is a right tea drinker!

Apples. Pips but as far as I know not the rest. Again, Anna loves apples!

Salt, in the same way that it is bad for us.

These are the only ones on the list I know of. Quite a few things are perfectly safe IN THE UK. In other areas of the world I would not be so sure, Remember, a few years ago it was considered that the average American was unfit to eat because of the amount of DDT in their bodies! ;) (Sorry any Americans on the board but it was true!) Years ago you never gave dogs raw pork because of parasites but that has changed now and I'm assured it is safe! Chicken would worry me (I know a lot of you feed it) because of salmonella.

Regards, John 

Who`d WANT to even eat an American J??????? !!!!!!!! :D :D :D

Salt....well of course too much isn`t good but as it`s a mineral & an important one at that, we all need a little so my dogs do get a little as whats in the cooked left overs I give em :)
Can a body live without salt?

Christine, Spain.

We get more than enough in any processed food that we eat :) I haven't added any salt to cooking or food for over 20 years and I'm still here :D I have difficulty finding any if visitors ask for it :D

Daisy

*We get more than enough in any processed food that we eat * So as you say Daisy you are getting salt in processed foods, but I was asking can a body do without it totally :)
My dogs have only raw foods & I know there are traces of salt in some foodstuffs, we as a family have very little ready meals/processed foods & most is cooked from scratch by me so I do add salt to my foods & the leftovers I give to my dogs :)

Christine, Spain.

I know that salt is always taken in hot climates - my father lived in Iran for a long while and they always took salt tablets there because of the heat.

See http://www.hyp.ac.uk/bhsinfo/dietary.htm or
[link]http://www.medicdirect.co.uk/diet/default.ihtml?step=4&pid=2264[/link]  - it would seem that we don't really need to add any - rather try to cut it down :) It's interesting which foods have salt naturally. I'm guilty of eating too much cheese :(

Daisy

drat - why do some 'links' work and others don't :)

No one can live without sufficient salt. The reason why we put salt licks out for cattle during the summer. It is only excess which causes a problem.

Whilst at gundog training this morning I was talking to one of the people in my class. A friend of her's puppy had to go to the vets. It had a pleurisy type condition, full of fluid, almost as if the pup was drowning! The vet asked, "Does he ever eat snails by any chance?" Her friend replied that Yes, the horrible little so and so did occasionally, she had tried to stop it but without much success so far. It appears that snails can carry a virus which can affect dogs very badly! Something I have never heard of!

Regards, John

Exactly J, thats why I do add salt :) It`s the excess of everything that gets yer everytime tho, even the malt!  ;) :D
By the way was looking for links I used to have about what snails can cause(can`t find them but think I`ve put them one before) & found this
http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/travel/pdf/miscellaneous.pdf
Scroll down & it gives info on known cases of Rabies & Lepto, says there are over 200 serovars!! Seem to remeber a post someone was asking how many Rabies & Lepto cases in UK a while ago????
Anyway another little bit of useles info I dug up :D

Christine, Spain.
ps also a bit about schistosomiasis......

Malt? MALT! Never!

Yes, I remember the rabies thread. I was shouted down by someone who said the only case was in Scotland as I remember it. I said there was one in the west country. This article says Newhaven! I notice it does not mention the case just down the road from me here in Bucks but that was possibly too recent.

Lepto is the reason I still vaccinate. Around the places I go this is a severe risk. I was looking at the new rat workings in the pens only yesterday whilst out feeding up. There have been a couple of keepers infected this year according to "Shooting Times". I know there is problems concerning the many different strains but vaccines are the best protection we have (In my opinion. ;) )

Best wishes, John

Yes probably too recent J. I can`t find a date but it gives findings up to 2004.
You know theres only been 74 cases of Lepto from `94 to`04!
Did you read this bit * No universally effective vaccine for Lepto has been developed, due largely to the antigenic heterogeneity of the many diferent serovars.......I was whispering when I said it J :D

Go n have a malt or a double J ;)

Christine, Spain.

74 cases in 10 years is an average of 7.4 cases a year and I'm betting a large percentage of these involve people around places I visit!

I look at it this way C. If I do the best I can for my dogs and they still become infected I would be very upset but I don't even try and they become infected I would have trouble living with myself. I know nothing's perfect and some things are barely half way perfect but I try.

Best wishes, J

PS. just gonna have that malt now ;)

Hi John,
Are you saying that a good MALT is bad for your dogs?  or are you just like me, too mean to give it to them.

Happysh New Yearsh, hic, hic.

Harry C.

Let's put it this way Harry, It puts hairs on my chest but my dogs already have hairs on their chests!

Happy New Year to you to, yer young wippersnapper ;)

Very best wishes, John

Gosh John.
I didn't know that MALT put hair on the chest.  I must stop giving any more to the wife!!!!
:D
Harry C.

Oh yes! That could cause all sorts of problems for her. I would stop giving it straight away. In fact I would drink the bottle, just to make sure she is not tempted you understand!

John :p

Hi John, as regards to snails, they can get 'lungworm' . My girl had it earlier on in the year, affects the breathing and can be very bad if not caught early. She was very poorly and I was quite worried for her, but some worming powder over her meals and I think anti biotics were given, she was fine after about 10 days.

Dee

This happend to a youngster I bred who lives in the home counties.  Monthly doses of Panacur is what she is on now,.

Thanks Dee and Barbara. Never having a dog who has partaken of this delicacy it s not something I've come across in the past!

Best wishes, John

LOL@ Bex :D
Just goes to show you can`t always believe what you read eh? ;)
When I`m looking up things on the net I always try to find articles written by notable published authors on whatever it is I`m interested in, then I check up on them then I might believe it!!! :D

Christine, Spain.

Theres always someone who says theres something wong with everyone.  If we listend to everyone we couldn't feed our dogs anything. 

http://www.vestibular.org/dietaryconcerns.html shows where we get salt from without adding any to our cooking.

I was advised to stop taking salt for medical reasons when I was pregnant 30 years ago. I have not added salt to any cooking since then. My two children have grown up without salt added to any food and neither use salt. We eat very little processed food because it is all too salty.

One child used to cry because I could not buy crisps without salt already added. Thank goodness for "salt'n shake". Anyone need little blue bags of salt?

I have no argument with you over where the salt comes from Sheena, just that we need it. And as I said, yes, too much IS bad for you. Peoples perceptions of how much salt there is in a meal is coloured by how much salt they usually have in their meal. Like you, my salt intake was limited, in my case 50 years ago when I was admitted to hospital with a kidney disease.

Regards, John