What Foods Are Toxic To Dogs? What fruits should dogs avoid? Or are grapes toxic to dogs?Did you know that there are a few fruits and vegetables that dogs shouldn’t eat? Although offering our dog a piece of fruit from time to time is healthy, there are certain fruits which, while good for humans, are not suitable for dogs. Okay, carrots are fine, but would you be able to categorically state whether grapes are also okay for dogs? And what about tomatoes? If you’re not sure, help is at hand with our list of fruits and vegetables which are toxic to dogs!
What Foods Are Toxic To Dogs? Here Are The List
While it’s fine for dogs to eat carrots, peas, and certain other vegetables, we have prepared a list of the toxic fruit that they shouldn’t eat:
Grapes and raisins are toxic to dogs
Although it sounds far-fetched, it’s really not! There have been cases of dogs that have died from eating grapes and raisins. In large quantities both grapes and raisins can damage your dog’s kidneys and cause kidney failure. In small amounts, grapes can cause diarrhea in dogs.
Strangely though, although grapes are toxic to dogs, it seems they don’t affect all dogs equally, with a certain percentage of dogs which are “immune” to the toxic raisins and grapes. However, as we have no way of knowing if our dog is one of the “chosen” ones, as a precaution, do not give your dog raisins as a reward or treat, and keep your grapes and raisins out of reach!
Avocados could be bad for dogs:
Why did we put avocado on the list? Yes, boys and girls, avocado is actually a fruit, not a vegetable! It is in fact the fruit of the avocado tree, Persea americana, from the Lauraceae family. No matter how good it is, and I can assure you that its oily texture is delicious to dogs, it seems that the avocado is not good for our canine friends.
What if I drop a Dorito on the ground with a tiny bit of guacamole on it? Business as usual, no need to go to extremes. Your dog is not going to die because one day you give it a tiny slice of avocado, but in large quantities or if giving him the fruit regularly, the avocado can be toxic to dogs because of the Persin it contains. Persin is a fungicidal substance present in the leaves, fruit and seeds of the avocado. Fungicide means a substance that kills fungi and molds, which would otherwise harm the plant.
However, the exact dose which causes poisoning in dogs is unknown, although it is known that Persin is also is toxic to other species of animal such as cats, horses and birds. The truth is there is a lack of research on such issues. I know there are people who regularly give avocado to their dogs and nothing bad happens. As for me though, I avoid giving avocado to dogs and cats as a precaution, until further evidence becomes available.
And now, let ‘s take a look at the list of vegetables you should not feed to dogs:
Onions and garlic are bad for dogs in large doses:
When we say onions and garlic, we also include their related vegetables such as shallots, leeks or chives. Onion and garlic in occasional small doses will not poison your dog, they won’t get sick, nothing awful will happen. But onion is dangerous for dogs in large amounts (i.e. eating half an onion or a whole onion) or repeated doses (eating a few pieces of onion every day). Both vegetables contain thiosulphate, which can destroy red blood cells in dogs (and cats), causing anemia.
Between garlic and onion, onion is the worst offender, because it contains toxins at doses much higher than garlic does. Therefore we recommend that you do not include onions in the food that you prepare for your dog.
Now, if one day your dog happens to eat a stew containing onion, and swallows a few pieces, will anything bad happen? The answer is a resounding no.
Raw potatoes with green sprouts are toxic to dogs:
On the Internet there are many articles and videos which state that cats and dogs can’t eat potatoes because they’re toxic, but this is false. What evidence are these claims based on? The truth is: nothing at all, and then the offending articles and videos are copied and shared from one site to another, with zero checks for truth. It’s a shame, because such videos have thousands of views and are giving people information that is simply not true.
The reality is that raw potatoes, when they’re green on the outside, their leaves and stems and any sprouts coming out of the potatoes themselves, are toxic to dogs because they contain solanine.
Solanine is naturally present in potatoes and is a bitter and highly-toxic substance, both to animals and humans, even in small doses. So what should we do?
The good news is that this toxic alkaloid disappears when we boil the potatoes. So the rules are as follows:
- Don’t grow potato plants near your dogs
- Give them potatoes as part of their diet if you want, but make sure it’s boiled potatoes,
avoiding any unnecessary risks.
Toxic foods for dogs – The Final Thought:
To conclude what foods are toxic to dogs, there are some fruits and vegetables which prove toxic to dogs, or which dogs should not eat on a regular basis. If they eat a small chunk one day, nothing will happen, but it’s better to keep them out-of-reach and not to use them as ingredients in your pet’s daily meals. To summarize what we’ve already noted, the list of fruits and vegetables toxic to dogs is:
- Fruits: grapes, raisins and avocados.
- Vegetables: onions and raw potatoes with green sprouts.
If you want to prepare healthy, tasty and suitable homemade food for your dog (of course, without any of these “forbidden fruits” in the ingredients), then here are a couple of ideas:
- recipe for homemade dog food
- for a special day: how to make a birthday cake for dogs
