Ok, so these aren’t technically “pet foods”, but in the eyes of your pet, almost anything that is chewable or easily swallowed, is pet food.
And while the following list may be considered common-sense, these are the types of tips that should be more accessible to beginners, children, and would also make a great addition to house rules upon the introduction of your new family member.
1. Alcohol
You may have seen videos on the internet. You may have even done it yourself in the past. But pouring beer or any liquid laced with alcoholic content in your dog’s bowl for example, may slow down your hairy friend’s heart just enough to actually stop it. I mean, alcohol has the ability to depress our own central nervous systems, imagine your canine companion!
2. Sweets
Its easy to forget that animals do not share the same customs as humans do. After all, they are our best friends, and offering chocolates to best friends doesn’t sound too far-fetched, does it? Seriously though, chocolate in particular, contains theobromine, which may be deadly to animals, and even us humans!
Cocoa beans have about 1.2% theobromine. If we look at it by weight, 28 grams of raw cacao, has roughly 0.3 grams of theobromine in it. Of course there’s a lot less in processed chocolate, and the levels found in ready-to-eat candies is typically 1.4-2.1 g/kg. But remember, your dog doesn’t know when to stop ?
3. Caffeine
Just… don’t. Its not good for their little golden hearts.
4. Garlic and Onions
What dish doesn’t include the use of onions and garlic? You’d even be forgiven to think pet food used these ingredients, of which are a species of Allium and cannot be digested by cats and dogs.
Here’s an Allium species poisoning in dogs and cats study from The Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases.
5. Chewing Gum
See number 3, plus Xylitol. A natural sugar-free sweetener found in many sweets (including tooth-paste).
EXTRAS.
There are obviously a lot more household foods that are poison to your pets, and we will revisit this issue again soon to add to the list. Until then, here are a couple honourable mentions:
– Blue Cheese and Macadamias. Unless you like to see your dog vomit with cold shakes, keep them away.
