3 Things Your Dog Shouldn’t Eat

Dogs are not without reason, perhaps the most loved pets. Right from their grins that ooze out cuteness to their big brown eyes, dogs are simply adorable. But to keep a dog healthy and fine, it is crucial to pay close attention to their diet. However, many dog-lovers often pass chunks of food from their tables to their dogs, especially kids who sometimes feed their dogs with stuff meant for their parents. Feeding such edible items to your dog needs to approach with caution. Some food items with their constituent substance aren’t just meant for dogs and can endanger their health. There are lots of such harmful foods for dogs. Today, we talk about three such food items that can harm your dog.

1. Bones

Avoiding feeding a bone to a dog might sound the weirdest tip for the dog’s best health interests. But it is something you want to do for your canine friends, especially if we are talking about chicken bones. Vets almost equivocally state that it’s best to use dog food without chicken and cooked bones, as they are bad for a dog’s health. The health issue is due to the bone’s tendency to get harder, making them vulnerable to shatter or splinter with ease. Such splinters are a typical case when it comes to chewing chicken bones. Moreover, chicken bones assume a razor-sharp edge that might damage a god’s innards if they ingest it.

Common injuries resulting from chicken bones include:

Mouth Injury Or Broken Teeth

FDA has been quite vocal about the dangers that chicken bones present to dogs. Perhaps the most typical injury sustained by a dog while chewing bones is broken teeth. Dogs, especially if the particular breed is small in size, might break a tooth easily while eating or chewing chicken bones. There is the danger of the bone’s sharp edges, injuring the dog’s mouth too. Further, the bone can get stuck in a dog’s teeth and make it necessary to sedate the dog and remove it. All the above circumstances call for the attention of a vet.

Windpipe Injuries

Chicken bones also sometimes get stuck in the esophagus of your favorite canine friend. The term esophagus refers to the tube through which ingested food reaches the stomach. Get rid of the bone, the dog may gag. Such chicken bones may also block the dog’s windpipe, mainly if the bone is of a small size. You should consider all such cases to be medical emergencies and consult a vet right when you notice something like this happening.

Digestive Issues

Undigested chicken bones can affect the intestine of your pet dog. They serve to block the animal’s digestive system, which in turn prevents gases and other ingested or otherwise, materials from leaving the body of the dog. Such blockages make the blood toxic and endanger their health.

Intestinal injuries

Another additional risk posed by cooked bones is that the fragments may injure the gastrointestinal tract by puncturing it. Such injuries may become severe and result in internal bleeding. This type of damage might also cause the dog’s death if they are not treated in proper time. Another potential health condition caused by such splinters is peritonitis. Here the splinter pierces the intestinal wall while passing through the abdominal cavity. This pierced abdominal cavity lining gets infected in peritonitis.

2. Xylitol

There are quite a few substances that people can take without affecting their health at all. But animals have different metabolic systems, and some of these same food items can cause severe health issues in animals. One such substance is Xylitol, which is harmful to both cats and dogs, especially for the latter. The health issue results from the fact that in a dog, Xylitol dissolved into the bloodstream very quickly, which in turn secretes a large amount of insulin from the pancreas. This secretion stands in contrast to human beings’ metabolic system, where absorption of Xylitol doesn’t result in any such secretion.

Insulin serves to control blood sugar in both human beings and dogs. The insulin secretion effect of Xylitol in dogs can be fatal for dogs if the high blood sugar levels are left unattended. The time of such results is usually between 10-60 minutes of xylitol ingestion.

There are a wide variety of products with Xylitol as an ingredient, many of whom are usually there in your kitchen. There are more than 700 such products, and you need to read the product labels and keep the relevant items away from your pet dog. Such items include:

• Gum, candies, mints
• Nut butter and peanut butter
• Chocolate
• Medicines, dietary supplements, vitamins, oils
• Dental and nasal products
• Sweet things like honey, jams, syrups, sweeteners, raw Xylitol, cookies
• Desserts like ice cream, yogurt, mixes
• Flavoring substances and sauces
• Diabetic snacks and foods
• And even bones amongst others

3. Alcohol

The last food item we want to warn you about while feeding your dog is alcohol. If you are not sure about the same, let there be no doubts – enjoy your drinks without your dog. Say an emphatic no to any alcoholic beverage for your beloved canine friend. You need to make sure that you don’t feed your dog’s alcohol. Not only that, but you should also consciously keep all alcoholic beverages out of your dog’s reach. Remember that the next time you are drinking with your friends or having a memorable evening. However, if you wish to take your dog out for a visit to beer gardens and wineries that are incredibly friendly towards dogs, please feel free to do that.

Keep in mind the precept of not allowing your dog to have alcohol. Drink responsibility, but never let the curiosity of your dog get the better of your informed choice. You can be sure that many potential disasters can occur if your canine friend comes in contact with alcohol.

There are plenty of instances where, despite your best efforts, dogs ingest or eat or swallow something they absolutely shouldn’t. So, you need to be careful and keep the contact details of your vet close to yourself. Also, keep numbers to emergency clinics with yourself and get in touch with organizations that deal with animal poisoning. Don’t wait and call for help right after discovering that your dog has ingested something toxic.