Treats That Pooch CANNOT Eat!

Anyone who has ever owned a dog will knowlethal.
that they are not particularly fussy eaters, to putSadly, consumption of relatively minor traces of
it mildly! Anything and everything that can bethese chemicals can cause your dog such serious
consumed will pass through pooch's digestivemedical problems as increased heart rate,
system at some point, and by no means will all ofpalpitations and so on. Large amounts could even
it be food as we know it!lead to total cardiac failure, seizures, coma and
Your dog also has a very well developed sense ofeventually death.
smell, so that what he or she considers to beOf course, we have to keep this in perspective
"foodstuffs" (yesterdays chicken bones in theand it is extremely unlikely that one small piece of
kitchen trash can, for example), stuff that youchocolate given as a "treat" every now and then
may believe is hidden (i.e. out of sight) is aswill harm your dog in any way. However, be
evident to your dog as the nose his face. Restaware that different breeds of dogs show
assured that your dog will find anything that candifferent levels of resistance to the chemicals in
be eaten, wherever it is!chocolate, and that the dogs size and weight
Ninety-nine percent of the time, this will not be awould also be a factor to consider. Whilst a pound
major problem. An inconvenience maybe whenof the wrong kind of chocolate might kill a smaller
tonight's dinner that was cooling in the kitchendog, it may merely cause a Bull Mastiff or a
miraculously disappears, but not a major drama.Doberman to have a day or two of digestive
The problem is that dogs (obviously) have little ordiscomfort, and no doubt one or two unpleasant
no knowledge of whether what they eat is good"accidents" along the way!
or bad for them, nor do they care. Reverting toThe simple answer is the obvious one, so don't
the previous example, every human probablygive the family pet huge amounts of chocolate!
knows that, whilst beef or lamb bones are aAt the same time, take precautions to minimize
delectable treat for Fido, chicken bones are athe risks, by making sure that any chocolate in
definite no-go, owing to their tendency to splinterthe house is stored above the dogs "forage level"
and stick in the dogs throat.and that your family members, especially young
However, not every dog owner is aware thatchildren, know not to give their chocolate away!
some of the everyday foodstuffs that weThere are a few other goods that we consider to
consume and take for granted, and are happy tobe food that, again, may not be too good for the
give to our families, could be very dangerous,family dog. Some strains of mushroom, for
even potentially lethal, if given to your dog.example, can cause your pet problems (liver and
For example, were you aware that the simplekidney damage, abdominal pain) and, whilst garlic is
chocolate bar that is stashed at the back of yourextremely good for humans, it can cause
fridge might actually constitute a potentially deadlyvomiting and diarrhea in dogs.
hazard for your four legged friend? This isThe bottom line is, do not assume that just
potentially a major problem, as the majority ofbecause you can eat it, so can your dog.
dogs seem especially partial to chocolate, in myWhilst he will regularly devour a host of things
experience.that you would never go near, understand that
Whilst it has been recently reported that it maythere are a few things that your digestive
be high in human-friendly antioxidants, the problemsystem handles without problems that your dog
for your dog is that chocolate contains variousjust cannot cope with!
chemicals, which can be highly dangerous, if not