Sunday, August 30, 2009

Don't Eat That! (Don't feed these things to your pup)

Gonzo loves his veggies. I used to find this strange, because as a child I tried to feed our family beagle brussel sprouts, lima beans, and mixed vegetables to no avail. Mom would find a pile of veggies on the linoleum next to my chair. "Where were you when I was growing up?" I lament as Gonzo begs for cucumber peels and tomato tops from the cutting board. He actually would pick cherry tomatoes off the vine with his teeth last summer. We have grape tomatoes this season, and he doesn't seem interested. I understand that green tomatoes and leaves can make our boy sick, so I am careful not to feed him under-ripe ones or too much at a time.

It's hard to know what you can and can't feed a dog, because you'll read,"Don't feed X to a dog; it will kill them," meanwhile, your dog has been eating X since it was a puppy and is alive and well. I will give our boy lettuce and carrots (indigestible according to the online sources) and I used to feed him a few grapes every time I ate them by "accidentally" dropping them, but now I read that I may have damaged his kidneys with my treat.

To save heartache, I have put together a list of items that you shouldn't feed your pup, regardless of how sweetly he asks:

Alcohol
Apples, Apricots, Cherries, Peaches and Plums
Avocados
Baking Powder or Baking Soda
Chocolate
Coffee Grounds
Dairy Products
Eggs and/or Egg Whites (raw)
Fatty Foods
Grapes and/or Raisins
Macadamia Nuts
Moldy or Spoiled Food
Nutmeg
Onions or Garlic
Salt or salty foods like chips, pretzels, or ham
Tea or tea bags
Xylitol or other artificial sweetners
Yeast dough

The link above will take you to the list at petplace.com and there you can read the reasons behind why you shouldn't feed these things to your pup.
Other sources:
http://www.raigr.com/badfoods.aspx
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1659&aid=1030
http://www.hankiebears.com/Things%20not%20to%20feed%20your%20dog.pdf (notice it's a PDF file and will need to be opened, from Drs. Foster and Smith)

Good Boy, Gonzo. Eat a dog treat instead.

More to come, so come back if you're interested.

1 comment:

  1. Excellent post! My dogs love veggies too, but I admit to throwing them a chip or two but only if they are very good, and then only one.
    I had also heard mushrooms were a no-no as well.

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