Grammys Corgi Country

Today, I wanted to talk about foods that can cause problems for dogs. There are a lot of people foods out there that we wouldn’t think would cause problems for dogs, but they do.

Some dogs have problems with to much corn in their diets. They will develop what we call “summer itch,” around here. This is a type of dermatitis (skin irritation) that causes them to be VERY itchy and their skin sort of gets something that resembles “cradle cap”… a scaly, oily crust over oozy skin. We have had several dogs that developed this problem and the vet said that happens with a lot of dogs that get fed dry dog foods that contain a lot of corn, so we’ve had to switch to lamb and rice or some other types of dry dog foods to prevent reoccurrences.

TOXIC Raisins:

There are several things that are VERY TOXIC to dogs that many people don’t realize. Some people use raisins as dog treats, but as few as 9 raisins or a cup or so of grapes can kill a small dog and make a large one very sick. Usually it takes a while for the toxins to reach lethal amounts and the problem is that they do damage to the dog’s kidneys, so the dog builds up the toxins that the kidneys should flush and becomes lethargic (lazy, dumpy, etc.) and eventually sickens and dies. (See Snopes for verification: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/raisins.asp )

Xylitol = Deadly !

Another new thing that has been found to be especially toxic to dogs is Xylitol. This is a new, sugarless sweetener that they are starting to use in a lot of foods for diabetics, like Sugar Free Jell-O’s, puddings, breath mints and gum. Chewing a piece of this kind of gum or eating even a small amount of any food with Xylitol can kill a small dog within an hour. While it is a wonderful sweetener for diabetics because it helps to lower blood sugar, it will lower a dog’s blood sugar to much and to fast, and unless immediate IV glucose treatments are started, the dog will die just like someone who takes to much insulin or lets their blood sugar drop to low. (See this Vet blog for verification: http://www.dolittler.com/2008/09/16/dog.cat.veterinary.Xylitol.veterinarian.toxin.poison.html )

Other foods that can cause problems are: dark chocolate which can cause irregular heartbeat and possible heart attack, green potato sprouts or green skinned potatoes (also toxic to humans), turkey skins (too much fat can cause pancreatitis), green parts of tomato plants, yeast dough, and large amounts of broccoli.

Onions are very bad, in ANY form, because even small amounts that are eaten consistently over a period of time will build up in the dog’s system causing the red blood cells to burst which can cause acute anemic problems: listlessness, loss of appetite, weakness, breathlessness (red blood cells carry oxygen), blood in urine, vomiting and diarrhea. Garlic, in LARGE amounts or along with onion, can also cause this problem, but used sparingly with no form of onion, it can be helpful in preventing fleas. If the problem is caught before it has gone to far, a dog can recover if all onions and garlic are removed from its diet so that it can rebuild its supply of red blood cells again.

I’ve gotten into the habit of doing web searches of most any new food I am tempted to give to my animals now-a-days, because it takes such a short time to do, and I love my pets and don’t want to cause them any problems from my ignorance. I just put in “dog (name of food)” and hit the search button, and then do a quick spot check to see what is said. You could do the same type of search if you are a cat person… Better safe than sorry.

Have a safe and healthy day… for you AND your pet.

P.S. Please feel free to leave me a comment if you have found this information to be helpful…

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