28 Proven Foods a Dog Should Not Eat

Last Updated on July 1, 2022 by Cheryl Moreo

What Foods a Dog Should Not Eat?

What 28 foods should a dog not eat? First, of course, we all love our canine pets, and most of us consider them a member of the family.

When you see your dog giving you a sad little look while standing near the dinner table, you could be inclined to slip your furry friend a bit of your food. Admittedly, sharing food with your dog may appear reasonably harmless. Still, beyond stimulating bad begging habits and even putting on weight, you could essentially be putting your dog’s general health and life in danger. So don’t give if the tidbit is one of the foods a dog should not eat.

This is why it is important to know the foods a dog should not eat. There are various foods and ingredients eaten by humans daily, such as chocolate, milk, and garlic, that can induce severe toxic reactions in pets. In this chapter, we’re going to take particular notice of the ones that can be most hazardous to your four-legged pal.

Unsafe Human Foods a Dog Should not Eat

• Alcohol – Alcohol can result in not just intoxication, loss of coordination, poor breathing, and irregular acidity, but possibly even coma and/or death.
• Apple Seeds – Apple seeds are harmful to a dog as they contain a natural chemical that releases cyanide when consumed. So, make sure to core and seed apples before you give them to your dog.
• Avocado – Avocados have Persin, which can cause diarrhea, nausea, and heart congestion.
• Baby food – Baby food alone isn’t bad. Just make sure it doesn’t contain any onion powder. Baby food also doesn’t have all the nutrients a dog depends on for a healthy, well-kept diet.
• Bones – The risk with bones isn’t the dietary content, nor is it always the danger of choking. Instead, you have to be careful with bones from meat sources like chicken and fish since they may damage your dog’s digestive tract once the bones splinter inside the body.
• Candy and Gum – Besides candy containing sugar, it often has Xylitol, resulting in the over-release of insulin, kidney failure, and worse, death.
• Cat food – Not that the dog would want this at any rate, but cat food has proteins and fats directed at the diet of a cat, NOT a dog. The protein and fat levels in cat food are far too high for your dog, thus rendering it unhealthy for dogs.
• Chocolate – You’ve probably heard this before, but chocolate is a DEFINITE NO-NO for dogs. And, it’s not only about caffeine, which is more than enough to cause harm to your dog alone. But chocolate contains substances (theobromine and theophylline) that are usually toxic and result in panting, vomiting, and diarrhea impairing your dog’s heart and nervous systems.
• Citrus Oil Extracts – Leads to vomiting.
• Coffee – The information and rules here are pretty much the same with the info and rules against chocolate. If consumed, this is basically poison for your dog.
• Corn on the cob – This is a guaranteed method of getting your dog’s intestine obstructed. The dog digests the corn kernel, but the cob gets stuck in the small intestine. Surgical removal of the cob is necessary, or death may occur. Furthermore, excessive corn kernels can distress the digestive tract too.
• Fat trimmings – Leads to pancreatitis.
• Fish – The principal fish you need to be cautious of are salmon and trout. Raw salmon can be deadly to dogs if the fish has the parasite, Nanophyetus salmincola. The parasite by itself isn’t harmful to dogs. But, a parasite that has a bacteria called Neorickettsia helminthoeca is frequently lethal to canines. However, cooked salmon is okay as it kills the parasite.
• Grapes and Raisins – This is one that several dog owners do not know. Grapes have a toxin that leads to severe liver damage and kidney failure.
• Human vitamins – Some human vitamins are acceptable to use, but the important thing is assessing the ingredients (every one of the ingredients – active and inactive) to the vitamins your vet registers for your dog. Also, ensure there’s no iron, as this can harm the lining of the digestive system and become toxic for the liver and kidneys.
• Liver – Prevent feeding too much liver to your dog. The liver contains a substantial amount of Vitamin A, which can detrimentally affect your dog’s muscles and bones.
• Macadamia nuts – These have a toxin that can slow down locomotory activities, leading to weakness, panting, swollen limbs, and tremors, along with possible injury to your dog’s digestive, nervous, and muscle systems.
• Milk and Dairy Products – While small doses aren’t likely to kill your dog, you might get some smelly farts and some awful cases of diarrhea. Why? Dogs are lactose-intolerant and don’t have sufficient lactase enzymes to digest dairy foods effectively. If you need to give them dairy, consider lactose-free products.
• Mushrooms – Just like the wrong mushroom can be deadly to humans, and the same pertains to dogs.
• Onions, Garlic, and Chives – Regardless of what form they’re in (dry, raw, cooked, powder, within other foods), onions and garlic (particularly onions) are among the absolute worst foods you may give your pup. These are poison to canines. They contain disulfides and sulfoxides (thiosulphate); both can cause anemia and destroy red blood cells.
• Persimmons, Peaches, and Plums – IIf you reside in an area home to persimmon, peach, or plum trees, watch out. Persimmon seeds and peach and plum pits lead to intestinal obstruction and enteritis. You need to ensure no wild persimmon or other fruit trees leave seeds propagating in your backyard.
• Rhubarb and Tomato leaves – The leave have oxalates that can detrimentally impact the digestive, nervous, and urinary systems.
• Raw fish – Yet another vitamin B (Thiamine) deficit might result from the regular ingestion of raw fish. Appetite loss will be prevalent, accompanied by seizures, and in exceptional instances, death.
• Salt – Much like salt isn’t the healthiest item for people, and it’s much less fit for canines. An excessive amount can result in an imbalance in electrolyte levels, dehydration, and possibly diarrhea.
• Sugar – This applies to any food that contains sugar. Make sure you confirm the ingredient label for human foods – You can find corn syrup in just about everything nowadays. An excessive amount of sugar for your dog can result in dental issues, obesity, and sometimes diabetes.
• Tobacco – Tobacco is a primary toxic hazard for canines. The consequences nicotine has on dogs are considerably worse than on humans. Nicotine damages your dog’s digestive and nervous systems, boosts their heart rate, makes them faint, and eventually leads to death.
• Xylitol – A sugar alcohol present in gum, candies, baked goods, and other sugar-substitute products, Xylitol, while triggering no apparent injury to humans, is incredibly toxic to canines. Even a small amount leads to low blood sugar, convulsions, liver failure, even fatality for your dog.
• Yeast (by itself or in dough) – Much like yeast rises in bread, it will likewise expand and rise inside your dog’s tummy. Make sure they don’t get any. While mild cases will result in gas, plenty of farting, and distress – an excessive amount of it may rupture their stomach and intestines.

Keep These Out Of Your Dog’s Reach, too.

Here are more foods a dog should not eat. While these don’t necessarily fall under a specific class above, you will want to stay away from them, too:

• Old food – You never like old and moldy food, so what on earth makes you think your pet will? The food contains bacteria, which have all sorts of toxins and may damage your dog’s health. Give them the freshest and best, dog-approved food only.
•  Leftovers – If you feed your dog leftovers, they will not receive a proper diet. If you do give them table scraps, you should remove any bones and trim down the fat.
•  Examine the ingredients – The final point here is to know what is in the food you are feeding your pet. The food items mentioned above should undoubtedly NOT be on the ingredients list. You’d be amazed at the unexpected number of foods that contain sugar and caffeine. 
• Human treats -Chips can have garlic and onion powder, cookies may have raisins, chocolate, or macadamia nuts. Bottom line – there is a reason there’s food and treats made particularly for dogs.

When In Doubt, Ask the Vet

If you have any questions about foods a dog should not eat, your best source is your dog’s veterinarian.

If your dog is behaving oddly or suffering from even minor signs such as weakness, lack of coordination, nausea, diarrhea, etc., and you think he may have eaten something he shouldn’t have, go to the vet right away. If you wait a long time, your pet may not make it.

Read more about poisons and foods a dog should not eat at People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets.

Want to see a picture of our dog, Frankie? He is on my About Cheryl page.