What Not To Feed Dogs

Whether you’re a lifelong dog lover, a new pet owner, or just dog-sitting for a neighbor, you should know what not to feed dogs. Surprisingly, there are quite a few seemingly harmless types of human food that can cause serious illness and even death for our canine companions. Here are the most common culprits:

1. Chocolate. The folklore about not feeding your dogs chocolate bars is true; in small amounts, chocolate acts as a stimulant and has a diuretic effect on the doggie victim. If a dog eats enough, however, the animal can die within 24 hours. Symptoms include increased heart rate, vomiting, diarrhea, and seizure. Cocoa powder and dark chocolate are especially lethal to dogs. 
2. Onions. This vegetable can do more than just give your dog smelly breath. Onions cause anemia and liver damage when eaten by dogs even in small amounts, which make them a food to never feed to your dog. It can take up to a few days before a dog shows symptoms, so poisoning can often be misdiagnosed.
3. Grapes. It may sound surprising, but just a small handful of grapes have been known to kill a dog. Grapes are high on the list of what not to feed dogs since grapes cause kidney failure in most canines. Keep your dog away from raisins as well. 
4. Macadamia Nuts. These nuts have a horrible after effect when consumed by dogs; they can cause shaking and even paralysis of the dog’s hind legs. Usually, however, these signs go away over time and the dog can recover, but you don't want to tempt fate so avoid feeding them to your dog. 
5. Cat Food. This one should be a no brainer; there’s a reason that the can says “cat” on the label. Cat food consists largely of protein, while dogs need a greater variety of plants and grains added to their diet. Plus, you’ll be insulting your poor pup.
6. Milk. Consider dogs lactose intolerant. Milk is definitely on the list of what not to feed dogs. Too much milk, and they’ll develop a bad case of the runs, as well as gas and extreme abdominal pain. And you’ll have to clean it all up since you should have known better after reading this article.