Most dog owners are well aware of the dangers of feeding chocolate to their pet. However, there are lots of other foods lurking in your kitchen and garden that are harmful to dogs. Be very weary if the following are in easy reach of curious snouts…

Peaches, damsons and plums

Although fine in your fruit bowl, peaches, plums and damsons contain stones that can cause your dog lots of discomfort. Ingesting these stones can result in intestinal obstruction and enteritis – inflammation of the small intestine. Symptoms of this painful condition include vomiting, fever and black tarry faeces known as melena. Be vigilant if you have fruit trees in your garden – immediately pick up any fallen fruit, keep the fruit bowl out of your dog’s reach and don’t leave the stones lying around.

Grapes and raisins

Small and seemingly harmless, grapes and raisins are in fact very toxic to dogs. Just a handful of them can result in severe liver damage, kidney failure and even death. Although the toxin that causes these dreadful symptoms has yet to be identified, enough dogs have been affected to cause great concern. Keep grapes and raisins well away from your pet, along with products that contain them like granola bars and cereal.

Macadamia nuts

Thankfully, ingesting macadamia nuts is unlikely to be fatal. However, they contain a toxin that causes weakness in your dog’s back legs, fever and tremors. Nibbling on macadamia nuts could also damage your dog’s digestive, nervous and muscles systems. Keep the lid of the jar tightly closed and contact a vet immediately if your four-legged friend has swallowed any stray nuts.

Yeast

Baking enthusiasts need to be careful when adding yeast to their culinary creations. Just like in bread when it proofs, yeast expands inside your dog’s stomach if they eat the raw dough. This causes a whole host of problems for your pet. Blood flow to the stomach wall may be decreased if the expansion is big enough. This results in tissue death. The expanding stomach may also press on the diaphragm, causing difficulties with breathing. Even more worryingly, your dog may become intoxicated as yeast produces alcohol as it multiplies.

Onions, shallots and chives

All members of the onion family like chives and shallots are extremely hazardous for your dog. They contain disulphides and sulfoxides (thiosulphate), which can trigger serious red blood cell damage, asthma attacks, and liver damage. This generally doesn’t occur until three to five days after ingestion, when your pet will appear lethargic and their urine may be discoloured. Whether cooked, raw or powdered, onions are very bad for your dog so don’t feed them any food that contains them. Garlic can also be hazardous if given too much. However, a small amount can be good for helping to ward off ticks.

Unfortunately, there are a lot more foods that could be added to this list. Although not normally fatal, things like avocado, large amounts of salt and dairy products can all cause discomfort. Food intolerances can also cause problems for your pooch. For safe foods that you can feed your dogs, take a look at our hypoallergenic dog food range.