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Blog Entry 15 of 26 Ask the Dog Guy

The Dog Guy (me) answers questions about dog behavior/misbehavior.

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Grapes of Wrath!

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Contributed by: Dave Pearson on 5/17/2008

Dear Dog Guy,

I hear about dogs getting sick from eating the wrong things. Is there a list of stuff not to allow them to eat?

Whew? What a question? The simple answer is yes. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASCPA) has a suggested list of things to avoid. You can see what they say at www.aspca.org. They urge dog owners to avoid feeding the following foods to their pets: alcoholic beverages, avocado, baking powder, baking soda, chocolate, coffee, fatty foods, many fruit pits including those of cherries, peaches, avocados, and apricots, macadamia nuts,
moldy or spoiled foods (such as those found in garbage), mushrooms, onions and onion powder, raisins and grapes, salt, yeast dough, garlic, and products containing the artificial sweetener xylitol.

The grape/raisin suggestion hit home as I and many other Arvada types have/had grape vines covering a chain link fence in the back yard. We have had two dogs back there, who both literally grazed on grapes with no apparent ill effects. Grapes/raisins can cause a canine kidney to stop working, but it didn't seem to bother either of my Norwegian Elkhounds. Nevertheless, when I discovered that there may be a problem, I quickly removed the vines. The pooch misses his grapes, but he's better off. A local Vet cold not explain why both of these dogs seemed immune to the effects of grapes, except to say, "it affects different dogs differently." No kidding!

Another very common product to avoid is antifreeze. It is extremely toxic, not only to dogs, but to all life, human as well. I recall as a younger person, testing the antifreeze in my radiator by tasting it. The sweeter it was, the better it protected against freeze-ups. I was counseled to always spit it out, however, but because it is sweet, it is attractive to animals and just a tiny bit can be deadly.

There are many common household plants that are a problem as well. And since this is spring and lots of people are planting their gardens, the green part of tomato plants is an issue with dogs. Now most dogs don't eat tomato plants, but most people do not know that it could kill them if they did.

Please go to www.ascpa.org and take a look at what they recommend and if you have grapes, get rid of them or make them unavailable to your pooch.

Finally, if you have an issue, the ASPCA has an Animal Poison Control Center hotline at (888) 426-4435. Do not hesitate to use it if you need it.

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Submitted By: Gladys Mercier

posted on 5/17/2008 @ 6:21:59 PM

Rated Blog Entry

My sons' dog ate a baby squirrel last week.The flatulence smell was awful!He threw up most of the bones.

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Dave Pearson

Arvada , CO

Dave Pearson has posted 26 blog entries and 0 comments since joining on 1/7/2008. Dave Pearson 's average blog rating is 5.

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