Dangerous Foods

Moldy Foods

Often old foods left in trash cans and even some left in the refrigerator too long can grow many types of molds. Many of these molds release what are called "tremorgenic mycotoxins" which can cause seizures, some of which may be fatal if severe enough.

Chocolate

Chocolate toxicity severity varies with the size of the animal and the concentration and amount of the chocolate. The main symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, heart arrhythmias, excessive drinking and/or urination, hyperexcitabiliy, lethargy, racing heart rate, seizures and even death. Usually the darker the chocolate (especially baking chocolate), the larger the amount eaten, and the smaller the dog, the more severe the problem. Early intervention greatly increases the prognosis for recovery.

Onions

Plants in the onion family have chemicals in them that can cause damage to red blood cells resulting in anemia, which limits the ability of the red blood cells to bring oxygen and nutrients to the body tissues.

Macadamia Nuts

Macadamia nuts have been shown to cause problems in dogs who injest them. These signs have not been seen in other pets. Clinical signs commonly reported in dogs ingesting macadamia nuts include weakness, depression, vomiting, incoordination, tremors, and hyperthermia (excessive rise in body temperature...not a true fever). The actual cause of this toxicity is unknown at this writing.

Rising Bread Dough

Ingestion of rising bread dough can be life-threatening to dogs. The dog's body heat will cause the dough to rise in the stomach. The rising process produces ethanol; and, the dough may expand several times its original size. Signs seen with bread dough ingestion are associated with ethanol toxicoses (alcohol poisoning) and obstruction from the increasing mass of dough. These signs can include severe abdominal pain, bloating, vomiting, incoordination, and depression.

Grapes and Raisins

Although it is not completely understood how it happens, there is enough evidence to support the claim that grapes and raisins can cause kidney damage in some animals (especially dogs). For that reason we recommend that you not give any of these to your pets. We do not know if it happens slowly over a long period of time, or if it takes a large amount all at once, or if either scenario is equally toxic.


Xylitol

Many newer sugar free candies and gums have a sweetener in them called Xylitol. Although this is a very efficient sweetener and is safe for humans, this chemical can cause a severe, life threatening drop in an animal's blood sugar that can take days to correct with IV fluid therapy. If the blood sugar drops too low, the animal could go into repetitive, uncontrolled seizures.

Tobacco Products

Tobacco contains nicotine which can be very toxic to animals. The butt of a cigarette often contains 25% of the total nicotine in the cigarette. After ingestion of a toxic dose, the animal usually shows signs fairly rapidly (within 15-45 minutes). These signs may include excitation, rapid breathing, salivation, vomiting, and diarrhea. Muscle weakness, twitching, depression, rapid heart rate, shallow respiration, collapse, coma, and cardiac arrest can follow the period of excitation. Death occurs secondary to respiratory paralysis. Once they have reached the excited stage, vomiting should not be induced as a treatment because it may trigger a seizure.