Foods Dogs Can't Eat: A Safety Guide

Foods dogs can't eat: what every owner needs to know

A dog's digestive system handles things very differently to ours, so plenty of everyday foods that are fine for people can be genuinely toxic for a dog. Puppies especially are inquisitive and opportunistic, likely to eat almost anything they find, so it's worth teaching a strong "leave it" cue and keeping food and medication well out of reach. If your dog does eat something on this list, contact your vet immediately, and bring any packaging with you so they can see exactly what and how much was consumed.

Xylitol

This calorie-free sweetener, found in sugar-free gum, some peanut butters and sweets, triggers a dangerous insulin surge and rapid blood sugar drop. Symptoms include lethargy, vomiting, loss of coordination, seizures and, in extreme cases, death.

Avocado

The pit is a genuine choking hazard, and the plant contains persin in its leaves, seeds, bark and fruit, harmless to us but potentially toxic to dogs in large quantities, causing upset stomachs, breathing difficulty and fluid build-up in the chest.

Alcohol

Dogs are far more sensitive to alcohol than we are, even a small amount can cause significant intoxication.

Onions and garlic

Every member of the onion family damages red blood cells, garlic is more toxic than onion by weight. Watch for weakness, vomiting, breathlessness and a sudden loss of interest in food.

Caffeine

The stimulant in coffee and tea overstimulates a dog's nervous system, leading to restlessness, vomiting, heart palpitations and, in extreme cases, death.

Grapes and raisins

Linked to rapid kidney failure in dogs, symptoms can take up to twelve hours to appear, and the exact toxic compound is still unknown, but the effects can be devastating.

Milk and dairy

Dogs lack the enzymes to break down milk sugars, effectively making them lactose intolerant, dairy can trigger vomiting, diarrhoea or pancreatitis given its fat content.

Macadamia nuts

The exact toxic mechanism is unknown, but symptoms including weakness, an inability to walk, vomiting, tremors and hypothermia can last up to 48 hours.

Chocolate

Theobromine, the toxic compound in cocoa, becomes dangerous at doses of roughly 100-150mg per kg of bodyweight. For a 30kg Labrador, a fatal reaction is likely from around 170g of baking chocolate, 500g of dark chocolate, or 1kg of milk chocolate. Symptoms typically appear 4-24 hours after ingestion: vomiting, diarrhoea, rapid breathing, increased heart rate, and in severe cases seizures.

Fat trimmings and cooked bones

Cooked bones splinter easily and can lodge in the intestines, raw bones are a much safer choice. High-fat trimmings like bacon or ham can trigger pancreatitis and often carry a high salt content too.

Stone fruit cores (apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot)

These contain cyanogenic glycosides, related to cyanide, symptoms include dizziness, shortness of breath, seizures, collapse and, rarely, coma.

Salt

Excess salt can cause sodium ion poisoning, vomiting, diarrhoea, high temperature and seizures, and the resulting excessive thirst can lead to dangerous, potentially fatal bloat.

Raw bread and yeast dough

The warm, moist stomach environment lets yeast keep multiplying, expanding the stomach and producing alcohol as a byproduct, both truly dangerous.

Human medicines

Never give a dog human medication without veterinary guidance, ibuprofen in particular can cause serious internal bleeding in dogs despite being a safe painkiller for us.

Mushrooms and mouldy food

Wild mushrooms can be just as poisonous to dogs as to people, worth extra vigilance on walks. Some moulds produce tremorgenic mycotoxins, since it's impossible to tell which by eye, removing anything mouldy (fallen fruit, nuts) from your dog's environment matters.

Hops

Cultivated hops used in brewing are associated with life-threatening reactions in dogs, both fresh and spent hops are dangerous.

Getting the right support

See also our guide on the basics of positive reinforcement, useful for building a reliable "leave it". Get in touch if you have concerns about your dog's diet. Learn more about our puppy training programme and our cognitive enrichment hub and Raw Feeding: What to Get Right, and What to Avoid and Using Daily Feed Strategically as Enrichment.