Food warnings

It’s that very happy holiday time of year again. As we enjoy feasting on many foods, some that we only get to indulge during these holidays, we need to be more alert than ever to what might get dropped to the floor or carelessly left in an unprotected garbage location. According to experts, there are many foods that are detrimental to dogs. In Defense of Animals has published a list, and I share it here so that you have a recently updated accounting of the bad guys. This is the first time that I have seen dairy products listed as a no-no.

• Chocolate
• Xylitol      (commonly found in gum, candy, baked goods, and toothpaste)
• Alcoholic      beverages
• Hops
• Milk      and other dairy products
• Coffee
• Tea
• Caffeine
• Apple      seeds
• Peach      pits
• Apricot      pits
• Cherry      pits
• Grapes
• Macadamia      nuts
• Walnuts
• Mustard      seeds
• Onions      and onion powder
• Raisins
• Yeast      dough
• Avocados
• Moldy      foods
• Raw      (or undercooked) meat, eggs, and bones
• Garlic
• Chives
• Mushroom      plants
• Potato      leaves and stems (green parts)
• Tomato      leaves and stems (green parts)
• Rhubarb      leaves
• Salt
• Tobacco
• Marijuana
• Eggplant
• Prescription      and over the counter drugs
• Fat      trimmings and bones
• Ham      and other salty meats
• Liver      (can cause vitamin A toxicity)
• Tuna      (can lead to malnutrition or cause mercury poisoning)

As if that’s not enough, the ASPCA also lists:

Acai berry and pomegranate
Almonds
Anise oil
Apples
Brazil nuts
Carob chips
Cocoa powder
Coconut products
Compost
Coriander and parsley
Corn
Cranberries
Cranberry juice
Cucumber
Dog food containing avocado
Flaxseed
Food coloring
French fries
Grapeseed oil
Grease
Green tea
Herbs
Ice
Juice and other beverages
Lemon seeds
Luncheon meat
Melon
Mushroom (note IDA lists mushroom plants)
Nutmeg
Oranges
Pepper
Pistachios and peanuts
Popcorn
Potatoes (again, IDA lists potato leaves and stems)
Pretzels (suppose that just comes under IDA’s warning about salt?)
Sage
Shrimp
Sorbitol
Spices
Spinach
Sweeteners
Tomatoes (IDA only lists leaves and stems)
Turkey
Venison
Water chestnuts
Zucchini

Whew! It’s interesting to see the variances in the lists. It’s all more than any of us would like to memorize. Therefore I think the lists become  a good promotion for the use of quality dog food!

So enjoy your holidays, but by all means don’t let yourself believe that marijuana might be the solution for reducing your dog’s anxiety!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING