What not to feed your pets!

Everybody knows not to feed your dog chocolate, but did you know tuna is doing your cat no favors?
Dogcheapsleeps.com has found quite a few items on the DO NOT FEED LIST, and even more on the list of foods to think twice or make the occasional treat.
What not to feed your pets:
Alcoholic beverages to any pet, any time. Same goes with pot and cigarettes. If you love your pet, you won’t find it funny when they have a reaction to these substances. They could also die, which is really unfunny.
Bones: they can splinter. Even big steak bones. Unless you like funding your vet’s children’s college fund, it’s not worth it.
Chocolate, Caffeine, Tea: the theobromine content is toxic to dogs. The following is offered as an anecdote and is not medical advice. Two days after I got my dog, while I was at work, she climbed up on the kitchen table and ate a bar of chocolate my son got for Easter. Wrapper and all. I phoned the Veterinary Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania’s emergency line. They told me she’d be ok if it was milk chocolate because the theobromine is diluted with the other substances, but never, never leave dark chocolate or cocoa out when a dog can reach it. She lived and we learned a lesson about leaving food out.
Corn on the cob: your dog can bite and swallow a piece of the cob, which can lead to an expensive intestinal blockage.
Grapes, raisins and currents, mushrooms and macadamia nuts: have a toxin that can damage the organs and cause death.
Green tomatoes or raw potatoes: another toxin. Baked potatoes are ok once in a while.
Hops (part of beer): have a compound that triggers panting, rapid heart rate, increased temperature, seizures and death.
Over the counter medicine: ibuprofen and acetaminophen can be fatal and they are found in many pain or allergy medicines.
Onions and garlic: Contain sulfoxides and disulfides, which can damage red blood cells and cause anemia. Onions are worse than garlic, but applies to raw, cooked and powder.
Yeast dough: it can expand in the stomach and cause gas, pain and possible rupture of the stomach.
Xytitol (artificial sweetener). Can cause low blood sugar, which can result in collapse. In high doses can cause liver failure. This means no candy, no gum.
NOT A GOOD IDEA:
Avocados: why would you waste an avocado on a dog anyway? This includes guacamole.
Cat Food (for dogs) High in protein and fats. If you know a way to keep the dog out of the cat food, please share it with us immediately.
Fat: can cause pancreatitis.
Fish: any fish, but especially tuna fish, can cause a thiamine deficiency. Cat lovers can feed the occasional bit of tuna as a treat, but it is not a healthy meal to feed your cat every day.
Milk: causes diarrhea. Ask me how I know.
Garbage: if your dog is rooting in the garbage you either throw out some great stuff, or your dog is severely underweight. My shelter dog stopped digging in the garbage forever when she gained ten pounds.
Pits and seeds: can obstruct the stomach and bowels.
Raw Eggs: have an enzyme that can obstruct the absorption of Vitamin B.
Raw Meat: try telling your pet the meat could have e-coli. Use common sense.
Rhubarb leaves: toxic to your pets and to your family. Eat the stalks if you like them.
Salt, sugary foods: not often, not much. Ham is very salty, which can lead to your pet drinking too much water, which can lead to a condition called bloat….
Table scraps: this is the hardest for pet owners to give up, especially if you’ve tacitly approved begging at the table. Not a nutritional balance for the animal. Try stopping some people.
If you think your pet has consumed something it shouldn’t, keep the number of your vet’s office handy along with the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center – (888) 426-4435 – where you know you can find it in an emergency.


There are a vast number of companies that make all types of pet food, and they do a better job than we can do by giving pets any part of our human diet. Here in Arizona, Pet Food Depot has a large selection of pet food, and knowledgeable staff. If you are out of town or out of state, try giving them a call anyway.