Saturday, November 17, 2012

Dogs: Don't Eat This!

Chocolate-covered macadamia nuts
A double whammy for dogs:  Chocolate-covered macadamia nuts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I thought I had a good handle on people foods that are toxic for dogs, but WebMD alerted me to a few that I had never heard of in this context, including avocados and animal fat.  Best of all, they tell you precisely why these foods are "Dangerous for Dogs." Avocados (persea Americana) contain persin, which is toxic for dogs, and animal fat -- cooked or raw-- can cause pancreatitis.  So, it's worth a look.  Strangely enough, the theobromine in chocolate that is toxic for dogs is also toxic for humans, but we would have to eat quite a bit at one time (the figure I've read on this is 25 lbs!) to be poisoned.

I think I've mentioned before that I was horrified to learn (some years ago) that the macadamia nuts I occasionally shared with Tony, my Pomeranian, before he gained weight, which led to his diabetes, were extremely toxic for dogs.  He never had many, but he was really crazy about them.  Which suggests that if you have any, keep them where the dog can't get at them.

What am I saying?!!  You've probably already got them in a secret hiding place to keep them from your greedy loved ones.
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