Taboo diet for dogs

Chocolate, grapes/raisins, onions/garlic/leeks and other allium plants of the Liliaceae family, xylitol, and foods containing alcohol and caffeine are 100% absolutely not allowed to be eaten by dogs. No matter the dose, there is a risk of poisoning. If ingested, please seek medical attention as soon as possible. There are still a lot of controversial foods left, and different feeding schools have very different tolerances. Let’s talk about it based on my experience of raising dogs for 7 years and chatting with three practicing veterinarian friends.

Don’t believe in the toxicity of chocolate. There was an incident in my neighborhood during the Chinese New Year last year. A neighbor’s Corgi stole a small piece of 70% chocolate that a guest placed on the coffee table. He started frothing in the middle of the night and was shaking all over. It took more than 2,000 yuan to be rescued in the emergency department by inducing vomiting and infusion. The metabolic rate of theobromine in dogs is only 1/6 that of humans. Accumulation in the body can range from irregular heartbeat and excessive excitement to sudden death. Even chocolate substituted for cocoa butter contains enough additives for dogs to have diarrhea for several days. There is no need to take this risk.

The poisoning mechanism of grapes and raisins has not yet been fully understood, but the veterinary circle has long reached a consensus: even two or three grapes or a few raisins may induce acute renal failure in dogs. I was scrolling through WeChat and saw someone's Schnauzer. I picked up three raisins that a child dropped on the ground and ate them. He started urinating blood that afternoon and stayed in the hospital for a week before he survived. I really shouldn't touch this.

Oh, and xylitol, which many people ignore. Don’t think it is only found in sugar-free chewing gum. It is now added to many sugar-free cakes, sugar-free yogurt and even cough syrup. This stuff is more toxic than chocolate. A few grams is enough to cause acute hypoglycemia and liver necrosis in a large dog weighing several dozen kilograms. Previously, an owner fed the dog half a piece of sugar-free mung bean cake that he had eaten. The dog became paralyzed in half a day, and the doctor did not make it to the hospital. There are also alcohol and caffeine. Don’t think it’s fun to give a dog a sip of beer or lick a sip of coffee. There was a blogger who made a video of feeding a dog a cocktail to attract attention. The dog died that night. Don’t joke with your life.

Needless to say, the allium food in the Liliaceae family contains disulfides that can destroy the dog's red blood cells and cause hemolysis. An aunt once thought it was a pity to throw away the leftovers, so she mixed the vegetable soup with fried onions and meat into dog food and gave it to the dog. The next day, the dog peed soy sauce-colored urine, and she almost didn't survive.

After talking about the "red line foods" that are absolutely untouchable, many of the remaining opinions have actually been argued for many years. People with different feeding habits have very different opinions. There is no need to argue about right and wrong.

For example, bones, the older generation always say that dogs are born to chew bones, but most pet doctors repeatedly emphasize that bones should not be fed. In fact, both sides are right: sharp cooked chicken bones and duck bones can be broken into sharp stubbles, which can easily scratch the gastrointestinal tract or even cause perforation. My friend's Teddy gnawed half a cooked duck clavicle before, and it took him three days to recover.； However, most people who feed raw meat and bones will feed their dogs dried beef bone sticks and sheep kneecaps. My golden retriever also chewed a lot of them when he was a child. As long as the raw bones are big enough and will not be swallowed by the dog in one bite, there is basically no problem. It all depends on your dog’s eating habits.

There is also the saying that "dogs cannot drink milk" that has been circulating for more than ten years. In fact, it is actually a problem of lactose intolerance. Many dogs will become thinner after drinking ordinary milk, but if they switch to lactose-free Shuhua milk or goat milk powder, it is basically no problem. My dog ​​has been drinking Shuhua milk with me since he was a child. I pour half a cup at a time. He drinks it more happily than anyone else and has never had diarrhea. This depends entirely on individual tolerance and does not need to be beaten to death.

There is another controversial point: can dogs eat salt? Many people say that eating salt will cause hair loss and damage the kidneys. In fact, dogs also need sodium ions for normal physiological activities, but the demand is much smaller than that of humans. The amount of salt in the meals we eat is more than ten times what dogs need, so we definitely can’t feed it to them. However, if we cook it ourselves, we still need to add salt at an amount of about 0.05 grams per kilogram of body weight. Otherwise, long-term salt deficiency will cause electrolyte imbalance in dogs and cause problems. As for hair loss, most of the time it is a problem of breed, season change or skin disease. As long as the amount of salt is in compliance with the regulations, there will be no impact at all, so there is no need to throw the pot to the salt.

In fact, raising a dog really doesn’t have to be as stressful as doing chemistry experiments. It’s perfectly fine to pick up clean tomato pieces or cucumber strips and give them to your dog to take a bite. You don’t have to think about “is it poisonous” first when you see something? The only thing you need to remember is to stay away from the red-lined foods mentioned at the beginning, search for anything you are unsure of in advance or ask your veterinarian, and observe the reactions of your own furry children. It is more reliable than any "taboo list" on the Internet.