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Common things dogs have allergies to:

arasara

Well-known member
I had a very awkward conversation tonight when I took Kosmo in with me to buy paint. The lady in the store was in total love with him ;) and then she started talking about her dog. This progressed further to what kind of human food the dogs like. This lady was bragging about how she loved to feed her dog grapes. I kindly tried my best to tell her that I've read about the ill effects of grapes, and she basically said "well I have a big dog and she likes them."

Just last week my other neighbor was telling me that she loves using grapes for training treats. It seems to me that not a lot of people are aware that grapes are POISON for dog's kidneys.

This has prompted me to start a thread about common foods which are allergic to dogs and what exactly the effects of these things are.

Grapes:

The database showed that dogs who ate the grapes and raisins typically vomited within a few hours of ingestion. Most of the time, partially digested grapes and raisins could be seen in the vomit, fecal material, or both. At this point, some dogs would stop eating (anorexia), and develop diarrhea. The dogs often became quiet and lethargic, and showed signs of abdominal pain. These clinical signs lasted for several days -- sometimes even weeks.

When medical care was sought, blood chemistry panels showed consistent patterns. Hypercalcemia (elevated blood calcium levels) was frequently present, as well as elevated levels of blood urea nitrogen, creatinine and phosphorous (substances that reflect kidney function). These chemistries began to increase anywhere from 24 hours to several days after the dogs ate the fruit. As the kidney damage developed, the dogs would produce little urine. When they could no longer produce urine, death occurred. In some cases, dogs who received timely veterinary care still had to be euthanized.

Taken from http://www.veganrepresent.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-1223.html


Chocolate:

The ingredient in chocolate that dogs are allergic to is called methylxanthine. This is what it does;

Fortunately, the animal frequently vomits soon after which reduces the amount of poison in the stomach available to act on the body and decreases the toxicity somewhat. If clinical signs are seen, these can include vomiting, excessive urination, hyperactivity, fast breathing, weakness and seizures. While rare, death can occur, usually due to the adverse action of methylxanthines on the heart.

from http://www.avma.org/careforanimals/animatedjourneys/livingwithpets/poisoninfo.asp

Onions and Garlic:

In dogs and cats, garlic and onion can cause Heinz body anemia, resulting in a breakdown of the red blood cells and anemia. The very small amounts of garlic that are present in some commercial pet foods have not be shown to cause any problems.

The bulbs, bulbets, flowers, and stems of the garlic and onion are all poisonous.

Signs: Vomiting, diarrhea, anemia, discolored urine, weakness, liver damage, allergic reactions, asthmatic attacks, and in case of skin exposure, contact dermatitis

from: [url]http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1935&articleid=2414 [/url]


I thought I would throw in these two as it is important to keep your pill bottles up, locked, and off of the floor:

Tylenol:
(human tylenol) I didn't know this was as severe as it is:

Dogs (particularly small dogs) are also susceptible to significant tissue damage from as little as two regular strength Tylenol and repeated doses increase the risk significantly. Signs develop quickly and can include salivation, vomiting, weakness and abdominal pain.

Taken from: http://www.avma.org/careforanimals/animatedjourneys/livingwithpets/poisoninfo.asp


NSAIDs: Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Phenylbutazone, Naproxen - X,

The pain relievers discussed here are known as NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and are widely prescribed with caution by veterinarians to relieve pain from arthritis and other conditions. Animal dosages, however, are much lower than human dosages. Use of NSAIDs can significantly increase the risk for development of stomach or intestinal ulcers, particularly in a sick patient, or one receiving other medications. These pain relievers cause signs of poisoning by decreasing the mucous production in the stomach.

from: http://www.avma.org/careforanimals/animatedjourneys/livingwithpets/poisoninfo.asp


I know there are many more common things out there so please feel free to add to this list!!! I think it's important for us to know! :)
 
There are many very common garden and indoor plants which poison dogs. At this time of year poisettias and azaleas are very common nad very dangerous. Some species of lily are lethal to cats, some others poisonous to both dogs and cats. Bulbs like daffodil and tulip can cause aweful gastric upsets, so are esspecially bad if you have a digging puppy.

Two of the most heartbreaking dangers, rarely survived, are weedkiller and slug pelts. The latter are attractive because they are made to be that way for slugs and snails. They only need to be safely stored or not used in the case of pellets.

Things like chocolate are a different matter, because, most of us who eat it, are sure to have left some within reach and simply forgot about it.

Chocolate is a poison, the dark continental stuff being the worst and a small bar enough to kill a chihuahua. However, most dogs have had some, with no ill effect, so a small amount stolen is not a death sentence. My Monty ate nearly three packets of Cadburys Heroes, which are chocolate coated and one of Anita's girls polished off a bar of chocolate once.

Again things like grapes, their dried versions and onions are not good for a dog, but the odd bit of onion in a stew, the odd piece of sultana cake will be ok. I used to give my springers chocolate raisins as a treat, before toxicities were mentioned.

I think most things would poison any living thing, if overfed. I once watched a tv drama in which the true possibility of poisoning by drinking excess water was used in the plot.
 
Thanks for this thread. It alarms me sometime that people don't know about grapes or worse still raisins (as they are concentrated) let alone chocolate. My garden centre gave me a two page list of all the plants that are poisonous or may give a rash or other reactions. You might like to go to your garden centres and ask for the same. If it wasn't so long I'd type it all out. Maybe I can put it in with my pics and post the link later. :flwr:
 
My hubby and I like perennial gardening. I always consult the Cornell University toxic plants list before buying and planting.
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/

Karlin has already posted lists of toxic foods and plants in the library section.

It's a very good thing to have a thread like this regularly to remind us, though!

Onions are very toxic to dogs, and can cause hemolytic anemia. :shock: Do not feed them onions!

Also, the toxicity of grapes and raisins to dogs was discovered fairly recently, so they may not be listed on the older lists. They are very deadly and cause organ failure. Do not take a chance by feeding your dog either grapes or raisins!
 
thanks for your replies guys. I never knew that pointsettas were that dangerous, and I did lose a cat one time to slug bait. :(

Every dog reacts different to different things, so you really never know how much of a concentration of things will be lethal. I just think it's important to get the word out there - incase somebody was feeding their dogs grapes as treats or something. Sometimes KOsmo gets a lot of treats - if they had been grapes - you never know what could have happened. Also with the relatively small size of cavaliers I think it's important to be on the look out for anything mentioned. I have seen many lists before, but usually they are so long I scan through them and forget half because of boredom. icon_whistling I just thought it would be useful to start a thread of common things that we eat or have that they could be allergic to.. like for instance tylenol - I had no idea it was that dangerous. If I had gotten a "trial pack" in the mail or something, you never know what could have happened.

Thanks again.. cheers! 8)
 
Something I forgot to mention is the possible danger hidden in a modern bouquet of flowers, now the trend is to add lots of unusual imported species. One , that's getting common, is the waxy pink or red 'flower, that has a yellow spike in its centre. I think it's name is anthurium.
 
How about tomatoes? I remember hearing they were poisonous to dogs but I cannot find anything to back it.. Anybody know anything about this?
 
I'm relieved that a little cooked onion in stew or casserole is ok- Holly has had it that way a handful of times (usually at my mums; I'm mean and feed her dried) with no ill effects. Oddly, I've noticed that sweetcorn- even cooked sweetcorn- does not seem to be well digested and in some cases even causes the runs.
 
corn comes back out the way it goes in.. :grnyuk: It makes dogs POOP lots too. Avi fed Kosmo about 1/4 of an ear of corn one night and I could have killed him as Kos pooped 3 times during that morning walk. :sl*p: A lot of "commercial" brand dog foods make dogs poop a LOT because the first few ingredients are corn corn corn (good filler, right?) wrong! :yikes :yikes :yikes
 
I would not purposely feed a dog onion under any circumstances. :shock: Why take a chance - onion is toxic to dogs!
 
Way back when, when I didn't know better, I would give my dogs (not my cavaliers) each a grape if I was eating a bunch. My one dog, a blue heeler mix would have so much fun tossing that grape around, playing with it almost like a toy. My other dog, a springer mix would snarf hers down so fast. They never got more than one or two at a time so I guess it was not enough to cause them any problems. A woman at a garden store was trying to convince me to plant some grape vines in my backyard. When I told her that I had dogs (my cavaliers) and I didn't want them eating the fruit because it was toxic, she was dumbfounded. She said her lab ate grapes in her backyard all the time without any problem. I don't know how well her luck has held out. Monty accidently got some chocolate covered raisins. He got sick to his stomach. He threw up a few times. I was out of town at the time. It wasn't until later that we discovered what he had eaten. Monty is his own worse enemy. I do my very best to keep bad things away from my pups.
J.
 
Just as a point of information: these are not actually things dogs are allergic to but rather things that are poisonous to dogs -- I think that is what you mean?

I have a link with lots of info in the Library section as well. :)
 
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