3 foods you should never feed your dog
If you enjoy your food and your dog enjoys his food, you might be tempted to dish out the leftover scraps from your dinner plate whenever your dog gives you pleading eyes. However, this might not be such a good idea. Dog food and human food are different because their bodies function differently. This doesn't just mean that if you find something delicious, your dog will find it repulsive, in fact it's nothing of a sort. It actually means that something that helps your body could be harmful or toxic to the body of your dog. Here are three foods that you should absolutely never feed your dog.
Chocolate. Most people are aware that it is a bad idea to feed chocolate to dogs, but very few people know the reasons why, and how severe the consequences can be if you do feed chocolate to your hungry pup. The toxic substance in chocolate (at least to dogs) is "theobromine". This is a stimulant that overworks the internal system of dogs. It doesn't have the same effect on humans because we have different metabolic systems. But in a dog, it can cause hyperactivity, an increased heart rate, seizures, and problems with digestion.
Onions and garlic. While it is true that your dog probably won't want to munch on a raw onion, onion and garlic in any form could be seriously harmful for your pet. That means that if you give your pet food that has onion cooked inside it, or something that includes garlic salt, these could also cause major problems. Onions contain an ingredient called "thiosulphate", and this is totally toxic to both cats and dogs. Ingestion of this can cause a form of canine anaemia, causing serious swelling of the red blood cells. This can lead to diarrhoea, vomiting, and breathlessness in your dog.
Raw salmon. Your dog will never turn down the opportunity to eat a delicious slice of raw salmon. But if your dog ingests this food, the consequences could actually be fatal. This is because raw salmon will sometimes contain a parasite called "Nanophyetus salmincola". When this parasite finds its way into the blood of your dog, it can affect the liver, the brain, and the heart, causing necrosis and haemorrhage. Cooking the salmon will kill the parasite and so it is perfectly okay to feed your dog with a cooked salmon treat.
For more information on dog food, check out businesses such as Geelong Farm Supplies.
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