Friday, September 15, 2006

Can I give 'people food' to my dog?

Moment to Paws


Christine Ferguson

By CHRISTINE FERGUSON

Not everyone agrees whether dogs should ever eat the food people eat. Because high-quality dog foods provide a dog with all the nutrients he needs in the correct proportions, many vets and dog experts advise never straying from highly researched formulas. Too many additional extras can throw off that perfect ratio of nutrients.

On the other hand, some people, particularly holistic veterinarians and other alternative health care experts for instance, believe that because many of the original nutrients and enzymes in dog food are destroyed during processing, a strict diet of processed kibble isn't sufficient and is at best unnatural for dogs. They feel that the addition of healthful people food to a dogs diet will not hurt and may even provide the dog with fresher, more available nutrients than those in processed dog food. These people choose to feed their dogs a homemade diet of unprocessed fresh foods either as a supplement to a commercial food or as a complete diet.

An occasional healthy snack is probably fine for your dog in moderation, but certain foods humans eat are dangerous for dogs. Others, such as potato chips and ice cream, may not be toxic, but they can cause gastrointestinal upset, contribute to obesity, and provide no benefits.

Avoid chocolate when giving your dog treats or a homemade diet. Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, two substances harmful to dogs. Both of these substances occur in only a small amount in milk chocolate but are much more concentrated in bakers chocolate. The darker and less sweet the chocolate, the more dangerous it is for dogs. A little milk chocolate may result in diarrhea and offers no nutritional benefit. A lot of dark chocolate affects the nervous system and could cause hyper-excitability, restlessness, frequent urination, tremors and vomiting. Severe cases can result in seizures and cardiac arrest, or even death.

Also avoid anything with onions and garlic. In large quantities they can cause hemolytic anemia. A small amount of garlic is harmless and even beneficial and is often an ingredient used in many dog treats. Onions are more potent. While your dog may tolerate eating bits of meat cooked in onion, don't actually feed your dog the cooked onion pieces or onion-infused broth.

According to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, grapes and raisins have caused numerous cases of poisoning when ingested by dogs for as yet unknown reasons. Dogs typically experience lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, and eventually renal failure. While many dogs eat the occasional grape as a treat without a problem, keep dogs away from grapevines or from eating an entire bunch of grapes. Don't ever feed raisins to your dog. Even small servings of raisins have been linked to toxic reactions, and raisins aren't good for canine dental health, either.

Dogs absorb alcohol quickly and are prone to toxic reactions such as inebriation, seizures, arrhythmia of the heart, low body temperature, kidney damage, and even coma or death. Never give any form of alcohol to your dog.




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