Don’t Feed Your Dog These Foods, FDA Warns

The Food and Drug Administration has just confirmed what veterinarians and dog experts have been saying for years. Beware of feeding your dog certain human foods.

The top foods to avoid according to FDA are:

Raw Meat. Red meat and poultry can contain certain harmful bacteria. Like E Coli or Salmonella, and therefore should be kept out or reach of dogs. If your pet is prone to steal foods from a counter or grill, which carries the added risk of burns, make sure to confine your pet when he or she is not supervised.

Grapes, raisins, and currants. Experts are not yet sure exactly what is in these fruits that cause a problem in dogs, but some dogs experience acute kidney failure after ingesting them.

Fried and Fatty Foods. In some dogs, just a few bites of a high-fat food can cause a painful, dangerous condition called pancreatitis, which occurs when the pancreas becomes inflamed, causing damage to it and surrounding organs. Once a dog has had an episode of pancreatitis, he is prone to reoccurrences. Be safe and hold back the fries.

Moldy Foods. Dogs, like people, can get food poisoning. 20 percent of dogs fed old eggs, moldy cheese, and spoiled gravy showed a mild fever when they went to the veterinarian. We recommend keeping garbage in dog safe containers and not leaving dogs unsupervised.

Onions, garlic, and chives. We advise dog owners to not only avoid feeding these foods directly but also to keep foods containing significant amounts of these ingredients out of the reach of pets. Onions destroy red blood cells, causing a condition called hemolytic anemia. When the red blood cell count gets too low, the blood can’t carry oxygen to the cells, the dog weakens, and can die.

Salty snacks in bulk. Feeding neither occasional chip or pretzel probably won’t do any harm, but if your dog eats a whole bag of chips, he could get sick.

Xylitol. This sugar substitute can be found in sugarless gums, many sugar-free products, some household items, and even brands of peanut butter, and it is extremely dangerous to dogs. Small amounts can cause hypoglycemic episodes and lead to liver failure.

Let’s stick to the dog food, no matter how cute, or how much your dog whines for your food.