10 Household Things That Could Harm / Kill Your Dog – Garden Edition

Colorado’s Pooper Scooper service in an ongoing effort to help the safety of your fur kids will be posting “10 Household Things That Could Harm / Kill Your Dog.” Please tell friends that you know to follow this discussion.  Often there will be things that you knew however, you’re sure to find ones that you don’t. Please

join the discussion and let others know your personal experience with the subject as you might help save a dogs life.  There is a place on the Duty Free Pets Facebook page to continue the subject and share pictures of your fur friends. Duty Free Pets Pooper Scooper Service is a professional Colorado pooper scooper / dog poop removal company. Our goal is to create a healthy and safe environment for you and your fur friends.

If you are like me you are currently enjoying a plethora of garden foods right now.  I do my best to feed my dog the best food possible.  Included in this is garden vegetables and table scraps.  But just because something is good for you doesn’t mean it is good for your furry friend.  This week we discuss that plot of awesomeness that is yielding spring, summer, and fall deliciousness known as your garden.

10 Household Things That Could Harm / Kill Your Dog

1 – Onions

Onions are poisonous to dogs. They contain a substance called thiosulfate, which can be harmful for dogs, as dogs do not have the enzyme which is necessary to digest this substance. However, there won’t be visible side effects if your dog consumes a small amount of onions, as in burgers, pizzas, or even table scraps fed by loving owners. But having small quantities frequently will definitely affect your dog’s health, and can also prove to be fatal. Onions also contain organosulfur compound which causes toxicosis (a condition caused by poisoning), and is easily absorbed by the digestive tract of the dog. (learn more here)

2 – Mushrooms

While 99% of mushrooms have little or no toxicity, the 1% that are highly toxic can cause life-threatening problems in dogs.

Mushroom poisoning is an emergency that will require immediate hospitalization. Often, activated charcoal is given by mouth to bind the toxins present in the stomach and intestines. The dog also undergoes fluid therapy to stabilize fluid levels and enhance urination, which helps in the elimination of toxins. Depending on the type of mushroom and severity of the complications, a veterinarian may even choose to induce vomiting. (learn more here)

3 – Apples

Apples are a tricky one! They can be a great nutritious treat for your fur kid and many manufactures market food and treats with apples as an ingredients.  but dogs should never eat the seeds, stems, or leaves.

The stems, seeds and leaves contain cyanogenic glycosides, a toxin that transforms into the poison cyanide when processed by stomach acid. All apples, including crab apples, are toxic to dogs. The toxin gets stronger when the tree is in the process of changing for autumn. (learn more here)

4 – Corn Cobs

Corn cobs can cause intestinal obstruction, a serious and potentially fatal condition. Signs of intestinal obstruction include vomiting, dry heaves, diarrhea, anorexia, painful abdomen or lethargy.

So keep those tasty, salty, buttery and fun-to-chew corn cobs away from your dogs. Don’t forget to safely secure your trash as well. If you suspect your dog has eaten a cob, contact your veterinarian as soon as possible. (learn more here)

5 – Rhubarb

Rhubarb might be great for a pie and taste super scrumptious coming from a fresh garden but this plant especially the leaves contain oxalates. Oxalates can cause kidney failure, trigger abnormalities with the nervous system, kidneys and digestive tract and may trigger tremors, seizure and heart arrhythmias.  If you suspect that your dog got into your Rhubarb patch seek medical attention immediately! (learn more here)

6 – Tomatoes

The red, ripe fruit of the tomato is edible and may cause nothing more than stomach irritation to pets with sensitive stomachs. It’s the green part of the tomato or a green unripe tomato and the plant part, the stem, the leaves, etc., that is hazardous. (learn more here)

7 – Garlic

Garlic is one of those things that in large amounts can be harmful.  However, in small dosages may be helpful for flees, tics, and worms.  I am not a vet and do not know at what point it becomes harmful.  If you do not know what the harmful dosage is for the size of your dog please do not feed it to them! (learn more here)

8 – Hops

You already know that hops is used to make beer. What you may not be aware of, though, is how toxic hops can be for dogs. Ingestion is extremely serious and the consequences can be fatal.  Hops toxicity can occur both before, and after the hops has been used in brewing. Dogs particularly like hops soaked in sweet wort.

The symptoms of dog poisoning you will likely observe, will be heavy panting and rapid heartbeat (up to 200 beats per minute). Temperatures may rise as quickly as 2 degrees Fahrenheit every five minutes! In some case studies, the dogs’ temperatures have reached 108 degrees, at which point death has occurred. (learn more here)

9- Green Potatoes

Solanum alkaloids can be found in green sprouts and green potato skins, which occurs when the tubers are exposed to sunlight during growth or after harvest. The relatively rare occurrence of actual poisoning is due to several factors: solanine is poorly absorbed; it is mostly hydrolyzed into less toxic solanidinel; and the metabolites are quickly eliminated. Note that cooked, mashed potatoes are fine for dogs, actually quite nutritious and digestible. (learn more here)

10 – Peach Pits

The seeds from peach pits can cause inflammation of the small intestine in dogs. They can also cause intestinal obstruction. Obstruction is also a possibility if a dog eats the pit from a peach or plum. Plus, peach and plum pits contain cyanide, which is poisonous to both humans and dogs. (learn more here)

Please forward this on to your friends or share us on Facebook.  Every week we will ad 10 new items and try to help explain how by avoiding them your little fur kid can live a happy, safe, and long life.

DFP Pooper Scooper Service is a Colorado Company dedicated to helping provide you with the tools to help your fur friends live longer, safer, happier lives.