People Food You Should Never Feed Your Dog

We love to sneak a table scrap or two to our dogs. We assume they are much stronger and can tolerate more than we can. They must have guts of steel, I mean they chew up and sometimes eat sticks, they chew and swallow foam ear plugs (that can’t solely be a Pandora thing) and gnaw dried sinew bits from beef bones. Clearly, they are tough. But just like a small stone can fall Goliath, something as tiny has a handful of poppy seeds can fall our beloved pooches.

Thankfully, most of us know some of the people food we should never feed our dogs. We usually learn from well-meaning dog owners or veterinarians who inform us of what’s not safe. But if you’re a novice dog owner like I am, you may not have heard about some of these foods.

I’ve put together a small list of some of the most common people food that you should never feed your dog.

If you want to know what you can safely feed your dog, my last post was People Food For Dogs – What You Should Know

Be Aware

Some people will tell you their dog ate (insert one of the below foods here) and they were fine. That may well be the case. Or maybe the person isn’t on top of Doo-Duty and didn’t realize the effect said food had on the dog.

Some of the food items aren’t as toxic as others. And some of the food items won’t show up immediately after eating. Don’t assume the last thing your dog ate is the main culprit, it may have been something he got into the previous day. You should also know that dogs are pretty good at hiding discomfort.

If your dog ingests any items listed below, contact your veterinarian immediately. Most times, it will be a “watch and see” situation. Don’t just watch and see without consulting the vet because there could be a very telling sign your dog is in trouble. A sign that you would miss if they didn’t specifically mention it.

This is not a comprehensive list. If you are unsure of an item that your dog ingested, call your veterinarian.

People Food You Should Never Feed Your Dog – Choking Hazards

Yes, this is similar to raising toddlers. Some food items have a knack for getting lodged in a dog’s throat because of size or texture. I’ve raised a horde of boys, but when we got Pandora I had a conversation with our Vet. It went like this:

Me: Doc, she’s a cross between a Dyson Vacuum and a goat on steroids. It doesn’t even need to be under her nose before it gets sucked it.

Doctor: (Long, uncomfortably long pause) It’s been a while since you’ve had a dog, hasn’t it?

And because he’s a great Vet, he basically gave me a college-class length lecture. Nicely, he loves his job. He’s always learning and sharing as much information as he can. I just wish I had a notebook with me that day.

A few choking hazards

Cooked bones – the bones splinter much easier when they are cooked
Gristle
Almonds
Broccoli Stalks

Medium Toxicity People Food You Should Never Feed Your Dog

WARNING: I’m hesitant to say these foods will only cause discomfort, because in the wrong amount or with a dog that may have sensitivities it could be much worse. Anything I have in this list should be avoided. Just know that.

Cinnamon – May cause mouth irritation, upset stomach. HOWEVER, a food that has cinnamon in it, may have other ingredients that are way more toxic to dogs.
Coconut Flesh and milk – May upset the stomach.
Walnuts and Pecans – Contain a lot of fat that can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

The Worst and/or Most Toxic People Foods You Should Never Feed Your Dog

Again, be advised that some people will say their pets got into and were fine. I usually hear this with chocolate. I’m going to kick off this list with chocolate but before I do, here’s what a local Animal Hospital says about the subject (I highly recommend following the link, it’s a super short and highly informative article):

To put this in perspective, a medium-sized dog weighing 50 pounds would only need to eat 1 ounce of baker’s chocolate, or 9 ounces of milk chocolate, to potentially show signs of poisoning. For many dogs, ingesting small amounts of milk chocolate is not harmful.
Chocolate Poisoning in Dogs | VCA Animal Hospital (vcahospitals.com)

The Avoid List

Chocolate – Again I highly recommend reading the above link.
Avocado
Lemons, Limes, Grapefruit
Cherries – Can lead to cyanide poisoning
Grapes – HIGHLY TOXIC: Can lead to sudden kidney failure.
Mushrooms – since I’ve only read of one mushroom that MIGHT be okay, I’ve lumped all mushrooms into the no category.
Onions/Garlic/Leeks- see the quote below from the American Kennel Club they’ve explained the concern quite well.
Nutmeg – apparently a smidgen is okay if your dog ingests it, but larger quantities can by highly toxic.
Xylitol – Usually this is found in gum and some peanut butters. Double check your peanut butter.
Poppy Seeds – This is a prime example of a toxic item showing signs hours after ingestion.

Onions, leeks, and chives are part of a family of plants called Allium that is poisonous to most pets, especially cats. Eating onions can cause your dog’s red blood cells to rupture, and can also cause vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and nausea. Poisoning from onions is more serious in Japanese breeds of dogs like Akitas and Shiba Inus, but all dogs are very susceptible to it.
Fruits and Vegetables Dogs Can or Can’t Eat – American Kennel Club (akc.org)

The Backstory for This Post

I realize there are many articles regarding what foods are safe and not safe for our dogs, I don’t think it hurts to keep putting the information out there. Each list I read had at least one thing another didn’t. None of the lists I read contained Poppy Seeds as a no-no.

In August of this year (2021) Pandora and I were playing frisbee. She was leaping, sprinting, sliding, just dazzling me with her athletic ability as usual. In an instant she stopped. She turned away from the frisbee. Then she dropped her tail and walked slower. She laid on the ground and looked me with that “I don’t feel good, Mom,” look.

I thought she’d hurt herself leaping for the frisbee. I rubbed down her legs and she didn’t show any sign of pain. Finally, she moved into the house. She laid down and was most definitely not feeling well.

We had no idea why. She’d had her regular breakfast of dry dog food. We hadn’t given her anything else. No treats, no bacon, no people scraps of anything.

The only thing she’d had that wasn’t normal was from the previous evening when she’d swiped some of my son’s muffin. It was a poppy seed muffin. After remembering that, I took to Google. And I learned that poppy seeds are highly toxic. But I also learned (and I wish I could find the link I found at that time) that it would take a lot of poppy seeds to be that toxic. They aren’t good in any quantity, but there is a point when they can be deadly. Thankfully, the link I found set my mind at ease. We all took turns keeping an eye on her. She recovered, thankfully! But she was definitely miserable.

When in doubt, call your vet.

I know the veterinarians in my area are fully booked, so getting through to a live person sometimes can be difficult. If you are concerned and have to wait for a call back, try calling an animal hospital near you. Or at the very least hit up Google and read three to five links to get an idea of whether or not you should be concerned. I usually do a full sentence, something like: Are poppy seeds toxic to dogs?

If you have learned of any people food you should never feed your dog and it’s not on this list, please let me know. I will continue to update as I hear about them.