Dog dietary taboos

Even small doses of xylitol, chocolate, grapes and raisins, macadamia nuts, and alcoholic beverages may cause acute organ damage or even death after accidental ingestion. The risks of other common controversial foods and foods that need to be controlled must be judged based on individual tolerance.

I just received a 3-year-old golden retriever last week. The owner put the sugar-free taro cake he just bought on the coffee table to pick up the express delivery. When he came back, he saw the dog squatting on the ground and licking the paper box. Within 10 minutes, he started to be unsteady and drooling. When he was sent to the hospital, his blood sugar was only 1.2, indicating severe hypoglycemia. After checking the ingredient list, I found out that about 10 grams of xylitol was added to the cake. This stuff is good for people to control sugar, but it is highly toxic to dogs. Ingestion of just 0.1 grams per kilogram of body weight can cause death. The xylitol content in a piece of ordinary sugar-free chewing gum is enough to knock down a 10-pound Teddy. The rescue lasted until midnight that day, and he stayed in the hospital for three days before his life was saved. The owner cried in the hospital and said that if he had known that sugar-free food was so poisonous, he would never buy it at home.

Many people know the risks of chocolate. The core is that the theobromine in the dog's metabolism is only 1/6 of that of humans. If stored in the body, it will continue to stimulate the nervous system and increase the heart rate. The higher the purity, the more toxic the chocolate. The theobromine content in 100 grams of dark chocolate is enough to poison a 20-pound adult corgi. Not long ago, a child secretly fed half a piece of black chocolate decoration on the birthday cake to the Bichon Frize at home. He couldn't stop vomiting that night. When the food was delivered, his heart rate was so high that the device alarmed. Fortunately, the amount he fed was not large, and it was cured after two days of inducing vomiting and protecting the stomach.

Oh, yes, the toxicity of grapes and raisins has yet to be determined as to the causative components. The industry has been arguing for almost ten years but still has not figured out what substance in them causes acute kidney injury. Individual differences are very large: some dogs eat a dozen fresh grapes and are fine, while some dogs eat just one and suffer acute renal failure and anuria. My own Corgi was secretly fed half a grape by a friend who came to play last year. I was so frightened that I gave him hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting on the spot. Afterwards, I looked up the case and saw a little Pomeranian who couldn’t be saved after eating 3 grapes. There is really no need to gamble on the odds. If you really want to feed your dog some sweet fruits, some seedless apples and the white part of watermelon are safer than anything else. Raisins are more toxic than fresh grapes. After all, the concentration of harmful ingredients is higher when the water is dehydrated. Previously, an owner brought back specialty raisins from Xinjiang without putting them away, and his family's herds stole half a bag of them. He spent nearly 20,000 yuan on dialysis but could not save them. It was a pity.

In addition to these dead lines that cannot be touched, there are also many foods that are extremely controversial, and the pet-raising circle still has no unified opinion. Take milk, for example. Many people say that dogs will develop diarrhea after drinking it. In fact, the essence is lactose intolerance. It is the same as people who drink milk and have diarrhea. Some dogs have been accustomed to drinking milk at room temperature since they were young. Drinking a small bowl a day will be fine. Some dogs will poop for two days after licking it. If you really want to feed it, give it a spoonful or two to test the sensitivity first. If there is no reaction, feed it again. If you find it troublesome, just buy lactose-free Shuhua milk or pet milk. There is no need to beat the dog to death.

Another example is the bones that are the most debated. Older people always say that "dogs are born to chew bones." However, our clinic receives dozens of cases a year of gastrointestinal injuries and even intestinal obstruction caused by eating cooked chicken and duck bones. Poultry bones are cooked and chewed into sharp slanted stubbles, which are like small blades. They can easily scratch the intestinal wall and cause peritonitis. But I have also met many pet owners who insist on feeding raw bones and meat. They feed low-temperature sterilized raw poultry bones and raw beef bones, and they are regularly dewormed. The dogs have been chewing them for four or five years without any gastrointestinal problems. This really depends on whether the breeder can do enough homework. If you find it troublesome and don’t know how to deal with raw bones, just buy dried beef stick bones for dogs to grind their teeth. There is no need to follow the trend of raw bones.

There is also an invisible minefield that many people don’t know about, which is human cold medicines containing acetaminophen, such as Tylenol, Gankan, and 999 Ganmaoling. A 10-pound dog may cause liver necrosis and methemoglobinemia if he takes half a tablet of acetaminophen. Previously, an uncle thought it was expensive to see a doctor in a pet hospital, so he gave half a tablet of acetaminophen to a little Teddy who had a cold. When it was delivered, his tongue was purple, and he was suffering from severe hypoxia, and he was not saved in the end.

As for the often asked question of whether leftovers can be fed, it’s not that you can’t touch even one bite. Occasionally, a piece of boiled pork ribs or stir-fried cabbage without salt will be fine. But if you feed leftovers high in salt and oil every time, over time, it may cause tear stains and hair loss, or it may increase the burden on the kidneys and cause pancreatitis. I have met many old people who raise dogs, and they always feel that "my dog ​​has lived well after eating leftovers for ten years." There is really no way to explain individual differences. If you win the bet, it is a fluke, and if you lose the bet, it will be the life of the furry child.

To put it bluntly, I have been a pet doctor for almost ten years, and I have seen too many cases of accidental ingestion. Most of them are based on the mentality of "just take a bite and there will be no problem", or they are fed by relatives and friends who come to the house because they think it is fun. Really, there is no difference between raising a furry child and raising a child. If you are not sure whether you can give it something, don’t give it. If you really want to improve its food, cook a piece of salt-free chicken breast and steam some pumpkin and sweet potatoes. It is safe for dogs and loves to eat. It is more reliable than any messy Internet celebrity snacks.