Pet Habitat South Africa

<< Back To Blog List

30 Aug 2017

Are you Unknowingly Making Your Dog Sick?

Posted By : Guest

Filed Under : Dogs

How to Maintain a Healthy Canine Diet?

Dogs are true members of the family and they need care and attention, especially when it comes to diet and nutrition. Historically, dogs were always fed on leftovers, but now the majority of dog owners purchase dog-specific food and supplement this with the odd snack or treat. We need to be really careful what we feed our dogs as there are lots of human treats that can not only disagree with dogs, but actually be toxic.

Chocolate and Caffeine

Chocolate contains theobromine which is a stimulant that is toxic to dogs. The theobromine content of chocolate increases the darker the chocolate. Chocolate treats are for humans, not dogs. Poisoning can occur up to 24 hours after consuming chocolate and symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, and seizure. It can affect the heart, kidneys, digestive system and the central nervous system.

Caffeine is another stimulant that affects dogs far more than humans. There are plenty of pet owners that will make their dogs a nice cup of tea, but any more than a few laps of tea and coffee can cause similar symptoms to chocolate poisoning.

Keep the garbage in the bin

If you are putting out your kitchen trash, make sure it is taken straight out to the garbage bin. Garbage is a temptation to dogs especially if there is food waste. Chicken and fish bones can be particularly harmful to dogs as they can splinter in the intestines and get stuck. Beware if you have put out a chicken carcass after roast dinner, it smells wonderful to your dog, but chicken bones can cause internal damage.

Those five-a-day

Dogs are omnivores and eat both meat and vegetables. It is good for them to get their five-a-day. There are some fruit and veg that you need to avoid though. You may think that grapes and raisins are a lovely healthy treat, they can cause kidney failure in dogs, even with just a handful. Sweetcorn and corn-on-the-cob is another vegetable that is indigestible to dogs and can sometimes cause a blockage in the intestines. To help you remember, it is always worth writing in permanent marker on your dog's feeding bowls to help remind you which leftovers are safe for consumption.

Would you eat it?

Finally steer clear of mouldy foods. If you wouldn’t eat it, definitely don’t feed it to your dogs. Beware too of blue cheeses that contain that lovely streak of blue. Mouldy, blue cheeses can cause vomiting, tremors and digestive upset. There is no reason why your dog can’t have a diet with plenty of variety, vegetables and protein, but if you are giving your dog a treat, please make sure that it is a treat that is healthy for them.