There are several types of bad dog food which can cause serious problems for your pet. While you might mean well by feeding your dog treats or the occasional table scrap, it's important to make sure that you're aware of the foods that can present certain dangers to your dog.
Avoid Feeding Bones to Your Dog
Dog bones are so commonly sold in pet stores that they have become a household staple for dogs. Unfortunately, many dog owners are unaware of the dangers that bones can present to your dog.
Rawhide chews or bones are the most dangerous culprit of intestinal damage in dogs. When your dog ingests rawhide, it actually becomes like a mush and can get trapped in your dog's throat or tie up his intestinal tract. Rawhide bones provide very little nutritional benefit, and you should never feed them as a treat.
Bones of any other nature, whether from soup, chicken, deer or the like, are equally harmful to your dog. As they chew them, the bones break down into shards, and are very easily lodged in your dog’s throat. Likewise, they can also scratch and damage the throat, stomach and intestines because of their sharp edges.
Do Not Feed Chocolate
Chocolate, in any form, is one of the most harmful types of human food that you can give to your dog. One of the problems with chocolate is the amount of caffeine it contains. While it may not seem like a little caffeine could be that detrimental to your dog, it is.
When given in large doses, chocolate can cause an overload of caffeine in your dog. When this happens, the nervous system begins to break down and your dog may begin to experience seizures. While seizures are not typically life-threatening alone, they can cause severe damage to internal organs, which can be fatal. Only one ounce of chocolate for each pound of body weight can cause this effect.
Likewise, chocolate has a toxic effect on dogs which can affect the heart. In addition to seizures, an overdose of chocolate can be so toxic to dogs that it can cause their heart to stop beating. Given all of this, there is absolutely no benefit to giving your dog chocolate.
Never Give Your Dog Grapes or Onions
Grapes and onions are a terrible table scrap to feed your dog. As they both contain toxins that can be potentially fatal to dogs, they are not foods that you should ever consider feeding to your dog.
Grapes have a toxin which the kidneys cannot dilute. Once the grape has passed through the intestinal tract and has been digested, the remains will get caught in the kidneys and they will not be flushed out as they should. The potential problem for this is the immediate and intense shutdown of the kidneys. Grapes do not have to be fed in large amounts for this effect to take place. Kidney failure can be prompted when only seven or eight grapes are fed.
Onions, on the other hand, actually alter the ability of your dog's body to produce red blood cells. Red blood cells carry hemoglobin, which is responsible for carrying oxygen to all of the organs and tissues in your dog's body. When the red blood cell count is reduced, anemia sets in and your dog can become severely deprived of oxygen. As this can cause a terribly fatal cycle, you should avoid feeding onions at all costs.