Our pets are valuable members of our families. The important thing many individuals ignore, however, is that they are not human members of our families. When it comes to food, there are significant variances in a human's digestive system versus that of a canine. Food is not processed the same. However well-intended, by giving our dogs "people" food or not seeking medical care when they help themselves to restricted items, we are very often causing them serious, often fatal, physical consequences.
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Physical Symptoms
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Physical symptoms dogs may exhibit as a result of food toxicity include mild digestive upsets to illness, including death. Vomiting, diarrhea, anemia, increased heart rate, seizures, intestinal obstruction, panting and elevated temperature are all warning signs that your dog is in distress.
Familiar Toxic Foods
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In the average home, there are multitudes of foods that are poisonous to a dog. Some items are well known, others are not as familiar. Common foods known to be harmful include chocolate, onions/garlic, mushrooms, grapes/raisins, nuts, avocados, tomatoes, rhubarb, cat food, food bones, alcohol and dairy products. Even though all these items have various levels of toxicity, to remain proactive, none of these food items should be given to dogs.
Unfamiliar Toxic Foods
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Other food items that can be hazardous to dogs include yeast dough, sugary foods, table scraps, baby food, fat trimmings, persimmons, salt and large amounts of liver. Besides the items listed, there are many more food categories that could be added that dogs should not eat.
Treatment
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Aggressive treatment should be taken even for dogs that are not displaying physical distress. Preventing organ damage is key to your pet's survival. If ingestion was recent, the veterinarian may induce vomiting to remove a significant amount of the toxic food. Other treatment may include IV fluids, activated charcoal, and anti-seizure and cardiac medications. Although it may be difficult to distinguish toxicity from other health issues, it is imperative that the animal receive veterinary care for proper diagnosis and treatment.
Preventative Action
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Defensive actions that can be taken include ensuring that your pet cannot get into chocolates, disposing of food scraps properly, and preventing the dog from getting near toxic garden plants. The best prevention is to provide food to dogs specifically formulated for them. As much as well-intentioned pet owners would like to believe the contrary, pets do not need variance in their diets. A complete and balanced nutrition regimen is one of the best things we can do for our faithful companions.
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