Q. Thanksgiving is approaching. What foods do I need to keep away from my dog?
A. Tis the season of good company and good food. We spend hours creating a meal to be remembered, but we want to avoid a memory of a trip to the emergency room with our best friend. Most of the issues are overindulgent in novel foods, others are ingredients which wreak havoc in your best friend.
Let’s start with the preparations of breads and dinner rolls. Homemade yeast rolls are delicious. Making them takes time and one step is to let the dough rise over a warm spot. The yeast in the dough makes it rise and become soft and fluffy. This process happens by fermentation, which produces an alcohol called ethanol and a gas that allows the dough to expand. When Fido eats the rising dough, the warm moist environment in the stomach is perfect for this process. Unfortunately, the process expands in the stomach causing pain from the expansion and the gas that forms. The stomach can twist causing a torsion that can cause death. The alcohol forming is absorbed into the blood stream resulting in alcohol toxicity. If this happens, call your veterinarian right away and go to urgent care or an emergency clinic. Your pup will be admitted. While there, he will be given an x-ray to rule out a torsion and he will have induced vomiting. He will be given IV fluids to prevent shock and treatment of any toxicity developing. You can prevent this by placing rising dough high enough your dog can’t reach it. Some ovens have a setting for rising dough.
Dogs are carnivores, so eating meat should not be a problem. The difference is what we do to prepare the meat for dinner. If you are making a turkey, prime rib, or a ham, cooked meat fat becomes grease. A rich fatty meal can cause severe gastrointestinal problems. It can be diarrhea that is easily resolved with fasting for 24 hours, all the way to severe symptoms of abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, which can be a medical emergency. These symptoms develop from inflammation of the pancreas and gastrointestinal tract. If Fido gets into the grease from the meat drippings, hemorrhagic pancreatitis can develop, and your best friend could die. The other issue is cooked bones. Cooked bones are brittle and can splinter. This results in irritation of the gut. If he is fed many bones, a blockage or impaction can develop sending you to the veterinarian.
Side dishes can be too rich with the sauces we use. Those sauces can result in vomiting and diarrhea. Cooked onions are a common side dish. Onions, garlic, and chives are in the allium family. The allium contains an organosulfur compound that metabolizes into oxidants which damage red cells causing hemolytic anemia. The symptoms can appear hours to several days after ingestion. Typically, symptoms include gastrointestinal symptoms, such as vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, drooling, and abdominal pain. Signs of anemia are lethargy, weakness, pale gums, exercise intolerance, increased heart rate, and rapid breathing. You may notice red or brown urine. There is no treatment for allium toxicity only supportive care.
We finally made it to dessert, yummy sweets, fresh fruits, pies, and cakes. Most of these will cause gastrointestinal symptoms for the same reasons as stated above. A couple of cautions here are chocolate and raisons or grapes.
Chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine, which mostly stimulates the central nervous system and the heart. It also acts as a diuretic that can quickly cause dehydration. Most dogs recover in 24 to 48 hours. More severe cases will need supportive care. The weight of the dog and the type of chocolate eaten will determine how sick your best friend will be. Smaller dogs are more vulnerable because of their small size, while big dogs need to eat a lot more chocolate. The type of chocolate matters. Baking chocolate is the most toxic type and can be dangerous in small amounts. Dark chocolate is also toxic with a dose as small as 0.1 ounce per pound of body weight. Milk chocolate is less toxic but still dangerous at higher amounts, around 0.5 to 1 ounce per pound. White chocolate has the least theobromine but can still cause a tummy ache. Symptoms of toxicity are vomiting, diarrhea, increased thirst, restlessness, and in severe cases death. If you think your dog ate chocolate, call your veterinarian or poison control for help. Know the weight of your dog and the type of chocolate and estimated amount when you call.
Raisins, Zante currants, and grapes are the other foods we sometimes miss. Not all dogs get sick from eating these, but the randomness and severity of the gastrointestinal disease, and kidney damage does call for alarm. The level of toxicity can vary depending on the amount consumed and the size of the dog. One proposed theory is these fruits have an organic acid called tartaric acid. Dogs have difficulty excreting these acids because they lack the organic acid transporters other species have. This results in a buildup of acid in the kidney cells. Symptoms may develop in 6 to 12 hours starting with vomiting and diarrhea. Other symptoms are lethargy, weakness, and abdominal pain followed by dehydration and changes in urination. Kidney problems will start in 24 to 72 hours. As much as one raisin or grape per 10 pounds will have enough tartaric acid to make a dog sick. If you see your dog eat any of these, call poison control or your veterinarian right away. Know the weight of your dog and about how much he ate.
Now cook your feast and enjoy your company. Give your best friend species appropriate treats. Have a safe and peaceful holiday season.
Judith K. Herman, DVM, CVH
Animal Wellness Center
Augusta, Maine
www.mainehomeopahticvet.com