Toxic Dog Treats: What Not to Feed Your Dog

Dogs love getting special treats from their owners. Pet owners spend money on dog treats to give their beloved pets something that seems like it's a good thing. Unfortunately, pet owners may be giving their dog pet treats that are toxic to them.

There are a lot of different varieties of dog treats on the market, from rawhide bones to chew to special bites of artificially flavored bacon treats. While some items available for your canine are fine and not harmful, there are some products that you want to avoid giving to your canine because they are very harmful, and may even cause death.

Dog owners also give their dogs treats that are not made for dogs, such as chocolate candies. Chocolate is very toxic to dogs and to cats. Dog owners should never feed their pet canine anything chocolate. Sometimes dogs will get into something without your knowledge. If you have given your canine chocolate or if you suspect the dog got into some, look for signs of vomiting and shallow breathing, or the dog appearing to be very tired more than usual. If you see these signs, you might want to take your pet to see the veterinarian.

Rawhide chew bones help to clean your canine's teeth, but these chews can be dangerous to your dog. Some of these have been known to splinter apart, causing part of the chew item to lodge in the dog's throat. The dog either manages to get the chew out, swallows it, or chokes on it, if the owner doesn't see what's going on and removes the chew part from the dog's throat. Rawhide chew items should be the proper size for the dog. Bone shaped rawhide chews are best because they tend to splinter less than the strip shapes.

What dog doesn't love to chew and gnaw on bones? Dogs and bones just seem to go together. But some bones can prove to be fatal to your dog. Pet owners should never give their canine chicken bones or turkey bones. These bones will often splinter in the dog's throat and cause choking. Some beef and pork bones will also do this, but beef and pork bones are far less likely to splinter as a dog chews on them. Watch for signs of bleeding if you suspect your dog has eaten a chicken or turkey bone. Contact your vet immediately if you see bleeding. To prevent your dog from digging into the trash and getting bones that are harmful to them, wrap them well in foil or put them in Ziplock bags before disposing of them.

Young puppies or dogs that scarf their food down fast should not be fed chunk size treats. Large chunks of food might choke a young puppy that is scarfing down food quickly. Be sure to feed appropriate size treats to puppies.

Dog food treats are generally safe for dogs, but for all the good ones, there will always be bad ones. With the recent recalls on pet food, it's a good idea to keep a close watch on pet food recalls to be sure that you are not feeding your canine something that isn't safe for them to consume.