A crucial thing we must do to care for our Poodle is to feed it high-quality dog food. That way, your Poodle can live a long and healthy life.
Besides giving foods for dogs, you must be wary to avoid feeding your Poodle any toxic foods. You’ll be surprised with what human foods you want to give your dog are poisonous and can cause kidney failure in dogs!
To prevent that from happening, we list down the human foods that your Poodle should never touch!
Chocolate
You are most likely aware of how dangerous chocolate is; whether milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolates, it is unsafe for dogs. Even chocolate ice cream is a huge no-no!
While it makes us happy, chocolate for dogs is a number one NO as it contains theobromine and caffeine, stimulants that make a dog’s heart rate race. It can also increase blood pressure significantly, cause seizures, and, unfortunately, death. Furthermore, chocolate can cause dogs to vomit, have diarrhea, and feel thirsty.
Dark and baking chocolate are the worst to give, containing more harmful stimulants. Furthermore, smaller breeds may be affected even with a smaller amount of chocolate.
Keep all kinds of chocolate away from Poodles! If your Poodle begs for even just a bit of chocolate, ignore him. It’s for your Poodle’s good.
Fatty Meats
No, your Poodle can’t have bacon or other high-fat foods as a tasty treat. Ham, meat trimmings, and other similar fatty meats may cause pancreatitis in your Poodle. Also, this people food usually has high salt content, causing dogs to become extremely thirsty, causing bloat, a fatal condition in Poodles.
It’s best to stick with lean meat and quality dog food!
Salty Foods
Someone probably advised you against feeding popcorn and pretzels to your Poodle, among other table scraps. Well, that’s because these snacks are usually salted.
Salt would cause sodium ion poisoning, salt poisoning, and excessive thirst and urination. If your Poodle overeats salt or salty foods, it can cause the following symptoms:
- High body temperature
- Seizures
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Bloat
It can become fatal, especially when feeding salt in high amounts. That’s why prevent salt poisoning from happening by giving Poodles balanced diets without any added sodium.
If you feed your Poodle a raw diet, never add any salt or seasonings “for taste.”
Garlic or Onions
Garlic and onions go together well for humans but not for dogs. These two kitchen staples can destroy your Poodle’s red blood cells, causing anemia if your pooch overeats.
Smaller doses won’t harm, but regular small amounts or large quantities can lead to fatal consequences.
Your dog can suffer from symptoms like:
- Breathlessness
- Weakness
- Vomiting
That’s why we consider garlic and onions as dangerous foods. Keep them stored away from your Poodle to try munching on. The same goes for garlic or onion powder, which is also high in sodium. As much as possible, avoid giving your Poodle anything from the garlic and onion family.
Dairy Products
You’ve seen cats and dogs lap up milk in the movies or even give some cheese as an occasional treat. But surprisingly, dairy products are harmful to your Poodle’s digestive health.
Dogs can’t process cow milk products like humans because they lack the appropriate enzyme that breaks down milk sugar. You’ll find many dogs being lactose intolerant, with dairy causing the following symptoms:
- Vomit
- Diarrhea
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Too much dairy can also cause pancreatitis!
Raw Meat
Raw meat is a controversial subject, as you can find vets and experts seeing the benefits raw meat has for Poodles, like:
- Clean teeth,
- Healthy skin and coat
- Easier digestion
However, most veterinarians, including the Food and Drug Administration, discourage feeding raw meat to your pup, as there’s still the risk of salmonella or e.coli infections. While these infections would occur in dogs with compromised immune systems, you never know if it can happen to your Poodle.
Raw eggs also contain enzymes that may cause dogs’ skin conditions or food allergies, while raw fish hides parasites resulting in fatal diseases.
That said, we can’t wholly discourage a raw diet for your dog. Before you consider feeding your Poodle raw meat, make sure to weigh the health benefits and risks.
Also, ensure you properly handle any raw food before giving it to your dog. That way, you can minimize infections and illnesses. You can talk with your Poodle’s vet about giving your Poodle a raw bone or meat.
Speaking of raw bones, we urge you to throw all cooked bones away. These bones are also something you should never feed your Poodle, as it can cause choking and severe damage to the mouth, throat, and intestines.
Candy, Gum, Peanut Butter, or Other Baked Goods
The culprit behind this sweet, normal food is xylitol, which would cause an insulin surge. That can result in a drop in your Poodle’s blood sugar and liver failure.
Here are the symptoms your dog can suffer from when consuming sugary treats:
- Lethargy
- Vomiting
- Seizures
- Loss of coordination
- Eventually, it can lead to death if left untreated.
You can still feed your dog a few baked goods or peanut butter if it doesn’t contain xylitol. However, we recommend keeping that Macadamia Nut Cookie for yourself and sticking with feeding your dog appropriate pet treats over table scraps or table food.
We also don’t recommend giving your dog any of these sugary foods in the first place. It isn’t healthy for humans, so expect dogs to suffer consequences if consuming too much. Sugary food can cause dental health issues, diabetes, or obesity, leading to a shorter lifespan.
Grapes or Raisins
You might have seen your Poodle slip in a few raisins or grapes without any adverse effects. However, it’s still risky, and you should start hiding it.
Grapes and raisins can cause renal failure, with the kidneys shutting down. As a result, your dog starts vomiting and feeling lethargic, eventually resulting in death.
Avocado
Avocados contain persin in their seeds, fruit, leaves, and bark. It is very toxic when consumed in high doses. However, dogs are relatively resistant to the substance, so it takes a lot of the fruit to cause any harm.
The real problem is for current and potential owners who own an avocado plant. Your dog might munch on the unripened fruit and person, along with the stems, pits, and seeds. That won’t only potentially cause persin poisoning and gastrointestinal blockages or choking, which are all fatal.
Keep avocados away from Poodles, as well as any trees you have of it in your home or yard.
Caffeine
Caffeine contains a stimulant that’s poisonous in dogs. Don’t try to give your dog a bit of your morning coffee, and make sure it drinks a lot of water instead. The same goes for tea leaves, including a bit of caffeine.
Other than caffeine, we also do not recommend feeding your dog alcohol. That is obvious, but you never know; your Poodle might break a bottle and start drinking! Alcohol can cause alcohol poisoning, which is fatal.
Besides the food we mentioned above, we also recommend keeping your dog away from the following foods:
- Raw yeast dough
- Apple cores
- Raw potatoes
- Human medication
- Macadamia nuts
- Spoiled foods
Be a responsible pet parent and keep these common foods away from your Poodle! Even if you have a picky eater, it’s best to stick with what your Poodle is allowed rather than give it everything he wants. Remember, your dog doesn’t know what’s good or bad for him, and as a pet owner, you are responsible for giving it the best food for his health and happiness.
If your dog consumes any of these doods, contact your local pet poison helpline for emergency intervention and stay updated with food news by the American Veterinary Medical Association on what your dog can or can’t eat.