Your pet can be very inquisitive when it comes to human grade food. Many people do not know about the danger foods that can be deadly to your pet. Fruits like grapes, avocados, and raisins are not safe for your pets, so if you are sitting on your couch eating some grapes and one rolls onto the floor, you need to get it before your dog to avoid a bad situation. Naturally, the weight and size of your pet plays a part when it comes to toxic foods, but to play it safe, just avoid giving your pet any of these foods:

Alcoholic beverages, apple seeds, apricot pits, avocados, cherry pits, candy (particularly chocolate—which is toxic to dogs, cats, and ferrets—and any candy containing the toxic sweetener xylitol), coffee (grounds, beans, and chocolate-covered espresso beans), garlic, grapes, gum (can cause blockages and sugar free gums may contain the toxic sweetener xylitol), hops (used in home beer brewing), macadamia nuts, moldy foods, mushroom plants, mustard seeds, onions and onion powder, peach pits, peanut butter containing xylitol (only a couple of off brands), potato leaves and stems (green parts), raisins, rhubarb leaves, salt, tea (because it contains caffeine), tomato leaves and stems (green parts), walnuts, xylitol (artificial sweetener that is toxic to pets), yeast dough.

In addition to these human grade foods, here is a list of other items that may contain xylitol.

Toothpaste, mouthwash, sugar-free candy, sugar free breath mints, fruit drinks, jellies, and jams.

Most of the time, it’s not the foods we give our pet we need to worry about; it’s the items that they get into when they are exploring. Leaving your mint flavored toothpaste open on your bathroom vanity is an invitation for your dog or cat to lick something that has a pleasant odor. As well, all medicines should be out of reach of your pet. Some dogs will eat anything, so don’t believe they won’t eat your toothpaste tube.

We need to think about what ingredients are in the foods we are allowing our pets access to, not just the food itself. For example, a slice of cake that has chocolate and walnuts inside. A jelly donut, a dish of garlic lemon shrimp, chicken and garlic, pizza with onions, etc. People need to identify what foods are in a dish and then decide if the dish is safe for the pet. It’s much easier to just limit your pets to dog food and treats. Table scraps aren’t good for your pets and can be very harmful if the scraps contain any of the foods mentioned in this article.

When it comes to pet safety, error on the side of caution.  Remember, Adopt, Don’t Shop.