Dog poisons and hazards.

Information: Cornell University Poisons, Medicines and Dangerous Plant Database.

Please note, this is not a definitive list. If you are in any doubt, contact your Vet practice immediately: do not wait!

In spite of your best efforts, your animal may accidentally become poisoned. Being prepared can save your dog’s life. Know your Vet’s procedures for emergency situations, especially ones that occur after business hours. Keep phone numbers for your veterinarian, the Emergency Poison Line; 01202 509000 and a local emergency veterinary service in a convenient location.

If you know what substance your pet has ingested, have the product container/packaging available for reference. You’ll also need to provide information, if you know it, about the amount ingested and the time since exposure.
Your Pets, breed, age, sex and weight.
All symptoms your pet is experiencing.

Do not feed your pet anything that you think is off, i.e. past its use by date.

Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Dog.

  • Alcoholic beverages.
  • Avocado.
  • Chocolate (all forms).
  • Coffee (all forms).
  • Fatty foods.
  • Macadamia nuts.
  • Mouldy or spoiled foods.
  • Onions, onion powder.
  • Raisins and grapes.
  • Salt.
  • Yeast dough.
  • Garlic.
  • Products sweetened with xylitol, such as some peanut butters.

Warm Weather Hazards.

  • Animal toxins—toads, insects, spiders and snakes.
  • Blue-green algae in ponds.
  • Citronella candles.
  • Cocoa mulch.
  • Compost piles.
  • Fertilisers.
  • Flea products unless specifically for dogs.
  • Outdoor plants and plant bulbs.
  • Swimming-pool treatment supplies.
  • Fly baits containing methomyl.
  • Slug and snail baits containing metaldehyde.

Medication: Common examples of human medications that can be potentially lethal to dogs, even in small doses, include:

  • Most pain killers.
  • Cold medicines.
  • Anti-cancer drugs.
  • Antidepressants.
  • Vitamins.
  • Diet Pills.
  • Cold Weather Hazards.
  • Antifreeze.
  • Liquid potpourri.
  • Ice melting products.
  • Rat and mouse bait.

Common Household Hazards.

  • Fabric softener sheets.
  • Mothballs.

Holiday Hazards.

  • Christmas tree water (may contain fertilizers and bacteria, which, if ingested, can upset the stomach.
  • Electrical cords.
  • Ribbons or tinsel (can become lodged in the intestines and cause intestinal obstruction—most often occurs with kittens!)
  • Batteries.
  • Glass ornaments.

Non-toxic Substances for Dogs. The following substances are considered to be non-toxic, although they may cause mild gastrointestinal upset in some animals:

  • Water-based paints.
  • Toilet bowl water.
  • Silica gel.
  • Poinsettia.
  • Cat litter.
  • Glue traps.
  • Glow jewellery.
  • Other potential dangers.
  • Pear pips, the kernels of plums, peaches and apricots, apple core pips (contain cyanogenic glycosides resulting in cyanide poisoning) Potato peelings and green looking potatoes Rhubarb leaves mouldy/spoiled foods Alcohol Yeast dough Coffee grounds, beans & tea (caffeine) Hops (used in home brewing) Tomato leaves & stems (green parts) Broccoli (in large amounts) raisins and grapes, cigarettes, tobacco, cigars.

The following are poisonous to your dog.

  • Never give human medication without asking your Vet first.
  • Ibuprofen is very toxic and fatal to dogs at low doses.
  • Ointments containing zinc can cause stomach irritation in pets
  • Mosquito and lice sprays formulated for humans are toxic if applied to pets (because they are likely to lick themselves and ingest the DEET or permethrin).

Onion and garlic poisoning. Speak to your Vet immediately if you suspect that your dog has ingested onion, garlic or associated plant genus.
Onions and garlic contain the toxic ingredient thiosulphate. Onions are more of a danger. Pets affected by onion toxicity will develop haemolytic anaemia, where the pet’s red blood cells burst while circulating in its body.

Plants and foods toxic to dogs.

  • Almonds
  • Amaryllis bulb
  • Apricot
  • Autumn crocus ( Colchicum autumnale)
  • Avocado (leaves, seeds, stem, skin)
  • Azalea (entire rhododendron family)
  • Begonia
  • Bird of Paradise
  • Bittersweet
  • Bleeding heart
  • Boxwood
  • Bracken fern
  • Buckeye
  • Buttercup (Ranunculus)
  • Caffeine
  • Caladium
  • Calla lily
  • Castor bean* (can be fatal if chewed)
  • Cherry
  • Chinese sacred or heavenly bamboo
  • Chocolate
  • Choke cherry (unripe berries)
  • Chrysanthemum (a natural source of pyrethrins)
  • Clematis
  • Crocus bulb
  • Croton (Codiaeum sp.)
  • Cyclamen bulb
  • Delphinium, larkspur, monkshood
  • Dumb cane (Dieffenbachia)
  • Elderberry (unripe berries)
  • English ivy (All Hedera species of ivy)
  • Fig (Ficus)
  • Four-o’clocks (Mirabilis) Foxglove (Digitalis)
  • Garlic
  • Hyacinth bulbs
  • Hydrangea
  • Holly berries
  • Iris corms
  • Jack-in-the-pulpit
  • Jimson weed
  • Kalanchoe
  • Lantana
  • Lily (bulbs of most species)
  • Lily-of-the-valley
  • Lupine species
  • Milkweed
  • Mistletoe berries
  • Morning glory
  • Mountain laurel
  • Narcissus, daffodil (Narcissus)
  • Oak.
  • Oleander
  • Onions
  • Peaches
  • Pencil cactus plant* (Euphorbia sp.)
  • Philodendron (all species)
  • Poinsettia (many hybrids, avoid them all)
  • Potato (leaves and stem)
  • Rhubarb leaves
  • Rosary Pea (Arbus sp.) (Can be fatal if chewed)
  • Scheffelera (umbrella plant)
  • Shamrock (Oxalis sp.)
  • Spurge (Euphorbia sp.)
  • Tomatoes (leaves and stem)
  • Yew