Our pets are at our mercy, so it is up to us to make sure they are safe. This can be tricky at times, as many seemingly harmless everyday foods can be toxic to our animals – especially dogs who can’t tell the difference between a tasty snack and a one-way ticket to the emergency vet.
Your best bet is probably to assume that all human food has the potential to be dangerous to your pet, however this graphic from the bark is a handy guide to the most common foods you might encounter:
Some of these are pretty surprising. For example, grapes (and raisins) seem harmless enough and your dog could peel them all the way – but unfortunately, both fresh and dried grapes can lead to it acute kidney failure. Onions and garlic can also be toxic to dogs, causing blood cell damage or even anemia if consumed in large quantities.
This graphic doesn’t cover every potentially dangerous human food a dog might encounter. For a full list of foods, plants, medicines, and more that are toxic to pets, Take a look at this database from the Pet Poison Hotline. You can use it to search for foods, medicines, household chemicals, and other potential toxins by name and learn how dangerous exposure is to different types of pets.
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Hopefully you will never need the Pet Poison Database, but if your dog picks up something he shouldn’t be, this can help you figure out how serious the situation is. Your family vet should always be your first call, but there are two national helplines that you can call anytime with questions about animal poison:
ASPCA Pet Poison Control Hotline: (888) 426-4435
National Pet Poison Helpline: (800) 233-6680
This article was originally published on August 25, 2015. It was updated on May 21, 2021 with a new photo, alternate text for the Bark infographic, national poison control hotline information, and Lifehacker’s current style guidelines.
