English
Howdy my fellow Bauwowers, I would like to introduce myself, I am Tobia, and I luuuurve food. I am a beagle after all. So I thought I would scour the interwebs and see what us pooches can and cannot eat.
I had heard a horrible rumour that we couldn’t eat chocolate and unfortunately that one is true. Although it is the cacoa in the choccy that is toxic to us, we probably should just leave it all alone. If you really have a sweet tooth and luurve that smooth dark taste try some carob, it taste pretty close to choccy but is good for us pooches.
I thought I would give a little woof about 10 things we definitely need to stay clear of.
1 CHOCOLATE
Chocolate is made from the pods of the Theobroma cacao tree. The theobromine in the cacoa is the bit that is toxic to us hounds. It reacts with our central nervous system and can cause it to shut down and can be fatal. Of course, our size impacts the amount that becomes toxic to us but it’s better to stay well clear of it all, no matter how lovely it tastes. Just so you know if a hooman ate enough high quality cacoa they can have similar reactions but they do need to eat a mountain of it compared to us poor pooches.
2 AVOCADO
Avocado might be the super food for hoomans but for me, you and our other furry friends it is a big green mooshy no-no. It contains this stuff called “Persin” that is a fungicidal toxin that creates digestive problems for us. There is considerable debate about whether the ripe green fleshy bit of the Avocado is actually good for us and it is just the leaves, skin and seeds that are toxic. Better to be safe than sorry I say.
3 ALCOHOL
Pooch pals do not mess with alcohol, it is bad enough for our humans, imagine for us. In fact it is extremely harmful to our liver and brain functions and can cause convulsions, diarrhea, vomiting and breathing difficulties. So for a nice dinner by candlelight, like Lady and the Tramp, I recommend a nice bowl of fresh water, perhaps drunk romantically together.
4 GARLIC AND ONION
Onion is a definite no go zone but a small amount of garlic in our food can help with our coats. Make sure your humans don’t mistakenly feed you these as they attack our red blood cells and restrict the oxygen flow to our vital organs. Hoomans often cook onions with yummy meat so it is easy for us to get confused and scoff down and get really sick. So better to stay clear of all this…
5 NUTS AND MACADAMIA
Pretty much all nuts will give us a bit of an upset tummy and macadamias have a mysterious toxin that only affects us pooches but my vet doctor and his pals can’t seem to find the reason for the toxicity. There are so many yummy foods out there let’s leave the nuts to the healthy hoomans.
6 GRAPES AND RAISINS
Our veterinary friends have been studying the toxicity of grapes and raisins to us for years and still haven’t discovered the harmful element, and the strange thing is that there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to how, when or why it effects some dogs and not others. If one of us eats some of these, even a small amount can irreversibly damage our kidneys and even cause us to stop peeing altogether. Personally, I rather like marking my territory so I will be avoiding these ones.
7 SUGAR
Sweet, sweet sugar…It is isn’t toxic to us but like anything if we eat too much of it, just like our hoomans, we can get fat, get diabetes, behavioural problems and wreck our teeth. Sugar is not toxic, but excessive amounts can still create problems such as obesity, beagle and we know something, diabetes, behavioral disorders or dental problems. A little every now and then as a treat, when we have been exceptionally good might be excusable. Woof.
8 FATTY FOODS
Yep, I know they taste soo good, but just like sugar if we eat too much fatty food we will also pack on the pounds. Excessively fatty food can also affect our pancreas and also cause gastro-intestinal problems. If you think about it, our hoomans are pretty similar to us in this respect. None of us want to feel like a big barrel with legs so let’s eat these only very occasionally. Ok?
9 COFFEE
No lattes, cappuccinos or espresso for us pups. Stay clear of the coffee grounds all you hounds. It sadly can cause vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty in breathing and alter our heartbeat. Hoomans i think probably get similar symptoms but because they are much bigger than us they handle them better.
10 SEEDS AND STONES
Apple seeds and the stones of fruits like peaches, plums, cherries and apricots contain cyanide and as we all know, Romeo didn’t fair too well from drinking that stuff. If you do eat any of these fruits make sure it is ONLY the fleshy bits and stay well clear of the pits.
Just to make sure you remember all of these, we have all this info right at hand in the “My Care” section of our app – Bauwow
Happy eating and big woof from me, Tobia the Beagle