The English Bulldog Puppy Blog

Almost everyone can’t resist the sweet taste of chocolate. What man find tasty is not necessarily good enough for man’s best friend to eat. Chocolate is just one of the many foods that are toxic to English bulldogs. Think twice before you feed your beloved companions with scraps of chocolate, macadamia nuts and onions. You think you are doing your dog a favor but you are actually putting its life in danger.

Just why are foods perfectly safe for human consumption but are toxic to our pets. I never thought that I fed potentially fatal food to my dog. Let’s find out how macademia nuts, onions, and chocolate can kill your English bulldog.

Chocolate

The dark baker’s chocolate looks inviting but is especially toxic for dogs. A mere 2.5 ounces of Coco or 5.5 ounces of Dark Bakers Chocolate can be fatal to a 20 to 25 pound dog. A compound called theobromine found in chocolates acts as a cardiac stimulant and as a diuretic. It also elevates blood pressure and causes nausea and vomiting. Another compound in chocolate called caffeine is a member of the same drug family, Methylanines, which is also toxic to our pets. Theobromine isn’t harmful to man because it is metabolize at a much faster rate in human than dogs. The half life of theobromine in dogs is about 17.5 hours. The fact that your dog has overdosed on chocolate is not immediately evident and may the symptoms of theobromine poisoning may not appear until hours later.

Your bulldog may not appear to be poisoned soon after eating chocolates. It takes a maximum of twelve hours for signs of theobromine poisoning to appear after ingestion.

Some of the signs of having ingested a possibly fatal amount theobromine are:
• Hyperactivity and/or nervousness
• Excessive thirst accompanied with possible excessive urination
• Muscular spasms
• Seizures
• Coma can occur but they are rare
• Death is rare and when it does occur it’s because of an already existing heart condition

It is unfortunate that no effective home remedy available for theobromine poisoning. If you suspect that your dear pet has ingested chocolate and is positively showing any of the above symptoms rush it to the vet emergency room right away.

Onions and garlic

Onions and garlic has a toxic substance called thiosulphate. The effects of thiosulphate are much more catastrophic than those of theobromine. Thiosulphate cause hemolytic anemia, a condition where the red blood cells burst while circulating through your pet’s body. Onions are much more dangerous than garlic because they contain a larger amount of thiosulphate. Onions in any form are highly dangerous and the effects of thiosulphate poisoning usually begin to appear a few days after the poisoning took place.

Some of the symptoms are:
• Gastroenteritis with vomiting and diarrhea
• Loss of appetite and all interest in food
• Dull, glazed eyes
• Physical weakness
• Breathlessness
• Appearance of burst red blood cells in urine and fecal matter
20 ounces of raw onion is enough to cause irreversible damage to your dog. If you suspect thiosulphate poisoning, bring your dog to the vet emergency room right away.

Macadamia nuts

It is difficult to know exactly why macadamia nuts are very toxic to dogs but they are. These nuts cause weakness, joint pain and shortness of breath. The good side of it is that dogs quickly recover from this toxin. It is best not to feed this kind of nut to your dog, who would want to subject their loved pet to such discomfort and pain even for a short time.

Other household foods and substances that is toxic to dogs.
• Avocado (all parts) – the toxic ingredient in avocado is called persin (toxic amount unknown). Symptoms include difficulty breathing, abdominal enlargement, and abnormal fluid accumulations in the chest, abdomen and sac around the heart.
• 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
• Moldy/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

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