Our four-legged friends are becoming increasingly 'humanised' and are increasingly part of the family. That's a good thing! However, this sometimes has a negative impact on their diet. Many owners share their table food with their dogs. However, this can be very harmful to your dog and have negative consequences. Dogs have a completely different physique and nutritional tolerances than humans. There are two problems with feeding your dog your own human food. Firstly, you disrupt the balance in their diet when you use your own food as a substitute for dog food. Secondly, many foods are harmful and 'toxic' to dogs.

What foods are safe for dogs?

You often hear people ask: can dogs eat apples? Can dogs eat bananas? No problem. Can dogs eat chocolate? Absolutely not! Below is a list of examples of foods that are often consumed at our tables and that are dangerous to our dogs' health.

Grapes and raisins: After ingesting large quantities of grapes or raisins, sensitive individuals often experience gastrointestinal disorders that can lead to acute kidney failure. In dogs, the outcome is often fatal within two or three days.

Nutmeg: may contain mycotoxins with toxicity related to the nervous system, which is harmful to your dog.

Wine: contains ethanol, also known as alcohol, which can cause vomiting and diarrhoea in dogs.

Beer: due to the high concentrations of hops, it can cause hyperthermia (increased body temperature) in some more sensitive dog breeds (e.g. St. Bernard, Labrador Retriever). Therefore, never give your dog alcohol or beer.

Coffee and tea: contain caffeine and theine, which cause an increased heart rate, diuresis and can potentially lead to neurological disorders in dogs.

Chocolate: contains theobromine (similar to caffeine), which has been found to be toxic because it takes a very long time to metabolise. The toxic dose is 90-100 mg/kg (approximately one chocolate for a 10 kg dog). Dark chocolate is more toxic than milk chocolate, but do not give your dog either type of chocolate. The effects can include vomiting and diarrhoea, hyperactivity, tremors, convulsions and death.

Macadamia nuts: are deadly to dogs. They cause vomiting, weakness, tremors and a drop in body temperature. Symptoms usually appear within 12-48 hours.

Avocado: due to the presence of persin, a fungicide toxin, it can cause gastrointestinal problems in dogs. In dogs, it causes vomiting and diarrhoea.

Fruit pits: eating fruit pits can be dangerous, both when whole, as they can cause intestinal obstruction, and when broken and the internal part is exposed as a result of chewing. The internal part of the fruit stone releases substances which, when attacked by intestinal bacteria, turn into cyanide, a highly toxic substance, also for our animals.

Onion/garlic/leek/chives: the presence of allyl sulphide can cause haemolytic anaemia or stomach problems. Please note that the toxicity of these foods is strictly related to high doses, while lower doses actually have benefits for animals. The doses described as toxic (LD50) are as follows:

• Dog: 15 g/kg of the animal's live weight for the fresh product, 7-8 g/kg for the dried product;

Signs of toxicity appear after 1-4 days; vomiting, diarrhoea and dark-coloured urine are the main clinical symptoms.

Beans and broad beans: when raw, they can cause gastrointestinal problems due to anti-nutritional factors such as lectin.

Xylitol: Ingestion of 0.1 g xylitol/kg can cause severe hypoglycaemia in dogs. A higher dose can cause impaired liver function. Symptoms include tremors, lethargy and visual disturbances.