What NOT To Feed Your Dog

Fido and Wishbone might come sit at your feet during dinner, drooling over what you and your family are chowing down on.  You might be tempted to toss your pup a scrap of meat, and little Johnny might sneak down his veggies.  Instead of scraping dishes, maybe you plop them on the floor and let the pooch lick them clean.  ‘Better than a dishwasher!’ you might exclaim.  

But the truth is people need be very careful about what they feed their dogs.  Many seemingly harmless foods can be deadly, or gravely serious, to the average dog’s liver, kidneys, or heart.  When Spot looks at you with those heart-wrenching, tacitly begging, eyes, it can be hard to resist!  (Does the term “puppy dog eyes” mean anything to you?)  But loving your pets means knowing what’s good for them, and doing what’s right, even if that means playing the tough parent sometimes. 

Chocolate is at the top of the list to withhold.  Caffeine and bromethalin, both present in chocolate, are toxic to your dog.  The darker the chocolate, the more concentrated the poison. Don’t forget, caffeine is in coffee, tea, and cocoa as well, so they’re on the list to avoid too.  Watch for signs of staggering and labored breathing, followed by a fast heartbeat or palpitations, and stomach pain and vomiting.  Severe chocolate poisoning ends in seizure, coma, or the death of your dearly beloved.

Tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, and garlic are all on the off list.  That awesome pizza you ordered Friday night is NOT sharable… unless you’re prepared to subject your pooch to liver and kidney damage (from the mushrooms,) tremors and heart arrhythmia (from the tomato,) and red blood cell damage (from the seasonings)—just a sampling of the effects these foods can cause. 

As you keep yourself healthy with fruit, restrain from sharing grapes and raisins, due to the potential for acute renal failure, and avocados, which cause fluid buildup in your dog’s organs.  Certain fruit pits and seeds contain cyanide, a pretty well known poison.  If you’re planning on sharing pears, plums, peaches, apricots or apples, just remember your dog always doesn’t spit out seeds and pits like you do.

The artificial sweetener xylitol is a more modern killer to be wary of.  Dogs experience a dramatic drop in blood sugar, leading to depression, loss of motor skills, seizures, or liver failure.  

Beware of macadamia nuts, walnuts, nutmeg, excess salt, animal fat, and fried foods.  From paralysis to pancreatitis, these all hold the power to harm.  

Many of these foods have a direct effect on a dog’s stomach and digestive system.  Diarrhea and upset digestion are unfortunate, but common side effects. If your dog should accidentally consume any of these foods, be prepared with biodegradable dog waste bags, dog poop bags, doggie poop bags.

The Trials of City Dog Owners

The life of an urban dog lover is not always easy.   Living in a high rise, or cramped in a small apartment, having little to no backyard, and a sidewalk for a front yard doesn’t exactly spell out the storybook environment for raising canines. But dog lovers are dog lovers and they will not be deterred: they make do.

Many city dwellers settle for smaller dogs, like Chihuahua and Shih Tzu, bred for small spaces and indoor living, but not everyone.  Some stand by their stolid breed, keeping retrievers and greyhounds.  All of these owners across the board deal with the issues of owning a pet in an urban environment. 

Urban dogs rarely have the spacious yards of suburban and country dogs, for one. Much like humans, dogs need exercise and they need to socialize.  They need a spacious open area to run and play.  Sometimes all it takes to change a poorly behaved dog is time romping in the great outdoors.  Interaction with other dogs teaches pets social skills, which can also modify their behavior as they relate to those of their own species.  Instead of opening a door for the dog to run outside, city owners may have the added difficulty of getting the pet down the elevator, or out the three doors to get outside. 

Perhaps the most unglamorous aspect of having a dog in a city is dealing with the dog’s waste.  The more dogs one has, the trickier—and messier—it can get.  It’s never exactly been pretty stooping down to scoop up dog poop…especially when you have three dogs, and you’re surrounded by fast moving people as far as the eye can see.   

But the fact remains that city dog owners must take care to clean up after their dogs’ droppings.  Most cities in the U.S. have strict rules and regulations for cleaning up after pets.  The good news is it doesn’t have to be that difficult. 

Carrying around dog poop bags is a simple way to make life easier.  A roll of these poop bags looks similar to a roll of produce bags at the supermarket, but these thin yet sturdy bags are sized for the material at hand.   A variety of biodegradable dog poop bags are on the market, providing an environmentally conscious way of handling the situation.  Both the bag and its contents decompose into the organic components from whence they came.  Pet owners can throw a roll into poop bags, or pocket, or for added convenience, put them in a dispenser. 

To purchase biodegradable dog poop bags go to http://www.thoughts.com/911savebeans.  These bags are available in many colors, and made to fit most poop bags dispenses currently on the market. Look for deals on free shipping.