Are there any foods your Lab shouldn't eat? Absolutely! Chocolate, onions, grapes, raisins, and alcoholic beverages are among the items your dog should never ingest.

Chocolate may be the food of love, but it doesn't love dogs. A chemical in chocolate called theobromine is toxic to dogs and can cause vomiting, diarrhea, panting, restlessness, and muscle tremors. Too much chocolate can even kill a dog. Dark chocolate and unsweetened baking chocolate (which doesn't even taste good) contain more theobromine than candy, which is adulterated with sugars and other ingredients. Keep any form of chocolate well out of your Lab's reach.

Raw or cooked onions are off limits, too. A chemical in onions can destroy a dog's red blood cells, causing a serious or even fatal case of anemia.

Lots of dogs love grapes and they seem harmless enough, but grapes and raisins (dried grapes) have been reported to cause acute kidney failure in some dogs. It's not known why the sweet treats cause a problem, but it's best to avoid giving them to dogs. Signs of toxicity from eating grapes or raisins include vomiting within a few hours of eating them, loss of appetite, diarrhea, lethargy, and abdominal pain. These signs can last for days or even weeks. Successful treatment involves activated charcoal to help prevent absorption of toxins and hospitalization with intravenous fluids for at least two days. The veterinarian will monitor blood chemistry for three days to ensure that kidney failure doesn't develop.

You might be able to train your Lab to bring you a beer from the fridge, but don't share it with him. Getting a dog drunk isn't funny, it's dangerous. Alcoholic beverages can be harmful or even fatal to dogs.