Household Dangers
Like toddlers, dogs put everything in their mouths. Your home needs to be puppy-proofed even if your dog is no longer a pup. It is unrealistic to assume that your dog's activities will always be visible to you or someone else in your household. Whether it's bored or just curious, it only takes a few seconds for a dog to get hold of something that could pose a danger to it.
Medicines
Our own medications can pose a great danger to dogs. For example, the amount of acetaminophen contained in many over-the-counter painkillers is a lethal dose for a dog. All medications for humans and dogs should be kept in cupboards the dog cannot reach or in a locked cabinet. In addition, never give your dog any medicine unless told to do so by your vet. Alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and illegal substances such as marijuana or cocaine can also poison a dog.
When it comes to toxicity, size does matter. The smaller the dog, the less of any substance ingested — food, medication, cleaning products, or insecticides — is necessary to threaten its life.
People Food
Many of the foods we eat can be poisonous to a dog, sometimes in very small amounts. Carefully monitor your dog around food, especially during holidays and family celebrations when you might be distracted. Children must be taught not to share their food with the dog.
Caffeine, found in coffee, tea, chocolate, colas, and some stimulants, can be deadly. It affects dogs in the same way as people, increasing the heart rate and sometimes causing heartbeat irregularity. Theobromine, found in chocolate, is deadly at dosages of 52 mg per pound of body weight, caffeine at 63 mg per pound.
Is chocolate really dangerous for dogs?
Chocolate, especially the baker's chocolate used in cooking, contains theobromine, which is highly toxic to dogs. It is also present in milk chocolate, cocoa beans, cocoa powder, and baked goods containing chocolate.
Other toxic foods for dogs include those containing citrus oil, fat trimmings, grapes and raisins, persimmons, macadamia nuts, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and yeast dough.
Foods that are not lethal but could still make a dog sick include baby food, liver in large amounts, raw fish, raw eggs, milk and other dairy products containing lactose, salt, sugary foods, and fruits with stones — such as peaches — that could obstruct the digestive tract. Rotten food and garbage can be extremely hazardous to small dogs as well.
Insecticides, rodenticides (rat and mouse poisons), mothballs, and other pesticides used around the house can also be lethal, so store them safely out of reach. Lawn chemicals also pose a danger. If your little dog walks on grass treated with such chemicals and licks its pads, it can become gravely ill. Even plant food can be deadly to a nosy pup. Always read and carefully follow directions before using any such product.
Household Products
Many household products can also be toxic to your little dog. Again, proper storage is a must. Commonly used cleaning products like soap, laundry detergent, shampoo, dishwashing liquid and powder, fabric softener, sanitizers, disinfectants, and bleach pose a great danger. Since even the smell of pine oil can make a dog ill, choose cleaners that do not contain this substance.
Even in small amounts, antifreeze can kill your dog. Its toxic ingredient is highly concentrated ethylene glycol, an extremely dangerous toxin that is lethal to dogs at 2 to 3 milliliters per pound of body weight. Two tablespoons could kill a fifteen-pound dog, and smaller amounts could make it critically ill. Its sweet taste attracts dogs. Ingesting batteries of any size can also be fatal to a dog.
