I hate cheese. There are a few other foods I can�t stand and some that I�m allergic too. Indeed, peanut allergies in humans can be fatal, and as it happens, the same is also true of your pet. So, here is a quick rundown of the some of foods Fido should avoid like the plague�

Chocolate
Let�s face it, in our world � chocolate is fab stuff. Solid bar, moulded in various shapes or (my personal favourite) in liquid form pouring down a fountain onto a bowl of strawberries (god bless Twinpalms). Chocolate is proof that god exists.

However, in the dog world, chocolate is a potential killer. Chocolate contains theobromine, a compound that is a cardiac stimulant and a diuretic. The effect of the theobromine on your pooch�s heart is the dangerous bit, because it will cause the heart to beat much faster or to beat irregularly. These are also fairly �hidden� signals, and it won�t be until your dog collapses mid run that you realise he is suffering.

Additionally, the diuretic effect of chocolate means that the dog may urinate more than normal and be unusually thirsty. Two other common symptoms are vomiting and diarrhoea. That said, the signs of sickness may not appear for several hours and it could take a day or two for a dog to fatally succumb to the ailment.

The most toxic forms of chocolate for a dog are cocoa powder and cooking chocolate, both of which contain almost 10 times more theobromine than milk chocolate. To provide some ratios, a 10kg dog would only need to consume about 75gm of cocoa powder or about 125gm of cooking chocolate in order to become seriously ill.

Simply allowing your dog to lick the spoon used to mix the chocolate icing can, in itself, prove fatal. So, if you have kids, let them lick the spoon, or be sensible: don�t have kids and do the washing up yourself.

Onions
For my money, there isn�t much that beats the aroma of fresh onions and garlic lobbed in a pan and gently fried. However, onions and garlic can also cause sickness in dogs and cats. Both foods contain thiosulphate, although onions contain significantly more and are much more of a risk.

The problem with onion toxicity is the development of haemolytic anaemia. This is where your dog�s red blood cells burst while circulating around the body. The initial signs of onion poisoning include vomiting and diarrhoea. The animal will probably show zero interest in food and will appear very dull, weak and out of breath. The reason for the breathlessness is that the red blood cells, which normally carry oxygen around the body, are being depleted. The red pigment from the burst blood cells will also appear in the animal�s urine.

While the signs and symptoms are there, the condition itself will improve once the animal is prevented from eating any further onion. As with chocolate, poisoning from onions can take time, even a few days, to develop and all forms of onion can be a problem. Raw, dehydrated, cooked onions, even table scraps or left over pizza, all contain potentially fatal doses of onion.

Garlic
It�s worth mentioning garlic as it too contains the toxic ingredient thiosulphate. However, garlic is much less of a toxic risk, and an animal would need to consume large amounts on a regular basis to cause illness. I should mention that I feed my dogs small quantities of garlic with their meals as it does help to reduce tick infestations and keeps vampires at bay.

Macadamia nuts
In general dogs should avoid all types of nuts (although sniffing them is apparently OK) due to the high phosphorous levels which can lead to bladder stones. However, macadamia nuts in particular should be avoided. The actual toxic compound is unknown but the effect of nuts is to cause locomotory difficulties. Dogs develop a tremor of the skeletal muscles, and weakness or paralysis of the hindquarters. Affected dogs are often unable to rise and are distressed, usually panting. Some affected dogs have swollen limbs and show pain when the limbs are manipulated.

I�ll be looking more closely at other foods to avoid and other pet diets over the coming issues as we enter the furious debate over �fresh food vs commercial pet foods�.

If you have any questions or queries about your pet you can email Sniffer at - sniffer@phuket-animal-welfare.com