The 14 Foods Your Dog Should Never Eat: A Mistake-First Reference
A reference list of the 14 foods most likely to harm or kill a dog, with what to do if your dog eats one. Mistake-first format for use in emergencies.
Foods dogs should never eat: The honest answer from a former licensed insurance agent who now writes pet-care guidance.
This is structured as a reference, not an essay. If your dog has just eaten something on this list, scroll to that food, read the severity rating and the action. The longer explanations are for later.
The 14 foods, ordered by frequency of accidental ingestion
1. Chocolate
Severity: moderate to severe, depending on type and amount.
Why: chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, both of which dogs metabolize slowly. The toxic dose varies with chocolate type. Dark and baking chocolate are dangerous in much smaller amounts than milk chocolate. White chocolate contains very little theobromine and is mostly a fat/sugar concern.
Toxic dose by type:
- Milk chocolate: about 1 ounce per pound of body weight produces toxicity.
- Dark chocolate: about 1/4 ounce per pound produces toxicity.
- Baking chocolate: about 0.1 ounce per pound produces toxicity.
Symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, restlessness, increased thirst, rapid heart rate, tremors, seizures.
Action if ingested:
- Estimate the amount and type.
- Call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (888-426-4435).
- For dark or baking chocolate at any meaningful amount, go to the vet.
- For milk chocolate at small amounts in a large dog, monitoring at home may be appropriate, but call to confirm.
- Inducing vomiting can help if the ingestion was within 30 to 60 minutes; do not do this without veterinary guidance.
2. Grapes and raisins
Severity: severe.
Why: grapes and raisins cause acute kidney failure in dogs. The mechanism is not fully understood, and the toxic dose varies wildly between dogs. Some dogs eat a handful of grapes with no effect. Others develop kidney failure from a single grape. Because the variability cannot be predicted, treat any grape ingestion as a medical emergency.
Symptoms: vomiting (usually within 24 hours), lethargy, decreased appetite, decreased urination, abdominal pain.
Action if ingested:
- Vet visit, immediately.
- Treatment is induced vomiting, activated charcoal, and IV fluids. The earlier the better.
- This is one of the foods where "wait and see" can be fatal.
3. Xylitol
Severity: severe.
Why: xylitol is an artificial sweetener common in sugar-free gum, sugar-free baked goods, some peanut butters, mints, and many low-sugar food products. It triggers a massive insulin release in dogs, causing hypoglycemia. At higher doses it also causes liver failure.
Toxic dose: very low. As little as 0.1 grams per kilogram of body weight produces hypoglycemia. A single piece of xylitol-sweetened gum can be dangerous to a small dog.
Symptoms: weakness, vomiting, loss of coordination, collapse, seizures. Onset can be within 30 minutes to several hours.
Action if ingested:
- Vet visit, immediately. This is a true emergency.
- Bring the package if possible so the vet knows the xylitol concentration.
- Treatment involves IV dextrose and monitoring for liver damage.
Important: check peanut butter labels before giving peanut butter to dogs. Some natural and "no sugar added" peanut butters now contain xylitol. The brands to avoid include Nuts 'n More, Krush Nutrition, Go Nuts Co, P28, and others. Read every label.
4. Onions and garlic
Severity: moderate, cumulative with chronic exposure.
Why: onions, garlic, leeks, chives, and shallots all contain compounds that damage red blood cells in dogs, causing hemolytic anemia. The toxic dose is dose-dependent: small amounts in food once may produce no problem, while larger amounts or repeated exposure causes anemia.
Toxic dose: roughly 5 grams of onion per kilogram of body weight in a single dose, or smaller amounts cumulatively.
Symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, weakness, pale gums, breathlessness, dark urine. Can develop over days.
Action if ingested:
- Small amount, single exposure, larger dog: monitor at home.
- Significant amount: vet visit.
- Repeated small exposures (table scraps with onions over time): vet visit and bloodwork.
Note: garlic supplements marketed as "natural flea preventive" for dogs are not safe. The dose to repel fleas is too close to the dose that causes anemia.
5. Macadamia nuts
Severity: moderate.
Why: unknown mechanism, but macadamia nuts cause neurological symptoms in dogs at relatively low doses. Recovery is generally complete with supportive care, but the symptoms are alarming.
Toxic dose: as low as 0.7 grams per kilogram of body weight.
Symptoms: weakness, depression, vomiting, tremors, hyperthermia. Onset within 12 hours.
Action if ingested:
- Call the vet. Most cases need supportive care but not aggressive intervention.
- Symptoms typically resolve within 24 to 48 hours with supportive treatment.
6. Avocado
Severity: mild to moderate.
Why: the persin in avocados is mildly toxic to dogs in large amounts, causing GI upset. The bigger risk is the pit, which can cause obstruction.
Action if ingested:
- Small amount of flesh: monitor at home for GI symptoms.
- Pit ingestion: vet visit, potential surgical intervention if obstruction develops.
7. Cooked bones
Severity: moderate to severe (mechanical injury).
Why: cooked bones (chicken, turkey, beef, any species) splinter when chewed. The splinters can perforate the digestive tract or lodge in the throat, causing emergencies.
Symptoms: retching, gagging, drooling, blood in vomit or stool, abdominal pain.
Action if ingested:
- Vet visit if any symptoms develop.
- X-rays often needed to assess.
- Some bones pass through without issue; many do not.
Note: raw bones are different and not subject to the same splintering risk. Cooked bones are the danger category.
8. Alcohol
Severity: moderate to severe, depending on dose and dog size.
Why: alcohol affects dogs much more strongly than humans by body weight. Even small amounts can cause serious depression, hypothermia, and respiratory issues.
Symptoms: loss of coordination, vomiting, depression, low body temperature, slow breathing.
Action if ingested:
- Any meaningful ingestion: vet visit.
- Includes alcoholic beverages, raw bread dough (which produces alcohol as it rises), and fermented foods.
9. Raw bread dough
Severity: moderate.
Why: raw dough containing yeast continues to rise inside the dog's stomach, causing gastric bloating. The fermentation also produces alcohol, which is absorbed.
Symptoms: distended abdomen, retching, weakness, depression.
Action if ingested:
- Vet visit. This is one of those issues that gets worse the longer you wait.
10. Caffeine (coffee, tea, energy drinks)
Severity: moderate to severe.
Why: dogs are very sensitive to caffeine. It has stimulant and cardiac effects similar to chocolate but at lower doses.
Action if ingested:
- Small amount in a large dog: monitor.
- Significant amount or any amount in a small dog: vet visit.
Note: coffee grounds (used or unused) and tea bags both contain enough caffeine to cause symptoms.
11. Stone fruits with pits (peach, plum, cherry, apricot)
Severity: mild for flesh; severe for pits.
Why: the flesh is fine in moderation. The pits contain cyanide compounds and also pose mechanical obstruction risk.
Action if pit is ingested:
- Vet visit. Consider X-rays for obstruction risk.
12. Salt (in large quantities)
Severity: moderate to severe, depending on amount.
Why: dogs that ingest large amounts of salt (saltwater, salt-heavy foods like chips or jerky in quantity, or homemade play dough) can develop hypernatremia, which is dangerous.
Symptoms: excessive thirst, vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, seizures.
Action if ingested:
- Provide fresh water and monitor for small amounts.
- Vet visit for large ingestions or any symptoms.
13. Mushrooms (wild)
Severity: varies wildly from mild to fatal depending on species.
Why: several wild mushroom species are seriously toxic to dogs. Some are mildly toxic. Some are fine. Identification is difficult even for experts.
Action if ingested:
- Treat all wild-mushroom ingestion as potentially serious. Vet visit.
- Bring a sample of the mushroom if possible.
- Grocery-store mushrooms are generally fine.
14. Walnuts (especially moldy)
Severity: moderate.
Why: fresh walnuts are mildly toxic in quantity. Moldy walnuts produce mycotoxins that cause severe neurological symptoms.
Action if ingested:
- Small amount of fresh walnut in a large dog: monitor.
- Any moldy walnut: vet visit, immediately. Mycotoxin tremors are an emergency.
What to do in any suspected poisoning
- Stay calm. Most ingestions, even of dangerous foods, are survivable with prompt treatment.
- Identify what was eaten and how much. Time matters. Quantity matters. Save packaging if possible.
- Call. Either your vet, an emergency clinic, or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (888-426-4435; there is a $95 consultation fee but they have the most current toxicology data and can advise on whether you need to go to the vet at all).
- Do not induce vomiting unless instructed. Some toxins cause more damage on the way back up. Some require it. Get guidance.
- Bring the dog and the packaging to the vet if instructed. The package tells the vet what was actually consumed.
What to keep on hand
A small kit for accidental-ingestion situations:
- Phone numbers for your vet, an emergency clinic, and ASPCA poison control.
- 3 percent hydrogen peroxide (used to induce vomiting in some cases, ONLY when instructed by a vet).
- A list of medications your dog is currently on.
- Your dog's weight (current).
These should live somewhere obvious. The middle of a poisoning emergency is not when you want to be searching for the vet's after-hours number.
The takeaway
Most dogs encounter at least one item from this list in their lifetime. Some get to the vet in time. Some do not. Knowing what is dangerous, what to do, and who to call before something happens is the difference between an inconvenient evening and a tragedy.
Print this article, or save the ASPCA number to your phone. If you ever need it, you will not have time to look it up.