Have you ever wanted to make homemade dog food or give your dog a human treat? If you’re not sure what they can eat check out this list of human foods dogs can and can not eat before deciding what to make them.
Human Foods Dogs Can Eat and Not Eat
We don’t feed our dogs table scraps by any means, but a little fruit or veggie sure does the trick when they are begging in the kitchen. Listen, I eat a half of an avocado almost every day, and I know I’ve dropped some on the floor before. Did you know that avocado is on the “not eat” list? I had no idea. See why below.
Human Food Dogs Can Eat
Meats
- fish
- ham
- pork
- salmon
- shrimp
- tuna
- turkey
Fruits
- apples
- bananas
- blueberries
- cantaloupe
- coconut
- cranberries
- Mango
- orange
- peaches
- pears
- pineapple
- raspberries
- strawberries
- watermelon
Check out this healthy homemade recipe for your dogs CAN EAT – Tropical-Flavored Popsicles (perfect summer treat for kids too)
Vegetables
- broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- celery
- carrots
- corn
- cucumber
- green beans
- peas
- potatoes
- spinach
- sweet potatoes
Nuts & Other Foods
- bread (small amounts)
- cashews
- cheese
- eggs
- honey
- milk (small amounts)
- peanuts & peanut butter
- plain air-popped popcorn
- quinoa
- wheat/grains
- yogurt (small amount)
So, what do you think about this list of human foods dogs can eat and not eat? Are you shocked?
Being the person I am if I were to feed my dogs’ human foods, I’d make sure it was good healthy food – not so much processed meats and probably not popcorn or bread either. My dogs love and get (sometimes) eggs that have been leftover from my son’s morning breakfast. Nothing harmful goes into my dogs’ mouths – ever!
Related: Cooking Healthy for You AND Your Dog(Opens in a new browser tab)
Human Food Dogs Can Not Eat
Meats
- NONE
Fruits
- cherries – cherry plants contain cyanide which is toxic to dogs
- grapes/raisins – very toxic; can cause sudden kidney failure
Vegetables
- asparagus – too tough to eat raw and it loses its nutrients when it’s cook soft
- avocado – the pit, skin & leaves all contain persin which is toxic to dogs; can cause vomiting and diarrhea
- mushrooms – most are toxic to dogs; might as well leave this one alone
- tomatoes – while the ripened fruit (red part) is okay, it’s the green part contains a toxic substance called solanine
- onions, leeks, chives all contain allium which is poisonous to most pets, especially cats
Related: Tips for Camping with Small Dogs(Opens in a new browser tab)
Nuts & Other Foods
- almonds – pieces may get lodged in the esophagus or even tear the windpipe if not chewed completely
- chocolate – a very toxic substance called methylxanthines that can stop a dog’s metabolic process
- cinnamon – can irritate the inside of their mouth and make them sick
- garlic – five times more allium than onions; hence very toxic
- ice cream – lactose and dairy isn’t good for our pets
- macadamia nuts – these are some of the most poisonous foods for dogs
- pecans – toxic
- walnuts – toxic
Source: AKC>Dog Health>Nutrition
We have a Lab puppy who is not quite six months old yet and have him registered with AKC. I get a wealth of information from AKC. I don’t plan on making his food anytime soon as I’ve been told he needs large breed puppy food for at least a year. But my Cissy and Cody would love it if I fed them human foods and never again fed them dog food. We shall see. Go here to read the New Puppy Handbook I have started.
What a great informative list! It’s so important to check for these dangerous foods for dogs since they can easily get it from us and we don’t even know it! So helpful! Sharing this!
This is very informative. I knew about some of these but not others. I had no idea they couldn’t have nuts or avocados.
This is a great list for new dog owners and a good reminder for parents with pets. Our two year old daughter wants to feed our dog everything. Our siberian husky is almost 10 years old and is actually very sick this week possibly because of that very reason. She woke up with an allergic reaction to something and had a swollen face resulting in an emergency vet visit. She’s home now but overall just doesn’t feel well.
Some of these I had no idea, I’ll be honest. We tend to feed our “community dog” almost anything but hes getting fat and sometimes has weird digestive problems. Time to forward this to his owner!
This is a great post! I did not know this! now we can be more cautious as to what we can feed our dog!
Well I can now officially say that I learned something new today. I had no idea that some of these foods could be so harmful to dogs! On behalf of fur babies everywhere…thank you for sharing!!
This is so important! It makes me so sad that people do give human food to dogs, I could only imagine the issues it gives and what it does to their poor bellies!
This is a great list as many people wouldn’t guess that these foods are poisonous to dogs! I always forget that grapes are!
Wow this is really good to know! I just got a puppy and I feel like I have a baby all over again. I’ve been trying to figure out what she can have and can’t!
This is so important! I never knew that grapes were so toxic to dogs!
Oh, oh. I’ve given every dog I’ve ever owned ice cream. I never would have thought it would harm them,
This is a really great post! I have a big dog who loves to eat!! Now, I know what is safe for him to have.
this is a great list all in one place. I always wondered what they could or couldn’t really eat, I knew about chocolate but not much else.
This is such amazing information. I had no idea that there were so many different guidelines and foods that they could eat.