What dogs can or can’t eat is sometimes a point of anxiousness for dog keepers, who are not sure what action to take when they discover their dog has gulped down food they are not normally be given. In severe cases it can send us running to the vet for costly emergency treatment or have us sitting up watching our dog’s closely all through the night! This type of incident may cause our dog anxiety too.

Last year, there were over 100,000 cases of pet poisoning in the U.S., caused by dogs consuming everyday human foods, according to Embrace Pet insurance. As a part of Poison Prevention Week, they have opened up their database to help spread the information about the foods we should be ensuring that our dogs never have access to.

Chocolate Top of List for Dog Food Accidents

Maybe no surprise was that chocolate came head of the list for food accident claims and with Easter fast approaching, this is a key time to be sure that chocolate Easter Eggs aren’t left lying around. Sadly dogs appear to love eating chocolate and will go to great lengths to find it if they pick up the smell.

Just recently when a pal was visiting, her dog managed to sneak away upstairs and in to my children bedroom and consume enough chocolate to deserve an emergency call to the local vet at midnight. I felt very guilty, but as our dog isn’t allowed upstairs I hadn’t thought that it could ever be a issue. The lesson here is to alway keep chocolate out of a dogs reach, whatever room it is in! Remember, the bigger the cocoa content, the worse it is.

Top 13 Anxiety Inducing Foods

Below are the top 13 foods ranked by frequency of insurance food accident claims.

1. Chocolate
2. Raisins
3. Mushroom
4. Xylitol (sweetener)
5. Grapes
6. Vitamins
7. Gum
8. Bones
9. Chicken
10. Macadamia Nuts
11. Sugar
12. Bread
13. Cake

The symptoms of poisoning can include gut and neurological problems, cardiac and breathing trouble, coma, and even death. Symptoms will change dependent on what a dog has eaten and how much of it they ate. The physiological response of each individual dog can vary too.

It’s really important you act quickly in cases of dog poisoning, so if you believe that your dog has eaten food that might be lethal to them, it is important that you phone your vet instantly. Keep the phone number of your local vet close to hand so that you can react quickly and save yourself and your dog any more anxiety than you might already be feeling!

Author Venice Marriott is a writer and dog owner and runs a Dog Anxiety website, which provides help and information for dog owners dealing with behaviour problems caused by dog anxiety. Get more information about how to reduce anxiety in dogs, when you visit the site.