These Are the Worst (And Best) Food for Dogs

Taking care of a dog is a lifelong commitment. As soon as you adopt your loving and excited dog, you make the promise to keep them safe and healthy for the rest of their life. One of the best ways you take care of your dog is by giving them the right food, which supports everything from their muscles to their eyesight. Without the right food, no amount of exercise, playtime, or even love is enough to keep them healthy.

Every morsel of food that you pass along to your dog either supports their health or harms it. Do you know all of the safe foods that your dog can eat from the grocery store? Do you know what foods to avoid? Take a look at some of the best (and worst) foods to give your dog tonight – how many do you already know?

You CAN Give Your Dog (Cooked) Meat

Whether you want to give them chicken, turkey, or beef, all of these options are excellent sources of protein. Your dog needs at least 10% of his diet to include protein, but the total amount of protein varies with the breed and age of the dog. When you prepare cooked meat to give your dog, do not season it. Many of the seasonings in your cabinet do much more harm than good.

Do NOT Give Your Dog Cooked Bones

Even though choosing to offer cooked bones seems like a good alternative to raw meat, it isn’t. When you cook them, the bones become weak, making them easier to break. Even the smallest bones splinter, leading to broken teeth, cuts in their mouth and digestive system, and swelling in their stomach lining.

You CAN Give Your Dog Cooked Eggs

Cooked eggs are one of the best foods to give your dog. Like the chicken and beef, do not season the eggs if you intend to serve them to your dog. They offer high amounts of vitamin D, riboflavin, and selenium, which are all good for your pampered pup. They also offer linoleic acid and several B vitamins that support their coat and soothe dry skin.

Do NOT Give Your Dog Bacon

Bacon can be quite tempting for your dog, but it is just as bad for them as it is for you. With the high fat content, it is one of the biggest causes of pancreatitis in dogs, leading to unnecessary surgery. In fact, pork generally needs to be avoided because their digestive system struggles to handle such heavy food.

You CAN Give Your Dog Green Beans And Carrots

Your dog needs vegetables just as much as you, but you have to be careful to offer the right ones. Cooked carrots are one of the best foods to give your dog because of the vitamin A, fiber, and beta-carotene that they get when they consume them. Green beans offer a whole different set of nutrients with vitamin C as well.

Do NOT Give Your Dog Onions, Leeks, Or Garlic

If your dog manages to sink their teeth into onions, leeks, or garlic, they could risk becoming anemic if they consume a lot. While there’s no need to worry if your dog sneakily pulls down a piece of onion, any large amount of these allium foods are dangerous for their blood cells. Since anemia sometimes takes a few days to be obvious, avoid these foods at all costs.

You CAN Give Your Dog Cooked Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a great breakfast for any dog, offering vitamin B, linoleic acid, and soluble fiber. It also gives them zinc to support their immune system and iron to improve their blood health.

Do NOT Give Your Dog Dairy Products

According to the AKC, most dogs are lactose intolerant, so they cannot handle the process of digesting milk. If your dog has an intolerance, you probably notice that they have diarrhea or vomit after they encounter it. They cannot process the lactose in these treats, so it is better to be careful than risk this miserable side effect.

You CAN Give Your Dog Small Amounts Of Apples And Bananas

Next time you slice up an apple or open a banana for yourself, let your dog try. The crunch offers a gratifying texture for dogs to bite through, but don’t give them the seed and the core. Since apples have plenty of vitamins A and C, alternating with the potassium and magnesium in bananas. Since both of these fruits have natural sugars, it should be a treat, rather than a daily food.

Do NOT Give Your Dog Raisins Or Grapes

One of the biggest foods to avoid for your dog is grapes. Along with raisins, cranberries, and currants, grapes cause kidney failure at a rapid pace. If you see your dog sneak one into their mouth, take it out as quickly as possible and contact your veterinarian. Even as few as a couple of these fruits is enough to do lasting (or lethal) damage.

You CAN Give Your Dog Cooked Pumpkin

Pumpkin is one of the only fruits that you can give your dog safely. It is low on the glycemic index, providing your dog with fiber and beta-carotene that support their coat. It doesn’t have many calories, making it a delicious addition to the diet of a overweight dog guilt-free.

Do NOT Give Your Dog Avocados

Along with the dangerous fat in these fruits, your dog might swallow the spherical pit in the middle of the avocado. Because of the fat content of the fruit’s flesh, the pit is easy to swallow accidentally if the dog eats too quickly. Once it gets stuck in the gastrointestinal tract, surgery might be a necessity.

You CAN Give Your Dog Cooked Spinach

Spinach is another excellent fiber source for your dog. It also contains vitamins A, K, and C, along with potassium. This is one of the few foods on the list that you can give to cats as well, but the cooking process makes the spinach soft enough that you don’t need to chop it up.

Do NOT Give Your Dog Corn On The Cob

Unlike the other foods to avoid on this list, corn on the cob doesn’t put your dog at risk of toxin exposure, and it doesn’t damage their kidneys. The big risk with corn is that the cob could get stuck in their intestines if they swallow it whole. To make matters worse, X-ray machines struggle to pick up the cob on their scans, so your dog would need a subsequent ultrasound to discover it at all. The only way to prevent this mistake from becoming a fatal one is with surgical intervention.

You CAN Give Your Dog Blueberries

Blueberries offer a high amount of antioxidants that other fruits can’t replicate without damage to the kidneys. Like any other safe fruit, only give your dog blueberries in moderation and watch for any signs of discomfort or nausea.

Additional Foods Your Dog Cannot Eat

Here are a few other foods never to give your dog: macadamia nuts, raw dough, peaches, plums, chocolate, alcohol, coffee, and salty foods. While bread is safe with moderation, choose whole wheat bread instead of white bread for better nutritional support.

Best And Worst Foods For Your Dog: A Summary