Note that a dog would need to eat a surprisingly large amount of onions, garlic, or chocolate in order to get sick. According to the AKC:
Onion powder is in a surprisingly wide range of foods, from soups to baby food. It only takes 100 grams of onion (about the size of a medium onion) per 20 kilograms of a dog’s weight to cause toxic effects, which means that a 45-pound dog would only have to eat one medium-to-large onion to experience dangerous toxicity levels. Since most dogs would happily devour a bag of unattended onion rings or an onion casserole given the opportunity, this is a serious concern.
Scientific studies have found it takes approximately 15 to 30 grams of garlic per kilogram of body weight to produce harmful changes in a dog’s blood. To put that into perspective, the average clove of supermarket garlic weighs between 3 and 7 grams, so your dog would have to eat a lot to get really sick. However, some dogs are more sensitive to garlic toxicity than others, and consumption of a toxic dose spread out over a few days could also cause problems.
In simpler terms, that means a very concerning dose of chocolate is approximately one ounce of milk chocolate per pound of body weight. Since an average milk chocolate bar may be around 1.55 ounces, consuming even one chocolate bar can have serious consequences, especially for small dogs. Eating a crumb of chocolate cake or a very small piece of a chocolate bar, on the other hand, probably won’t kill your dog, especially if it is a larger breed.
One time my dog ate some chocolate and I was worried until I calculated that a dog his size (and he wasn’t a big dog) would have to eat an entire full-sized bar of dark chocolate before experiencing any symptoms at all. It’s probably best not to give dogs food containing small amounts of onions, garlic, or chocolate just in case, but there’s no need to worry if a dog eats human food containing small amounts of these ingredients.
Well, a few months ago, before I learned of the onion and garlic sensitivity thing, a friend of ours fed our dog a few bites of some awesome home cooked meat with garlic and onions in it.
It wasn’t a whole lot, just a few bites really, and our dog weighs right around 20 pounds. Anyways, after he had some time to digest it, around noon the next day he had an all out seizure for around 30 seconds, and then spent the next few hours shivering and obviously a bit scared and confused.
Luckily it wasn’t worse, and thankfully he hasn’t had any other seizures since. That was when I went ahead and looked up that much more complete list of foods dogs shouldn’t eat, to prevent any future episodes or worse…
Note that a dog would need to eat a surprisingly large amount of onions, garlic, or chocolate in order to get sick.
which means that a 45-pound dog would only have to eat one medium-to-large onion to experience dangerous toxicity levels. Since most dogs would happily devour a bag of unattended onion rings or an onion casserole given the opportunity, this is a serious concern.
However, some dogs are more sensitive to garlic toxicity than others, and consumption of a toxic dose spread out over a few days could also cause problems.
consuming even one chocolate bar can have serious consequences, especially for small dogs.
I think “an entire large onion” or “one chocolate bar” are surprisingly large amounts, because my default assumption when something is called poisonous is that any amount is dangerous.
An onion or a chocolate bar is not that much, unless your dog is tiny. And no, the dose makes the poison, that’s the basic principle of toxicology. Anything can kill you, you can die from even drinking too much water too quickly.
My point is that if you give your dog some of your human food and there turns out to be a little bit of garlic in it, your dog is in no danger. Many people don’t know that. I’m not challenging basic principles of toxicology or claiming that a dog can’t possibly eat enough of these foods to be poisoned. If your small dog eats a chocolate bar or a whole bag of onion rings, you should probably do something about that.
Also, the following isn’t a reply to what you said but I just remembered it and I thought it might be useful information for some dog owners. Swallowing even a little bit of dilute hydrogen peroxide from the pharmacy will quickly make a dog vomit. It took less than a teaspoon for my 30-pound dog. I would start with a teaspoon and then he spilled a lot while I was trying to make him swallow it. I had to resort to this several times when he ate something dangerous.
IMO this is generally safe (but do your own reading and take your own dog’s specific issues into account) and even if it’s not ideal, it’s something useful for those dog owners who would have difficulty spending hundreds of dollars on surprise vet bills. Some vets will tell you not to do it, but in my experience, many vets will recommend way too much medical treatment for dogs, often to the point that it is a waste of money and sometimes even to the point that it harms the dog.
Note that a dog would need to eat a surprisingly large amount of onions, garlic, or chocolate in order to get sick. According to the AKC:
One time my dog ate some chocolate and I was worried until I calculated that a dog his size (and he wasn’t a big dog) would have to eat an entire full-sized bar of dark chocolate before experiencing any symptoms at all. It’s probably best not to give dogs food containing small amounts of onions, garlic, or chocolate just in case, but there’s no need to worry if a dog eats human food containing small amounts of these ingredients.
Well, a few months ago, before I learned of the onion and garlic sensitivity thing, a friend of ours fed our dog a few bites of some awesome home cooked meat with garlic and onions in it.
It wasn’t a whole lot, just a few bites really, and our dog weighs right around 20 pounds. Anyways, after he had some time to digest it, around noon the next day he had an all out seizure for around 30 seconds, and then spent the next few hours shivering and obviously a bit scared and confused.
Luckily it wasn’t worse, and thankfully he hasn’t had any other seizures since. That was when I went ahead and looked up that much more complete list of foods dogs shouldn’t eat, to prevent any future episodes or worse…
Your statement contradicts your quotes.
So, no surprisingly large amounts at all here.
I think “an entire large onion” or “one chocolate bar” are surprisingly large amounts, because my default assumption when something is called poisonous is that any amount is dangerous.
An onion or a chocolate bar is not that much, unless your dog is tiny. And no, the dose makes the poison, that’s the basic principle of toxicology. Anything can kill you, you can die from even drinking too much water too quickly.
My point is that if you give your dog some of your human food and there turns out to be a little bit of garlic in it, your dog is in no danger. Many people don’t know that. I’m not challenging basic principles of toxicology or claiming that a dog can’t possibly eat enough of these foods to be poisoned. If your small dog eats a chocolate bar or a whole bag of onion rings, you should probably do something about that.
Also, the following isn’t a reply to what you said but I just remembered it and I thought it might be useful information for some dog owners. Swallowing even a little bit of dilute hydrogen peroxide from the pharmacy will quickly make a dog vomit. It took less than a teaspoon for my 30-pound dog. I would start with a teaspoon and then he spilled a lot while I was trying to make him swallow it. I had to resort to this several times when he ate something dangerous.
IMO this is generally safe (but do your own reading and take your own dog’s specific issues into account) and even if it’s not ideal, it’s something useful for those dog owners who would have difficulty spending hundreds of dollars on surprise vet bills. Some vets will tell you not to do it, but in my experience, many vets will recommend way too much medical treatment for dogs, often to the point that it is a waste of money and sometimes even to the point that it harms the dog.