Toxic foods for dogs: the list, from most dangerous to safe
Published by Planète Pets · managing editor: Clément Lacaille · how our guides are written
If your dog has just swallowed something from the “dangerous” part of the table below, note the time, what it ate (keep the packaging) and how much is missing, then call your vet or an animal poison helpline straight away — in the US the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, (888) 426-4435 (a consultation fee may apply), in the UK Animal PoisonLine, 01202 509 000, in France the CNITV in Lyon, 04 78 87 10 40. Do not try to make your dog vomit yourself, with salt or with hydrogen peroxide: that is the vet’s call. Many ingestions end well when the call is quick, and for several foods severity depends directly on the dog’s weight and the amount eaten: those are the first two figures you will be asked for.
Contents · 5 sections
Why foods that are fine for us are toxic to dogs
Dogs do not process everything the way we do. They clear the theobromine in chocolate slowly, they release a surge of insulin in response to xylitol, their red blood cells cope poorly with the sulfur compounds in onion and garlic, and their kidneys struggle to excrete some organic acids such as tartaric acid, now the leading explanation for grape toxicity. A review by Cortinovis and Caloni published in 2016 in Frontiers in Veterinary Science lists the food poisonings reported in dogs and cats: chocolate, Allium plants (onion, garlic, leek, chives), macadamia nuts, grapes and raisins, xylitol-sweetened products, alcoholic drinks and unbaked bread dough (see the study). The authors note that these accidents stem mostly from owners not knowing the risk.
This is not a theoretical risk: a study by Markert and colleagues published in 2024 in Tierärztliche Praxis reviewed 634 dogs seen for poisoning over five years at the emergency service of a German referral centre. Food leftovers were the leading identified cause (18% of cases), ahead of rodenticides (10%) and mycotoxins from mouldy food (8%); 97% of the dogs survived (see the study).
The table: dangerous, limit, safe
Thresholds and timings come from the Merck Veterinary Manual, the vets’ reference, unless stated otherwise. A threshold given “per kilo” is multiplied by the dog’s weight (1 kg = 2.2 lb).
| Food | What causes harm | Severity and timing | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dangerous: call as soon as it is eaten | |||
| “Sugar-free” gum, sweets, toothpaste, peanut butter with xylitol | Xylitol: insulin surge | Low blood sugar above about 0.1 g per kilo, possible liver damage above 0.5 g/kg; signs from 30 minutes | Call at once, even if your dog seems fine |
| Grapes, raisins, sultanas, currants, tamarind | Tartaric acid (leading hypothesis) | Kidneys; vomiting within 6 to 12 h, kidney failure within 24 to 72 h; more than one grape per 4.5 kg (10 lb) may be enough | Call at once, whatever the amount |
| Dark chocolate, cocoa, baking chocolate | Theobromine, caffeine | Depends on weight and cocoa content; signs within 6 to 12 h | Call; gauge the risk with our chocolate table by body weight |
| Onion, garlic, leek, chives (raw, cooked, powdered, dried soup mixes) | Oxidising sulfur compounds: anaemia | Signs 3 to 5 days later; raw onion from 15 to 30 g/kg, garlic 3 to 5 times more toxic; concentrated forms carry the most risk | Call, without waiting for signs |
| Raw bread or pizza dough (yeast) | Fermentation: swollen stomach, ethanol | Within hours; bloated belly, drunken gait | Call at once |
| Mouldy food (bread, walnuts, leftovers, compost) | Tremorgenic mycotoxins | Tremors, seizures within hours | Call at once |
| Alcohol, boozy desserts | Ethanol | Wobbliness, drowsiness, low blood sugar | Call at once |
| Macadamia nuts | Unknown mechanism | Weakness, tremors, fever from 2.4 g/kg, within 12 h; usually resolves in 12 to 48 h | Call for advice |
| Limit or avoid | |||
| Fatty leftovers, poultry skin, cured meats | Fat | Digestive upset, risk of pancreatitis | Not as extras; see the vet if vomiting repeats |
| Avocado | Persin; the stone | Dogs seem fairly resistant, but the stone can block the gut | Never the stone; call if it was swallowed |
| Cheese, milk | Lactose, fat | Diarrhoea in some dogs | Tiny amounts, as a treat |
| Plain baked bread | Calories | Not toxic, no nutritional benefit | Occasionally, a small piece |
| Safe (plain, unseasoned, in small amounts) | |||
| Carrot, cucumber, green beans, courgette, cooked pumpkin | — | No known toxicity | Count it in the daily ration |
| Apple without core or pips, banana, blueberries | — | No known toxicity; sugars | In pieces, now and then |
| Rice, pasta, plain cooked meat or fish | — | No known toxicity | No bones, no onion or garlic in the cooking |
The most dangerous, ranked honestly
“The deadliest food for dogs” has no single answer: it depends on the amount and the dog’s weight. Our ranking combines two documented criteria, how small an amount can cause harm and how serious the damage is:
- Xylitol: less than a gram can be enough for a 5 kg (11 lb) dog, low blood sugar can set in within an hour and the liver can fail in the following days.
- Grapes and raisins: their toxicity is unpredictable from one dog and one fruit to another, and the kidney damage is serious. In the study by Eubig and colleagues published in 2005 in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, of 43 dogs that developed kidney failure after eating grapes or raisins, only 53% survived (see the study).
- Dark chocolate and cocoa: the most common poisoning, dangerous above all for small dogs and with high-cocoa products.
- Concentrated Allium (garlic powder, dried onion soup): the anaemia shows up days later, when nobody connects the dots any more.
- Raw dough and mouldy food: less well known, they cause fast and dramatic signs.
Macadamia nuts cause a lot of worry but usually lead to a short-lived episode, according to the Merck Veterinary Manual.
Everyday prevention
- Tidy away handbags, coat pockets and coffee tables: gum, raisins and chocolate bars often end up there.
- Read “sugar-free” labels: xylitol may also be listed as E967 or birch sugar.
- Use a lidded bin, a closed compost and keep leftovers out of the bowl: our dog food page gathers our guidance, and the traps of the early months are covered in puppy feeding mistakes.
- For rewards, keep training treats designed for dogs, or vegetables from the last part of the table.
Frequently asked questions
Which vegetables should dogs never eat?
Onion, garlic, leek, shallot and chives, in every form, including cooked into a sauce or powdered. Watch out for ready meals and stocks, which often contain them. Most other vegetables, raw or cooked and plain, are well tolerated in small amounts.
Which fruits and vegetables can I give my dog?
Carrot, cucumber, green beans, courgette, cooked pumpkin, apple without the core, banana and blueberries, plain and cut small. They remain extras: count them in the daily ration so your dog does not gain weight. Grapes and raisins are the big exception.
My dog ate something on the list but seems fine. Should I call?
Yes. For grapes, xylitol, onion or chocolate, signs appear hours to days later, while treatment is simplest right after ingestion. The call lets the vet work out the risk from the weight and the amount.
Can a small amount be enough?
For some foods, yes: xylitol and grapes can cause problems at low doses, especially in a small dog. For others, such as onion or macadamia nuts, it takes a larger amount relative to body weight. When in doubt, call rather than wait.
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This guide is part of Planète Pets’s Dogs universe. Our advice is general in nature: for any health concern, your veterinarian remains the only reference.
