Most kitchen scraps are harmless. A short list is not, and a couple of items on it are far more dangerous than their reputation suggests.
This is the list worth actually knowing, plus what to do in the first ten minutes.
The serious ones
Xylitol
The most underestimated item in any house. Xylitol is a sweetener found in sugar-free gum, some peanut butters, mints, some baked goods and some medicines. On labels it may appear as **birch sugar** or **E967**.
In dogs it triggers a rapid, severe insulin release, and blood sugar can crash within 15 to 30 minutes. Larger doses can cause liver failure.
It is dangerous in small quantities. A few pieces of sugar-free gum can be enough for a small dog.
This is an immediate emergency — do not wait for symptoms.
Grapes, raisins, sultanas and currants
Toxic to dogs in a way that is still not fully understood, and unpredictable: some dogs eat a handful with no consequence, others develop acute kidney failure from a very small amount.
Because there is no reliable safe dose, every ingestion is treated as an emergency. Remember that raisins hide in things: fruit cake, mince pies, hot cross buns, cereal bars, trail mix.
Chocolate
The problem is theobromine. Toxicity depends on how dark the chocolate is and how big the dog is.
**Dark and baking chocolate and cocoa powder** are the dangerous ones. Milk chocolate is much lower in theobromine; white chocolate is essentially irrelevant toxicologically, though the fat and sugar can still cause an upset stomach.
A Labrador who eats one milk chocolate button is fine. A terrier who eats a bar of 85% dark chocolate is not.
Onions, garlic, leeks, chives and shallots
All members of the allium family damage red blood cells, and the effect is cumulative rather than immediate — signs may take days to appear.
Cooked counts. Powdered counts, and is more concentrated. This means gravy, stock cubes, onion soup, curry and many takeaway leftovers are a problem, not just raw onion.
Macadamia nuts
Cause weakness, tremors, vomiting and an unsteady back end. Rarely fatal, but distressing and worth a call to the vet.
Alcohol and raw bread dough
Dogs are far more sensitive to alcohol than people. Raw dough is a double problem: it rises in the warm stomach, causing painful distension, and fermentation produces alcohol as it does.
Cooked bones
Cooked bones splinter. Splinters can perforate the gut. This applies to chicken, chops, ribs, everything — the Sunday roast carcass in the bin is a genuine hazard.
Corn on the cob
Not toxic, but close to the perfect shape and size to block a dog’s intestine. Obstructions usually require surgery. Corn cobs cause a surprising number of emergency operations every summer.
The ones people worry about unnecessarily
- **Cheese** — fine in small amounts for most dogs, and excellent as a training treat. Some dogs do not tolerate dairy well.
- **Peanut butter** — fine, provided it does not contain xylitol. Check every jar.
- **Plain cooked meat** — fine, without sauces, gravy or seasoning.
- **Carrots, cucumber, green beans, apple without pips** — fine, and useful for dogs who want volume.
- **Plain cooked rice or pasta** — fine occasionally.
What to do in the first ten minutes
- **Take away** whatever is left and secure it.
- **Work out how much**, roughly — and the concentration, if that is relevant.
- **Phone the vet**, even out of hours. This costs nothing and they will tell you whether to come in.
- **Keep the packaging.** The percentage of cocoa solids, or whether a peanut butter contained xylitol, changes the entire response.
- **Do not induce vomiting** unless a vet instructs you.
- **Note the time.** Treatment options narrow as time passes.
The single best preventive measure
A bin with a lid your dog cannot open, and a habit of not leaving food on low surfaces. Most poisoning cases are not exotic — they are a dog who got into a bag of shopping, a handbag containing sugar-free gum, or the kitchen bin.
The honest summary
Learn four names properly: xylitol, grapes and raisins, dark chocolate, alliums. Treat cooked bones and corn cobs as obstruction risks rather than poisons.
When in doubt, phone. Vets would far rather answer a call about a dog who turns out to be fine.
