Warning: Toxic to Dogs!

  Aspartame found in sugarless gum has been linked to at least one dog death recently.

  Liquid Laundry Detergent gave one dog severe burns requiring sedation and treatment over several days. The dog chewed his way into the detergent which then spilled into his crate. He was found bleeding after being in the detergent for several hours.

  Cacao Bean Mulch, sold by many home improvement centres,  contains a lethal ingredient called "Theobromine". It smells like chocolate and is the ingredient that is used to make all chocolate -- especially dark or baker's chocolate -- which is toxic to dogs also. A dog that ingested a quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.

  Chocolate as mentioned above, the toxic ingredient in chocolate is Theobromine. The dark or semi sweet baker's chocolate is particularly dangerous for your dog. Keep all sweets and chocolate out of reach!  

  Raisins/Grapes are severely toxic. As few as 7 can cause vomiting, acute kidney failure, and death. Please don't feed these to your dog as a treat.

  Raw Fish Salmon Poisoning Disease is a potentially fatal condition seen in dogs that eat certain types of raw fish. Salmon and other fish that swim upstream to breed can be infected with a relatively harmless parasite called Nanophyetus salmincola. However, the parasite itself can be infected with an organism called Neorickettsia helminthoeca. It’s this microorganism that causes salmon poisoning. If untreated, death usually occurs within fourteen days of eating the infected fish. Ninety percent of dogs showing symptoms die if they are not treated.

“Salmon poisoning occurs most commonly west of the Cascade mountain range,” says  Dr. Bill Foreyt, a veterinary parasitologist at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He adds, “Canids (dogs) are the only species susceptible to salmon poisoning. That’s why cats, raccoons and bears eat raw fish regularly with out consequence.”
 

Symptoms of salmon poisoning occur within 6 days and include vomiting, lack of appetite, fever, diarrhea, weakness, swollen lymph nodes, and dehydration.

Dog Allergies

 People with allergies to dogs appear to fall into two categories. Either they are allergic to the hair or the dander/oils on the dog's skin. In spite of the fact that some dogs are promoted as being 'non-shedding' - ALL dogs shed to some extent. The non-shedding dogs simply keep the shed hair in their coats rather than dropping it all over the house. So regular brushing of the non-shedding dogs will get rid of this hair and greatly reduce or eliminate the suffering of the allergic owner. Dogs that have done well with allergy sufferers are long-haired, short-haired, and hairless! Here they are:

Afghan Hound
Bedlington Terrier
Bichon Frise
Black Russian Terrier
Chinese Crested Dog
Coton de Tulear
Doberman Pinscher
Havanese
Irish Water Spaniel
Kerry Blue Terrier
Komondor
Lowchen
Mexican Hairless
Poodle (3 sizes)
Portuguese Water Dog
Puli
Schnauzer (3 sizes)
Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier

Remember to spend some time at the breeders to test out your allergies before you commit to a particular dog.