There’s no denying that dogs love people food as much as we do. Can we blame them? Our food is delicious. However, there is a list of foods that dogs can’t have and shouldn’t have for health reasons, mostly because they’re toxic to our pets. This list includes some well-known ones such as chocolate, onions, macadamias, bones, corn on the cob, milk, blue cheese, and anything containing booze or caffeine.
Of course, there is the question about the water-based veggies like cucumber and tomato – are they okay for our dogs to eat? Or are they toxic? Well, the answer is a bit complicated and not as straightforward as “yes” or “no”.
Cucumbers
Cucumbers – when they’re raw and not in their pickled form – are perfectly safe for dogs. They’re healthy, low in sodium, and low in calories too. But they should be chopped up into small, manageable chunks to avoid your dog choking on them. But at the same time, you should be careful not to feed them too much cucumber at once, as too much can increase your pet’s risk of gastrointestinal (GI) upset. So, keep it as a rare snack or treat for your pet.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes, on the other hand, are not as great for pets since they do contain solanine, which is harmful to dogs. Generally speaking, ripe tomatoes have less solanine as compared to green tomatoes, or the green parts like the stems or leaves, so ripe tomatoes are okay as an occasional treat. However, if you have a tomato plant in your garden, you should take precautions to keep your dog away from them, as they could risk solanine poisoning. The symptoms of tomatine poisoning to look out for in dogs include a change in a heartbeat, loss of coordination, muscle weakness, tremors, seizures, and gastrointestinal upset. While these cases can be rare, don’t risk it and keep tomatoes out of reach of pets.
