# Many human foods are poisonous to dogs but are any dog foods poisonous to humans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 14, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772 "2014-06-14T14:22:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/21 "2014-06-14T21:13:35Z")
Our dogs & cats occasionally get into each others food. They also get plenty of their designed for critter food. Dawg loves pizza crusts, some with a few little pieces of cooked onion. Our dog, 110 pounds of crossed St Barnard & Pyrenees, 3 years old. loves people food, ice cream, some canned cat food he will sneak & some canned major brand dog food you could not get him to eat until starvation sets in. How much cat food would he have to eat for it to be lethal, what kind or with a lot of what in it? By it self with no other dog food? With his normal dog food? I am allergic to some foods that he eats just fine. Other people do also. How important is the difference between a 10 pound dog and a 110 pound dog? People poision does not need to vary very much to kill a 100 pound person or a 400 pound person. Are animals more effected or affected by body size than people? What about breed and what it has always been fed? ( Arctic sled dog vs Florida 7 pound bra baby Shih Tzu? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/22 "2014-06-14T21:39:18Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > How much cat food would he have to eat for it to be lethal, what kind or with a lot of what in it? By it self with no other dog food? With his normal dog food? The joke is that the dog will be attacked by the cat and suffer from it, not that the food will directly affect him. Cat food does tend to have more fat and protein than what dogs need, so if that is a significant part of the diet, the dog may be getting more fat and protein than what it needs. > [@](#): > > How important is the difference between a 10 pound dog and a 110 pound dog? People poision does not need to vary very much to kill a 100 pound person or a 400 pound person. It varies. [Check here for example, to compare various chocolate toxicity levels.](http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/10/pets/chocolate-chart-interactive) In general, yes, size is important. There are some compounds that are sufficiently toxic that small amounts are still dangerous for bigger dogs. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/23 "2014-06-14T21:55:06Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > No, it was real. It was also the case with correctly labelled taurine-less cat food before they realized the cats needed taurine. But the recorded cases come from both sources of taurine-less diets. I can’t find the link, but I read several years ago about a cat hoarder woman who had been feeding dry dog food to a ll her cats because it was cheaper. By the time she was busted, many of her cats were blind, dead or dying of heart disease. (Mouse meat, any sort of heart meat and clams are all very high in taurine.) I have three dogs. A few years ago one of them ate a pound of Mackinac Island fudge. I had my suspicions, but didn’t know for sure which one was the culprit and my vet advised to administer hydrogen peroxide to make them puke. I keep hydrogen peroxide in my dog & cat medicine chest just in case, so I did. I felt awful - all three dogs were outside heaving up their stomach contents and were very miserable. I had suspected the Lab, but the Rottweiler ejected the wrapper. I was most worried about my 25 lb dog because of her size. In addition to being (mostly) carnivores, dogs are obligate scavengers and seem to be able to handle all sorts of nasty stuff like goose and cat poop, maggotty deer meat and raw bones. I don’t imagine most people would fare well after eating any of the aforementioned, but I’ve never had a dog affected by any of that. Not that I encourage or actually allow them to eat maggotty meat or poop of any kind. Dogs have a much shorter and more acidic digestive tract than humans, so they can handle foods that would make most people sick. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/24 "2014-06-14T23:10:43Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > What are these “many” human foods that are poisonous to dogs? Grapes and raisins are poisonous (potentially lethal) to dogs. Which doesn’t amount to “many” but worth mentioning in case people are not aware. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/25 "2014-06-14T23:43:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Dogs and humans alike can eat rotten stuff. In both cases, sometimes it works out OK, and sometimes the one doing the eating gets sick from it. That is true, but dogs tend to deal with rotten stuff and shit a lot better than humans do. It is not just a matter of their system being more used to it, either. A dog’s stomach juices are a good deal more acidic than a human’s, and will kill pathogens and dissolve stuff a lot more effectively than a human stomach can. ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/26 "2014-06-15T00:05:13Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > Grapes and raisins are poisonous (potentially lethal) to dogs. Which doesn’t amount to “many” but worth mentioning in case people are not aware. I know a dog who eats grapes straight off the vine, by the pound. And she is fine. Only a very few dogs are sensitive to grapes/raisins, and no one knows why. No specific mechanism for a grape killing a dog has yet to be described, and they cannot seem to get any laboratory dogs to die, no matter how many raisins they are fed. Yet many veterinarians have posters up warning people to rush their dog in should he gobble a single oatmeal raisin cookie… ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/27 "2014-06-15T00:35:58Z")
So anyone know if there are any dog foods that are poisonous to humans? \>\_\> ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/28 "2014-06-15T00:59:50Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > You can get your cats to eat dog food, or is that just a hypothetical case? Mine all turned up their noses at dog food like it was poisonous AND were insulted that I thought they might eat it. That sounds more like the attitude I would expect from a cat… but I have friends that feed their cat dry dog food with no problem. I’ll be passing on the warning. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/29 "2014-06-15T01:15:47Z")
I had a dog who stole a large amount of milk chocolate from the kitchen countertop. We called the vet, but it had been over an hour, probably, since ingestion (we were out) and the dog weighed over 80lbs. The vet said just to keep an eye on her and make sure she had plenty of water available. He thought the dog : chocolate ratio wasn’t lethal, and if it had been, it would have acted fast. She was fine, but she did run around like she’d done a line of coke for about an hour. So we learned that we don’t need to panic if the dog eats a single chocolate chip, but that we need to keep the chocolate in a sealed container, in a cabinet. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/30 "2014-06-15T02:26:56Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > How well do dogs metabolize alcohol? I’ve seen a dog put away quite a few crème de menthes at a Christmas party and still be able to drive. [They don’t drive that well](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2245771/New-Zealand-dogs-pass-driving-test-really-CAN-drive-car.html) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/31 "2014-06-15T03:11:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > A dog, given the opportunity, will eat five pounds of chocolate at one sitting, while a human with twice the mass wouldn’t eat ten pounds at once. Hey. speak for yourself. You clearly haven’t met me after I’ve had a bad day at work. ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/32 "2014-06-15T03:24:39Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > So anyone know if there are any dog foods that are poisonous to humans? \>\_\> The consensus says shit and road kill. ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/33 "2014-06-15T03:36:13Z")
…though if it is true their stomachs are more acidic, I would imagine they are more resistant than humans to quite a few toxins. Perhaps this why they can eat a whole box of slug bait and live. ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/34 "2014-06-15T03:38:06Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/35 "2014-06-15T03:42:06Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > The joke is that the dog will be attacked by the cat and suffer from it, not that the food will directly affect him. Cat food does tend to have more fat and protein than what dogs need, so if that is a significant part of the diet, the dog may be getting more fat and protein than what it needs. > > It varies. [Check here for example, to compare various chocolate toxicity levels.](http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/10/pets/chocolate-chart-interactive) In general, yes, size is important. There are some compounds that are sufficiently toxic that small amounts are still dangerous for bigger dogs. Thanks for the info Karl, good to see - hear you again. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/36 "2014-06-15T03:43:03Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I can’t find the link, but I read several years ago about a cat hoarder woman who had been feeding dry dog food to a ll her cats because it was cheaper. By the time she was busted, many of her cats were blind, dead or dying of heart disease… How were their pinball skills? ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/37 "2014-06-15T06:45:25Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > With chocolate (and caffeine), it’s not only that, pound for pound, a dog is more likely to overeat than a human, that is a minor point, but the fact that dogs (and cats) use a slightly different pathway to clear the offending family of substances (theobromines). Are those the same theobromines that are a BIG no-no for people taking MAOI’s (monoamine oxidase inhibitors)? > [@YogSosoth](#): > > So anyone know if there are any dog foods that are poisonous to humans? \>\_\> Cat (and, for some dogs, their own) poop comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772/38 "2014-06-16T01:15:02Z")
> [@dstarfire](#): > > Cat (and, for some dogs, their own) poop comes to mind. I don’t think poop is actually poisonous for humans to eat\*, just blurgh. \*PubMed does not list any double-blind controlled studies on this subject. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-human-foods-are-poisonous-to-dogs-but-are-any-dog-foods-poisonous-to-humans/690772.md?page=1)