Foods dogs can and cannot eat
Some human foods are fine. A few are emergencies. Knowing which is which is worth five minutes.
Never, under any circumstances
- Xylitol (birch sugar) — in sugar-free gum, peanut butter, some baked goods. Causes a catastrophic blood sugar crash and liver failure. Tiny amounts are dangerous.
- Chocolate — dark and baking chocolate are worst. Causes tremors, racing heart, seizures.
- Grapes, raisins, sultanas, currants — can cause kidney failure. No safe dose is known; some dogs react to a single grape.
- Onion, garlic, leek, chive — damage red blood cells. Cooked counts, and so does gravy and stock.
- Macadamia nuts — weakness, tremors, vomiting.
- Alcohol and raw dough — dough ferments in the stomach, producing alcohol and expanding painfully.
Fine in moderation
Plain cooked chicken or turkey without bones or seasoning. Carrot, green beans, cucumber, courgette. Plain pumpkin. Apple and banana without pips or skin overload. Blueberries. Plain rice. Plain unsweetened yoghurt for most dogs, though some are lactose intolerant.
"In moderation" is doing real work in that sentence: extras should stay within about 10% of daily calories, or you are quietly running a weight problem.
Grey areas worth avoiding anyway
Cooked bones splinter and should never be given. Fatty trimmings can trigger pancreatitis, which is painful and expensive. Corn on the cob causes intestinal blockages — the cob, not the corn. Avocado stones are a choking and obstruction risk. Salty or heavily seasoned leftovers are best skipped entirely.
If your dog eats something toxic
Call your vet or an animal poison line immediately — do not wait for symptoms, and do not try to make your dog vomit unless a vet tells you to. Bring the packaging if you have it, and be ready to say roughly how much and when. With xylitol and grapes in particular, speed matters enormously.
How much is actually dangerous?
"Toxic" is not a yes-or-no property — it depends on the substance, the amount, and your dog's weight. A Labrador and a Chihuahua eating the same biscuit are in very different situations. These are the rough thresholds vets work with, but none of them is a reason to wait and see.
| Substance | Roughly when it becomes serious |
|---|---|
| Milk chocolate | Signs often begin around 20g per kg of bodyweight — about 200g for a 10kg dog |
| Dark / baking chocolate | Far less; a single 100g bar can affect a small dog |
| Xylitol | Very small amounts. A few pieces of sugar-free gum can be enough |
| Grapes / raisins | No established safe dose. Raisins are more concentrated than grapes |
| Onion / garlic | Cumulative — repeated small amounts in leftovers add up over days |
| Macadamia nuts | Signs can appear from small quantities; usually resolves within 48 hours |
Note the word cumulative in the onion row. Owners often assume a poisoning event is a single incident, but allium toxicity builds over repeated exposure — which is why a dog given gravy or leftover casserole regularly can become anaemic without any obvious moment of poisoning.
The full safe list, and how to serve it
| Food | Notes |
|---|---|
| Chicken, turkey | Cooked, plain, no bones, no skin or seasoning |
| White fish, salmon | Cooked and deboned. Never raw salmon in some regions |
| Carrot | Raw as a chew or cooked. Excellent low-calorie treat |
| Green beans, courgette, cucumber | Plain. Useful for dogs on a diet |
| Pumpkin, butternut squash | Plain cooked, not pie filling. Helps mild digestive upset |
| Apple, pear | Core and pips removed — pips contain trace cyanide compounds |
| Blueberries, strawberries | Whole. Good training treats |
| Banana | Small amounts; high in sugar |
| Plain rice, plain pasta | Cooked. Bland-diet staple |
| Plain yoghurt | Unsweetened, no xylitol. Some dogs are lactose intolerant |
| Peanut butter | Check the label for xylitol every single time |
Seasonal hazards people forget
Christmas. Mince pies, Christmas pudding and stollen all contain raisins or currants. Chocolate decorations sit at nose height on trees. Turkey bones in an accessible bin cause a predictable spike in emergency admissions.
Easter. Chocolate volume in the house rises sharply, and hidden eggs are found by dogs before children.
Barbecues. Corn cobs, skewers, fatty trimmings and onion-heavy salads all in one place, at dog height, with distracted supervision.
Autumn. Conkers and acorns are toxic and cause obstructions. Fallen crab apples ferment.
What to tell the vet
Being able to answer these four questions quickly changes how fast treatment can start:
- What — brand and product name if possible, or the packaging itself
- How much — err on the side of the largest plausible amount
- When — within two hours often allows decontamination that is no longer possible later
- Your dog's weight — every dose calculation depends on it
Take the packaging with you. Ingredient lists matter, particularly for identifying xylitol, which appears under several names including birch sugar and E967.
Get an accurate daily portion
Enter weight, life stage and your food's calorie content to see grams per day and per meal.
Open the food calculator →If something has already been eaten, the first few minutes matter. Know what to do and what not to do before you need it. Pet first aid essentials →
Common questions
Is chocolate really dangerous for dogs?
Yes. It contains theobromine, which dogs metabolise slowly. Dark and baking chocolate carry the most, milk chocolate less, but the dose that matters depends on your dog's weight. Contact a vet with the type and amount rather than waiting for symptoms.
How many grapes are dangerous?
There is no established safe amount. Some dogs eat grapes with no effect and others develop kidney failure from very few, so any ingestion should be treated as urgent.
Can dogs eat peanut butter?
Plain peanut butter is fine for most dogs, but check the label for xylitol, sometimes listed as birch sugar. Xylitol-sweetened peanut butter is a genuine emergency for dogs.
How much chocolate is too much for a dog?
It depends on the type and your dog's weight. Milk chocolate often causes signs from around 20g per kilogram of bodyweight, while dark and baking chocolate are dangerous at far smaller amounts. Contact a vet with the type, amount and your dog's weight rather than waiting.
Is peanut butter safe for dogs?
Plain peanut butter is fine for most dogs, but some brands are sweetened with xylitol, which is highly toxic. Check the ingredients every time — it can also be listed as birch sugar or E967.
Can dogs eat cheese?
Small amounts of plain cheese are safe for most dogs and useful as a high-value training treat, but it is calorie-dense and some dogs are lactose intolerant. Avoid blue cheeses, which contain a substance that can cause tremors.