Can my dog eat this? Check the food before you share it

The quick answer: check first, share second

Dogs are great at looking like they deserve a bite of your dinner. Most plain, simple human foods are fine as a tiny treat, but a handful are genuinely dangerous, and a few of them hide in everyday things like hot cross buns, sugar-free peanut butter and the stuff in the kitchen bin. The checker below sorts common foods into three groups so you can decide in a few seconds.

What the three groups mean

Call the vet foods can poison a dog, sometimes in small amounts, and signs can be delayed by hours or days. If your dog has eaten one, phone your vet straight away. Don't wait for symptoms to show up. Best skipped foods aren't necessarily poisonous, but they can cause blockages, stomach upsets or a painful inflamed pancreas, so there's no good reason to hand them over. Small treat foods are usually fine when they are plain, cut small and a small part of the day's food.

The sneaky ones to know by heart

Grapes, raisins, sultanas and currants can cause kidney failure, and the amount that harms a dog is unpredictable. That includes hot cross buns, fruit cake and mince pies. Chocolate contains theobromine, and darker chocolate has more of it. White chocolate has little, but it's fatty and can still make a dog ill. Onions, garlic, leeks, shallots and chives damage red blood cells, and cooked dishes count too, so the leftovers from a stew or a curry are not a safe bonus.

Xylitol is the one people miss. It's a sweetener in some sugar-free gum, sweets, baking products and a few peanut butters. It can make a dog's blood sugar drop fast and, in larger amounts, harm the liver. Always read the label of anything sugar-free before it goes near your dog. Raw bread dough is a double trouble: it expands in the stomach and the yeast makes alcohol.

If your dog eats something on the "call the vet" list, ring your vet straight away, even if they seem fine. Don't try to make them sick yourself.

What to do if your dog has already eaten it

Stay calm and move the rest of the food out of reach. Phone your vet or an emergency vet clinic and tell them what was eaten (the product name or ingredients help), roughly how much, and when. Take the packaging with you if you're asked to come in. The vet decides what happens next. Please don't try to make your dog vomit at home, because that can cause other problems. This guide can't tell you whether a particular amount is safe, and neither can a quiz. Only a vet can.

Safer ways to share the love

• Use their own food. Pick a few kibbles from the daily meal and use them as rewards. They are an easy, safe reward.
• Keep treats small. Vets generally advise that treats make up only a small part of what a dog eats in a day, so tiny pieces go further.
• Go plain. No salt, sauces, seasoning, onion or garlic, and no bones or skin.
• Be extra careful with ill dogs. A dog with a health condition, or one on a prescription diet, should get only what the vet has approved.
• Bin lids and counters. Many accidents are dogs helping themselves. A bin with a closing lid and a cleared counter prevent most of them.

What to look for in a good habit

A simple routine beats a long list: check the food in the checker or ask your vet, give a tiny plain piece if it's on the treat list, and keep everything else out of reach. Teaching a solid "leave it" helps too, and it's rewarded with something your dog loves, so it's friendly for both of you.

Sources

• Royal Kennel Club: poisonous food
• Blue Cross: common poisons
• ASPCA: people foods to avoid feeding your pets

Welfare groups don't always agree on every borderline food, so when sources differ we go with the more careful advice.