Brought to you by Pet Poison Helpline & AKC Reunite

When you spend more time outdoors grilling and barbecuing over the summer months, many favorite foods are not pet-friendly. Keep these foods on the table and away from your pet!

SUMMER FRUITS

Keep cherries, apricots, grapes, and tomatoes away for your pets! Cherries and apricots contain cyanide and can lead to poisoning in dogs while grapes/raisins can lead to acute kidney failure in dogs. Typically, tomatoes are safe when ripe but the green parts of the plant contain a toxic substance called solanine, so it’s best to avoid tomatoes altogether!

If you’re looking for a safe fruit as an occasional sweet treat to share with your pet there are several! Seedless watermelon (without the rind), peeled bananas, and cucumbers are all good options, just remember only share in small quantities!

RICH SAVORY MEATS

Barbeques on the grill may be a summer feast for you, but for your pet they can be dangerous — especially when the meat isn’t boneless or trimmed of excess fat! Keep bacon, ham, fat-trimmings, and bone-in meats like ribs and chicken wings out of your pet’s reach!

AVOCADOS

The pit, skin, and leaves of avocados contain persin — a fungicide that can cause vomiting and diarrhea in dogs, and more serious signs in other animals due to a wide range in sensitivity across species. The fleshy inside of this fruit doesn’t have as much persin, but to be safe — keep avocados away from pets.

ICE CREAM

In small doses, ice cream isn’t harmful, but certain flavors are loaded with too much sugar for pets. And with many sugar-free ice creams containing Xylitol (aka Birch Sugar), it’s best to avoid this frozen treat all together.

CORN-ON-THE-COB

While corn itself can be shared with your pet and contains several vitamins and minerals, make sure it’s not on the cob!

Your pet could choke on it, and if ingested, the cob can cause a serious intestinal blockage along with dehydration, lethargy, reduced activity, repeated vomiting, loss of appetite, and diarrhea.

MOLDY FOODS

It’s no surprise that food that’s expired can be toxic to your pet, but if it is moldy it could also impact your pet’s nervous system. Moldy toxins may be found in old bread, pasta, cheese, nuts, fruit, vegetables or other decaying matter — like compost. If ingested, symptoms may include vomiting, agitation, incoordination, tremors, seizures, and elevated body temperature.

FOOD SCRAPS AND LEFTOVERS

If you’re heading to a public place or park, be even more mindful of the unknowns that may be within your pet’s reach! Between leftover food scraps with unknown ingredients, garbage, and even poorly-discarded tobacco and marijuana products, your pet could ingest a variety of items that can put them in danger! Steer your pet clear of other’s trash and left-behind products so your pet isn’t tempted.

PPH Offer

Pet Poison Helpline is a 24/7 animal poison control service available for pet owners and veterinary professionals who require assistance with treating a potentially poisoned pet. Pet Poison Helpline has the ability to help every poisoned pet, with all types of poisonings. Normally $85 per incident, with AKC Reunite you can plan ahead and subscribe your pet to this life-saving service for only $15 for the lifetime of your pet.

Should your pet ingest something potentially poisonous, contact AKC Reunite at 800-252-7894 and we will verify your membership and connect you to a toxicology expert to help you and your pet FAST.