No. Grapes, raisins, currants and sultanas can cause sudden kidney failure in dogs, and there is no known safe amount: some dogs are affected by only a few. If your dog eats any, call your vet straight away, even if they seem fine.

What should I do if my dog ate chocolate?

Call your vet or a pet poison helpline now, and tell them the type of chocolate, roughly how much, when, and your dog’s weight. Dark and baking chocolate are the most dangerous. Signs can take hours to appear, so don’t wait for them.

Is xylitol really that dangerous for dogs?

Yes. Xylitol, found in sugar-free gum, sweets, some peanut butters and toothpaste, can cause a severe drop in blood sugar within 30 minutes to a couple of hours and can damage the liver. Treat it as an emergency.

Can dogs eat onions or garlic?

No. Onions, garlic, leeks, chives and shallots, raw, cooked or powdered, damage red blood cells and can cause anaemia. Signs may not show for a day or more. Ask your vet if your dog has eaten any, especially a large amount or food cooked with them.

Should I make my dog vomit if they ate something toxic?

Not at home, unless a vet tells you to. Making a dog sick is not safe for every poison, and home methods can cause harm of their own. Call your vet or a poison helpline first; if needed, the vet can do it safely.

Is peanut butter safe for dogs?

Plain peanut butter without xylitol is generally fine in small amounts, though it is high in calories. Always check the label for xylitol, sometimes listed as birch sugar.

Foods Toxic to Dogs: The Full List and What to Do

The most dangerous foods for dogs are xylitol (in sugar-free gum and sweets), grapes and raisins, chocolate, caffeine, onions and garlic, macadamia nuts, alcohol and raw bread dough. If your dog has eaten any of them, call your vet or a pet poison helpline now, even if they seem fine: several of these take hours to show signs, and treatment works best early. Don’t try to make your dog sick at home unless a vet tells you to.

If your dog has just eaten something toxic

Move your dog away from the food and pick up what is left.
Call your vet or, out of hours, an emergency vet clinic. If you can’t reach one, call a pet poison line:
- US: ASPCA Animal Poison Control, (888) 426-4435, or Pet Poison Helpline, (855) 764-7661. Both are open 24 hours and may charge a consultation fee.
- UK: Animal PoisonLine, 01202 509000, a 24-hour line for owners run by the Veterinary Poisons Information Service (fee per case).
- Elsewhere, call your nearest vet or emergency clinic.
Have the facts ready: what your dog ate, roughly how much, when, and your dog’s weight. Keep the wrapper or packaging; ingredient lists matter, especially for sweets, baked goods and peanut butter.
Don’t induce vomiting at home unless a vet tells you to. It isn’t safe for every substance, and home methods can do harm of their own. If it is needed, your vet can do it safely.
Don’t wait for symptoms. Grapes, chocolate and onions can all look harmless for hours.

The list: what’s toxic, why, and how serious

Food	What it does	How serious
Xylitol (sugar-free gum, mints, sweets, some peanut butters, toothpaste, baked goods; also called birch sugar)	Sudden drop in blood sugar within 30 minutes to 2 hours: vomiting, weakness, wobbliness, seizures. Can damage the liver	Emergency
Grapes, raisins, currants, sultanas (including in cakes, buns and trail mix)	Sudden kidney failure. Signs (vomiting, lethargy, peeing less) appear within 12–24 hours. No known safe amount	Emergency
Chocolate and cocoa	Theobromine and caffeine: vomiting, diarrhoea, restlessness, racing heart, tremors, seizures. Signs can take up to 12 hours. Baking chocolate and cocoa powder are worst, white chocolate least	Serious; can be fatal
Caffeine (coffee, coffee grounds, tea bags, energy drinks, caffeine pills)	Restlessness, vomiting, panting, racing heart, tremors	Serious; caffeine pills especially
Onions, garlic, leeks, chives, shallots (raw, cooked, dried, powdered; also in gravy, soups and baby food)	Damage red blood cells, causing anaemia: weakness, pale gums, fast breathing. Can take a day to several days to show	Serious, depending on amount
Macadamia nuts	Weakness (often the back legs), wobbliness, tremors, vomiting, high temperature, usually within 12 hours	Serious, but most dogs recover in 1–3 days with care
Alcohol (drinks, hand sanitiser, fermenting dough)	Wobbliness, vomiting, drowsiness, low body temperature and blood sugar, breathing problems	Serious; can be fatal
Raw yeast dough	Rises in the stomach, causing painful bloating and possibly a twisted stomach, and makes alcohol as it ferments	Emergency
Salt in large amounts (salt dough ornaments, homemade play dough, very salty snacks)	Raised blood sodium: vomiting, thirst, wobbliness, tremors, seizures	Serious
Fatty foods (bacon, sausages, gravy, turkey skin, fat trimmings, butter)	Stomach upset and pancreatitis, a painful inflammation that can need hospital care	Mild to serious
Cooked bones	Splinter and can cut or block the gut	Serious
Corn cobs, fruit stones, avocado pits	Can lodge in the gut and need surgery	Serious
Other nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts)	High in fat: vomiting, diarrhoea, possible pancreatitis. Can also cause blockages	Usually mild
Avocado flesh	Mainly dangerous to birds, rabbits and horses. In dogs, mostly stomach upset; the pit is the bigger risk	Usually mild
Milk and dairy	Many dogs can’t digest lactose well: diarrhoea, gas	Mild
Raw meat, raw eggs, raw fish	Can carry Salmonella and E. coli, which can also make people in the household ill	Mild to serious
Citrus peel, stems and seeds	Irritation and stomach upset; the fruit itself in small amounts is usually only mildly upsetting	Mild

The ASPCA and Pet Poison Helpline lists behind this table cover the common foods. Plenty of other household things are toxic too, including human medicines, rat bait, slug pellets, antifreeze and some plants and bulbs. Keep them out of reach and treat any of them as a reason to call.

The worst offenders in more detail

Xylitol

Xylitol is the sweetener most likely to catch owners out, because it hides in products that look harmless: sugar-free gum, mints, chewable vitamins, some brands of peanut butter and nut butters, toothpaste and “sugar-free” baked goods. In dogs it triggers a large release of insulin, and blood sugar crashes, sometimes within half an hour. The Merck Veterinary Manual notes some dogs also develop severe liver injury. Check labels for xylitol or birch sugar before sharing anything sweet.

Grapes and raisins

Why grapes poison some dogs and not others isn’t fully understood, and there is no amount known to be safe. Pet Poison Helpline treats any ingestion as potentially toxic. Raisins hide in hot cross buns, fruit cake, mince pies, cereal bars and trail mix. Kidney damage is easiest to prevent in the first hours, so call your vet even if your dog ate just a few.

Chocolate

The darker and more bitter the chocolate, the more dangerous: baking chocolate and cocoa powder are worst, then dark chocolate, milk chocolate and finally white chocolate. Size matters too: a bar that would only upset a large dog can be serious for a small one. Your vet or a poison line can tell you whether the amount your dog ate is a concern, so have the wrapper handy. Cocoa shell garden mulch is also a risk.

Onions and garlic

The onion family damages red blood cells, and the effect is cumulative, so a big meal of onion-heavy leftovers or small amounts eaten repeatedly can both cause anaemia. Powdered onion and garlic are concentrated, which makes gravy granules, stock cubes, seasoned meats and some baby foods surprisingly risky. Signs may not show for a day or several days.

What’s safe instead?

Plenty of human foods are fine as an occasional treat in small amounts: plain cooked chicken or turkey without skin or bones, carrot, green beans, cucumber, plain cooked pumpkin, and some fruits such as apple slices (no core or seeds) and blueberries. Our guide on what fruits dogs can eat covers fruit in more detail, and treats should stay under about 10% of the day’s calories: see how many treats a dog can have.

Preventing it

Keep bags, handbags and coat pockets off the floor: gum and sweets are a common source of xylitol.
Put fruit bowls, chocolate and baking at the back of high counters, and never leave food on a coffee table.
Use a lidded bin or keep it behind a closed door.
Tell guests and children not to share food, especially at parties and holidays, when chocolate, raisins, bones and fatty leftovers are everywhere.
Watch for signs after a surprise raid: vomiting, diarrhoea, restlessness, wobbliness, trembling or unusual tiredness. If your dog is vomiting repeatedly, our guide to when dog vomiting is a worry explains what to watch for, but if a toxin could be involved, call first and read later.

PetTrackr helps you keep track. It is not veterinary advice: if your pet seems unwell, call your vet.

Foods toxic to dogs