Hide Those Unfinished Valentine's Day Treats! The Pooches Are On The Prowl

My friend Lisa was in the midst of enjoying Valentine's Day Thursday when she noticed something was wrong with her dog. In a split second, when no one was looking, he had raided a nearby purse ... 

Spent part of valentines day at the doggie ER last night...little guy got into some chocolate and sugarless gum...xylitol in the gum is super dangerous to dogs and can cause liver damage...we are waiting and praying that we caught him early enough.....watch your purses .....

We hope the little guy is going to be OK, after a long and scary night at the animal ER, and he will be under observation for several days to make sure he is recovering properly.

In the meantime, Lisa asked us to put out a warning and to let everyone know to add any sugarless item containing xylitol to the list of things that can hurt or kill dogs, even in very small amounts. 

Lisa tells us a friend told her that the same thing happened to her dog recently, but the culprit was sugar-free cookies.

And that's just one of the long list of items dogs should not eat. Another of Lisa's friends said her dog got into some onion, which made her dog sick.

"Dogs are sometimes worse than kids," wrote another of her friends. 

That's for sure. 

Here are some additional resources:

• The Dog Channel says chocolate, xylitol, raisins and grapes are among the items most frequently reported when it comes to dog poison emergencies. Here is a list of the top ten things that will poison your dogs, which also includes insecticides, rat poison, ibuprofen, household cleaners, and other common household items. 
• From Canine Journal, here is a more detailed list of foods your dog should not eat. Onions are on this list, along with liver, milk and dairy products [it won't kill them, but it is not good for them], and many other common foods. 
• The list for cats is similar, but also has some items that are different. Here, from Pet WebMD, is a list of items your cat should not eat.

One of the most useful things you can teach your dog is the command "leave it." Then, if he gets into something he shouldn't, whether in your house or on a walk, you can let him know it's something he should not be eating. Check out this YouTube video for more on how to teach your dog the "leave it" command.