Bones - while bones may help to keep your dogs and cats teeth clean, they must be used with care. Bones should never be cooked, as they are more likely to splinter when chewed. There is a risk that pieces may lodge in the mouth or throat, or may be swallowed and pass in to the intestines where they may lodge or create holes.
Onions and garlic - onions and garlic cause damage to the red blood cells, particularly onions as they tend to be available in large amounts. This is often a problem in summer, when people have large amounts of onions left over from their barbecue and feed them to their pets!
Chocolate - chocolate, (especially dark and baking chocolate) contains a substance called theobromine, which is similar to caffeine. Even half a bar of dark chocolate can cause problems such as shaking and seizures, and cause changes in the heart rhythm (arrhythmias) which can be fatal.
Fatty food - while we like to give dogs our leftovers, some dogs can become quite ill when given fatty foods, due to a disease called pancreatitis. The high amounts of fat can trigger this disease, particularly in dogs that have already had it in the past. This is in addition to all the negative effects from weight-gain.
Blinds - traditional vertical and horizontal blinds pose a danger as your pet can become tangled in the cords and hurt themselves, and in some cases they can be strangled by them.
Tennis balls - throwing a ball is a favourite pastime for many dogs, but with tennis balls we need to be careful as they can quickly wear down a dogs teeth. The coating on the tennis ball can trap sand, and every time the dog bites the ball it is like they are biting on sandpaper.
Sticks - another favourite to throw around, sticks pose a double hazard. When chewed up, they can become stuck in the mouth or be swallowed and stuck in the intestines. Also when running after a stick, a dog can sometimes run into it, causing injuries, and sometimes even puncturing through the back of the mouth and into the neck.
Snail baits - there are a few types of snail bait available, and most of them are made with some cereal in, so they are extremely tasty to pets! Within a few hours they can cause trembling, excitement, vomiting, salivating and seizures before they dog becomes paralysed and stops breathing.
Rat poisons - there are two types, one that is known as an anticoagulant, and the other that affects calcium levels.
The anticoagulants cause problems with blood clotting - this may take several days to show up. If the bleeding occurs on the outside, we usually see it as a wound or nose bleed that will not stop bleeding. If the bleeding happens on the inside it can show in many ways - for example, if the blood goes inside the chest, then your pet may have problems breathing, or if it goes into the intestines, then their faeces may appear red or very dark and tar-like. Pets can be poisoned both by eating the bait themselves, or by eating a rodent or other animal that has died from eating the bait.
The other type of rat bait causes calcium levels to rise very high, so that the kidneys become damaged. Within a few days your pet can become very sick, weak, and be urinating lots. Again this can happen by eating the poison directly or by eating another animal that had eaten the poison.
Chemical poisons - there are many poisons that can be found around the house - cleaning chemicals, radiator fluid and motor oil to name a few. These can all cause animals to become sick in a variety of ways.
Medicines - owners often think that they can make their animal feel better by giving them some of their own medicine. This is very dangerous, as animals have very different metabolisms to humans, and many of our common medications can potentially be fatal. Aspirin should only be given if your vet tells you to, and only the amount prescribed - it can cause ulcers and bleeding in the intestines, clotting problems, and kidney damage. Ibuprofen and Naproxen are similar drugs that can cause the same problems with very very low doses. Cats are particularly sensitive. Paracetamol can also kill pets, particularly cats as they are very sensitive and as little as 1/8th a paracetamol tablet can be enough to kill a cat.
Human recreational drugs- unfortunately some people do give their pets illicit drugs, and these can have a variety of short and long-term effects and some can cause death. Pets can react in different ways to humans, and as they are much smaller and their bodies break down things differently the effects can be much more pronounced.