Kya Buller
When it comes to looking after our furry friends, we all want to spoil them rotten.
Whether we’re feeding our pooches with our leftovers or sneaking snacks here and there, ultimately we just want to be in with a chance of being their favourite human.
We all know the horror stories when it comes to chocolate, but as it turns out there’s much more we should be wary of.
And a couple of them are likely to shock you.
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So read on and get practicing how to resist puppy dog eyes.
Licensed vet, Barbara Royal opened up to Oprah about what best to avoid — and this is also worth reading if you’re more of a cat person.
Dr Royal began: "There are a lot of foods that people tend to feed their animals that they shouldn't - and they don't know they shouldn't.”
So here they are…
If you’ve given your pooch a pizza crust before, nobody’s judging you.
We all thought it was safe.
But as it turns out, “pizza crust comes under my long list of things which is: no corn, no wheat, no soy and no white potato in foods.
“The vet explained that processed foods containing white potato often use the skin, which contains a toxic substance called solanine.”
Sugary products are a huge no-no, says Dr Royal.
She says we should be focusing on feeding our pets foods that make sense ‘evolutionarily.’
She explained: “Cats - even more so. They're obligate carnivores so they absolutely shouldn't really be eating food other than mostly meat - they should have high protein, high fat and low carb - not more than 5-10% of their food should be carbohydrates.
"So when you're feeding treats, a lot of the treats have a lot of sugars and things in them. You want to get rid of those."
This is something I’m pretty sure we’ve all fallen victim to - but potentially for the last time.
Dr Royal said: "Salty foods are things that are going to be more inflammatory. You don't want to be feeding these to your pets.”
Noted.
And finally…
Everyone knows dogs love peanut butter.
But sometimes in life we’re drawn to the things that will hurt us in the end…
"I have a lot of animals that will come in [with] allergies or chronic problems, and then I find out that they've been their pets their medications in peanut butter.
“So we stop the peanut butter and everything gets better”, she concludes.
Looks like we're going to have to start being more strict.