who knew?

[iamgreen]

Hello; Many of you may know that MACADAMIA nuts are POISONOUS to dogs, but I didn't This next is from Dr. Fox in our newspaper, in my own words. Make sure your cats and dogs don't eat EARTHWORMS which could be egg infested with a parasitic worm known as Capillaria aerophila. These worms settle in the windpipe, causing signs of allergic bronchitis, a chronic cough. His column did not make mention of treatment. iamgreen

[MyPemCharlie]

Huh! Never heard that about the earth worms before. Interesting!

We have discussed macadamia nuts before as well as walnuts being toxic to dogs. And while other nuts are not toxic, they do all contain very high levels of phosphorus which is thought to cause bladder stones in dogs. Aside from an occassional bit of peanut butter as a training lure, I'm staying away from nuts in general.

[Michael Romanos]

Don't stay away from nuts or refrain from giving your Corgi nuts. Just because one or two types are toxic or potentially toxic to dogs doesn't at all mean that others are dangerous/damaging to health. The vast types of nuts are perfectly ok for dogs and indeed wonderfully beneficial eg brazil, pine, pea etc. No type of nut is related to another type.

Now this is interesting. Only last Sunday i learnt that an owner of two beautiful pem Corgis gives her Corgis (aged three and one), macadamia nuts daily not realising that small amounts are toxic to dogs. No apparant harm to the Corgis. Macadamia nuts are expensive in New Zealand. She won't be giving her Corgis these nuts in future and it will save her money.

[MyPemCharlie]

Well everyone has to choose for their own dog. I'll err on the side of caution and not feed nuts to Charlie. Corgis are on the short-list of breeds prone to bladder and kidney stones. I'd personally rather skip the nuts now and hopefully lower the risk of surgery for stones later.

Twenty years ago, people used to scape table leftovers out to the dog's bowl (onions, salt, fatty gravies and all), share chocolate, and give the dog a taste of anything else it would eat. All with no apparent harm to the dog. With the internet information age, we now know that lots of these foods are unhealthy or even toxic at certain levels. When talking about dogs possibly living to be 25-30 years old with the right nutrition, my take is that long lifespan may be possible by using the published information on health and nutrition wisely.

[Michael Romanos]

I think food scientists and canine nutritionists should know sufficiently as of now as to what the impact of cashew, pea, pine, brazil, pecan, hazel, almond, pistachio etc nuts will have on the wellbeing of dogs. I think the underlying aspect is quantity and balance. I would not give Taylor a bowl full of any one thing - be it vegetables, fruits, nuts, meats, grains, cereals, carbos etc

[halpey1]

Last year, one of my corgis got a pistachio shell that fell on the floor and had a severe allergic reaction... he gets peanut butter all the time and is fine... his eye BLEW up and the vet had to give him a shot of something to calm it down... I don't know if this is something breed specific of just an allergy to a specific nut my dog has.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by halpey1

Last year, one of my corgis got a pistachio shell that fell on the floor and had a severe allergic reaction... he gets peanut butter all the time and is fine... his eye BLEW up and the vet had to give him a shot of something to calm it down... I don't know if this is something breed specific of just an allergy to a specific nut my dog has.

No, I would not think it's breed specific. The nut allergies or toxic foods being mentioned in this thread are not breed specific but a problem for dogs in general.

I've not heard of pistacio's being a problem for dogs, but obviously a problem for your dog. Dogs can have allergies to just about anything, just as people can. So keep him far away from pistacio's. And you might have him tested for other nut allergies or just keep him away from nuts that he hasn't already had and you know he's fine with.

Peggy

[Michael Romanos]

Shells are a different matter to the nuts or seeds within them.