Onions are toxic for dogs, but they are not cyanide pills. I am sure one lick or so will be ok....just make sure you keep an eye on him, and if there are any unusual changes in him over the next week or so, take him to be checked out at the vet's.
Some dogs don't have any reaction to this. I hate to say it, but in the past, when I didn't know any better, I let my Jack Russell have burger with added onion! He never showed any ill-effects from eating it, and he lived a good ten years after this incident! When I hear now about onions being so bad for dogs I realize how lucky he was.
That doesn't mean you can afford to be easy about this in the future. Make sure he never gets at something like that again, of course.
If you are really scared, he ate quite a lot of the onion dip, and it isn't too late (depending on how long ago he ate it) you could make him vomit by giving him warm salt water. Afterwards, make sure he has plenty of fresh water to drink.
Please help me!!! Ok I think my dog licked onion dip! What would happen? PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME!! I love my dog and I care for him a lot and I want him to be safe!!
Jaybay took the words right off my fingertips! :D
The best way to go is absolutely NO table scraps since human food prepared FOR humans (ie with spices and other things added to it) is the major cause of pancreatitis in dogs. Please understand there is a difference between human-grade food that is prepared specifically FOR dogs and table scraps. Spices, rich sauces, butter, basically everything that we use that makes our own food yummy to us makes it unsafe for our dogs to eat.
Ghilly
Any sudden ingestion of a high fat food - including bones with scraps left on - can cause pancreatitis, which is oftentimes fatal. My vet says he gets slammed in the days after summer holidays with dogs experiencing acute pancreatitis.
NO table scraps is the smart way to go, but if you simply can't resist those begging eyes, use common sense. Anything that is bad for you, is even worse for your dog.
my vet says never give a dog turkey...it harms the pancreas. my dog was in the hospital for 3 days due to this
It depends what you mean by 'table scraps'. There are a whole list of Human foods which are bad news for dogs, including: anything salted/anything cooked with or containing onions/grapes/raisins(ie fruit cake,pies etc)/chocolate/ even LIVER can affect some dogs badly!....the list is quite long.
Also I wouldn't want to feed MY dog on...lumps of fat/leftover pizza crust/pastry/mass-produced white bread/sugary snacks/salty snacks/all the kind of junk we humans think we can get away with eating!
But sometimes, if I have something left over which I know is ok for dogs, I will add it to my dog's next meal. For instance: leftover baked potato (I say baked, because it won't be cooked with any salt): leftover rice (again unsalted and unseasoned) pieces of unsalted lean meat or fish (minus bones!!) Some vegetables are good, for instance carrots and peas or green beans, in moderation. Sweetcorn, unless mashed up is useless, because it will just pass through the dog exactly as it went down! But if mashed up well, maize is quite good.
Then there is the possibility (as with humans) that your dog might be intolerant of certain foods, and these could cause allergic symptoms.
All considered, I always think it is better to get a good-quality dog food which suits your dog. It's a lot less hassle, and you'll know your dog is getting the balanced nutrients he/she needs, and will be fit and well, with good energy.