Pet Encyclopedia

The truth is that a dog's body structure, digestive system and nutritional needs are all very different from ours, and some foods we enjoy are effectively a slow poison for dogs.

(1) Chocolate

Chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine. These are harmless to humans, but to animals they are poison, damaging a dog's heart and central nervous system and causing heart disease or other fatal conditions. The purer the chocolate, the greater the danger to a dog. One pound of milk chocolate is enough to kill a sixteen-pound dog! A dog poisoned by chocolate will urinate frequently, have a racing heartbeat, drool heavily, vomit, suffer diarrhoea and may even fall into a coma. There is currently no antidote, and the only way out is for the dog's own metabolism to clear the theobromine from its body. So never give a dog chocolate, or anything containing chocolate such as chocolate cake or ice cream.

According to Stanley Coren, a psychology professor at Columbia University, USA, who conducted in-depth interviews with 208 dog trainers from various regions, 63 small animal veterinarians, and 14 experts studying guard and guard dogs, and based on a wealth of valuable information provided by the Vancouver Dog Obedience Club, they completed a very complex and extensive questionnaire ranking the dogs' work obedience and intelligence. The current rankings are announced as follows:

1. Border Collie
2. Poodles
3. German Shepherd
4. Golden Retriever
5. Doberman

Dog-to-human age conversion table