Then the ASPCA emailed out an article that told me why! So I thought I would share...

A slice of avocado may be the perfect addition to your sandwich, but it can have serious consequences for our feathered and furry friends. According to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center in Urbana, IL, pet poisonings from avocado and avocado-based foods like guacamole are a consistent risk. In 2008, the Center managed 115 cases involving ingestions of avocado, and though an overwhelming 83 percent of those incidents involved dogs, the most devastating effects were seen in birds, rabbits and certain large animals like horses and cattle.

A native of Central and South America, avocado (Persea americana) is a subtropical tree that produces a pear-shaped fruit prized for its high fat content, vitamin-rich “meat” and smooth texture. Unfortunately, the fruit also contains a toxin called persin that’s harmful to animals, especially in large quantities.

"Avocado leaves, fruit, seeds and bark all contain the toxic principle known as persin,” says Dana Farbman, CVT, Senior Manager of Professional Communications at APCC. Guatemalan varieties—sold in grocery stores nationwide—are most often involved in pet exposures, Farbman adds, while other strains have varying degrees of toxic potential. Birds—who accounted for 5 percent of avocado cases in 2008—appear to be particularly sensitive to the fatty fruit; consumption can result in respiratory distress, congestion, fluid accumulation around the heart and even death. In curious canines, clinical signs of ingestion can include gastrointestinal distress, vomiting and diarrhea. Typically, these effects are seen in dogs who’ve nibbled on significant amounts of a tree’s fruit or branches.

Pet parents should prevent their animal companions from coming into contact with avocado by placing the fruit—or that festive bowl of guacamole—out of reach. For those lucky Californians who have an avocado tree in their backyards, keep a close eye on your pet when he’s outside, and don’t mistake the toxic fruit for Fido’s gnarly tennis ball.

As always, if you suspect your pet has eaten something toxic, please call your vet or the ASPCA’s 24-hour hotline at (888) 426-4435. For more information about people food that’s toxic for pets, please visit APCC online.

i cant even stand avacados and guakamoly yuk

I eat atleast 3 avocados a week, but I take huge precautions, including using knives only for avocados, so that there isn't a chance that I accidentally cut up thei bird's food with the same knife.

I love guacamole but the one time years ago when I attempted to make some, I couldn't get into the avocado. So I decided to confine my guacamole eating to Mexican restaurants and let THEM find a way into the avocado. They're the experts, after all. So no worries around here that dogs or birds will get into any. I am no cook, obviously, and Hubby, who IS a good cook, hates guacamole so there's no fear he's going to make any, either.

What I worry about is chocolate. That's not good for birds or dogs, either, and we both love it. We keep it out of reach and I don't really think there's any fear the birds will get into it -- Clyde is always under supervision when he's out of his cage and Bonnie won't come out yet -- but our Gigi is not known as Destructo Doggie for nothing and I worry that someday she'll find the carefully hidden out of reach chocolate in spite of our best efforts.

If your dog does get into chocolate then you can make them vomit with hydrogen peroxide. Give about a tablespoon or two of peroxide (depending on the size of your dog) and wait about 10 minutes. Give another dose if they haven't thrown up at that point. PUT THEM IN THE BATHTUB FIRST! My cousins learned THAT lesson the hard way

That will at least get the chocolate out of their system immediately before you take them to the vet. No sense in letting them digest more on the way there.

Wooser Jamie---that sounds even scary to me to be eaten by a human...so, as usual I just side step those...
Nope, none for me.......experts sometime later may find out that it does cause problems within the digestive system of humans....

Actually the chocolate fears are relatively blown out of proportion, atleast in dogs. Milk chocolate will do no harm in small smounts. Like if old yeller grabs a little candy bar and makes dessert out of it, they're not going to die. The danger lies in large quantities and in dark chocolates and stronger cocoa products.

Anyways siobhan. Getting the "meat" out of an avocado is uber simple. Slice the Avocado vertically in a circle, then then twist the two halves, and remove the seed. Finally take a spoon and slide it between the flesh and the meat. It is far far far more complicated to describe how to do it and actually doing it.

Also it's never a good idea for anyone (human or animal) to ingest hydrogen peroxide. When in your body it reacts to certain enzymes that cause it to seperate into water and oxygen, when oxygen is produced it creates a bunch of free radicals. Free radicals pretty much run around and look for something to attach to. when too many free radicals are in your system you're at a higher risk for cancer. I'm not sure how much chemo therapy costs for a poodle, but something tells me it's more then a kia.

Actually, H202 Hydrogen peroxide doesn't stay ingested very long...It comes up rather quickly when given to animals. Its the syrup of epicac of the animal world.

Yup, I used to work at a vet's office and if someone called saying their dog got into the baker's chocolate or something they would have them use hydrogen peroxide then bring their dog in. It's not something you want to do on a regular basis but in an emergency it works great. You don't really want to give people syrup of epicac too often either but in an emergency it can save your life.

Milk chocolate isn't as big of a problem because most milk chocolate is crummy chocolate that contains very little 'real' chocolate. Those bars that are 60 and 70% cocoa that are quickly gaining popularity in people are pretty harmful to dogs. The 'real' chocolate revolution is popping up because cocoa has some beneficial chemicals for people so suddenly it's all about the quality chocolate. Baker's chocolate is also pretty harmful because it contains more real chocolate as well. The better the chocolate for you, the worse it is for your dog basically.

Yes exactly. Better chocolate means bad dog food lol. I didn't know that peroxide made dogs into geysers. I just knew of it's dangers in the human body.

I guess it is important to note taking extra precaution during the holiday season. Many of us (yes including me!) will be baking a lot of rich desserts, and if you do use baker's chocolate, cocoa powder, semi-sweet chocolate etc... please use precaution to not only keep the baked goods out of reach of kids, fids, and other pets. I said kids, because a lot of times children will find that unsweetened or darker chocolates aren't very tasty, and if you give them a chunk of it, then if they don't eat it, they will have to dump it somewhere.

Yeah, my mom's dog a few years ago ate an ENTIRE box of chocolate cupcakes from the store and she was fine. It was mainly milk chocolate and atrificial chocolate flavor.

I heard recently that Hershey's will no longer be using real chocolate in their candy. I think they have to change their label to say "chocolate flavored candy bars."...so no cocoa! I don't know if this is true or not.

Luckily we don`t eat avacado in our house so we`re good! ... but that`s quite an interesting read and a good reminder for everyone.

We`ve used the H2O2 trick before with out neighbours dog, he ate a winter hat one day last year and the vet just told us to give him the hydrogen peroxide so it didn`t get stuck in his system... it worked wonderfully and the hat went in the garbage!

A hat? wow it is interesting what animals will eat. Well I take that back, I forgot about the sushi bar that I frequently visit. It's strange what anything with a mouth will eat!

It's true in the states (not sure about Canada - I forgot to check at the store)... but only for some bars. Words to tip you off that they are not using 'real' chocolate are "chocolatey", "chocolate flavoured", "Made with chocolate" or "chocolate candy". If you want to know whether it is mocolate or chocolate, flip the bar over and look for cocoa butter. "Mocolate" lacks cocoa butter which gives real chocolate it's melt in your mouth texture... but is also extremely valuable because of cosmetic use so the more butter you can take out of the chocolate before eating it, the more profitable it is.

Krackle, Kissables, Mr Goodbar, Whatchamacallit, Milk Duds are all either already or becoming fake chocolate.

Hershey bars, Kisses, Reeses Peanut Butter cups and Almond Joy will all continue to contain real chocolate. Almond Joy was temporarily made with fake chocolate but consumers didn't like it so it was changed back.

On the subject of sushi and avacado, I eat both and really enjoy them! I don't eat avacado is large quantities though, so I'm not too worried about it.

So why are dog food products like Avoderm safe for dogs? I am assuming they have avocado in them. Or is it just the oil which perhaps isn't harmful??

Just wondering.

Jeff

A few years back I had two miniture poodles. The male 2 years old, the female 2 months old. I went to the grocery store and bought a few things including a large bag of M&Ms. Got out to the car and had forgotten something. Went back in and by the time I had got back out there the puppy had eaten 3/4 of the bag of M&M's. Not knowing how toxic it was to animals I scolded her and told her she deserved to have a belly ache. By the time I got her home she was throwing up. After a couple hours she was so lethargic I called the vet and he told me to bring her right in. When I got there he explained about the chocolate. She was at the vets for 24 hours but passed away, her little system just could not recover from it. It broke my heart to think because of my stupidity she passed away and so painfully. But we do learn our lessons from things like this. I don't care if its fake or real I will not allow ANY of my animals to have chocolate. And since we don't eat avacados that one isn't a problem. LOL

I'm not sure... to be honest I've never heard of Avoderm, so I couldn't tell you...

Maybe it doesn't have whatever the toxic thing in avacado is???

The mystery deepens!

Thank you for sharing this Jamie. I love avocados even tho we only eat them in salads. Chocolate, well I love it also.