As you probably already know, many human foods can be bad or even dangerous for dogs. Dogs aren’t accustomed to a high-fat, oily diet that we can tolerate, and some foods can even be poisonous. These dangers are even greater in very small breeds like Yorkshire Terriers than large dogs as even a bite of food may overwhelm a small dog’s system.

Want to protect your Yorkie when you give him a taste of your dinner? Here’s what foods are bad for Yorkies and should be avoided at all costs.

Rawhide

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Do you have a Yorkie that loves to wolf down anything you put in his bowl? Be careful giving them anything hard, especially small, hard foods like almonds and rawhide treats — a serious danger to small and even large dogs. Your pup’s esophagus helps push food into the stomach but sometimes a dog swallows something too large or too sharp when becomes stuck in the esophagus, either in the back near the diaphragm or close to the base of the heart.

When this happens, it’s a medical emergency that can cause serious complications and even death. Research shows esophageal foreign bodies are most common among small dogs — especially Yorkshire Terriers!

Onions & Garlic

Before giving your Yorkie a small taste of your meal, consider the ingredients. If onions or garlic are in the dish, don’t let them have any. Garlic and onion both belong to the Allium genus and consumption can cause a serious condition called Allium toxicosis. Both vegetables are dangerous because they cause damage to your pup’s red blood cells and result in anemia. While cats and Japanese dog breeds are most sensitive to garlic and onions, any dog can be fatally poisoned if they eat more than 0.5% of their body weight.

Garlic and onions definitely make the list of what Yorkies shouldn’t eat because 0.5% of a 5-pound dog’s weight is less than half an ounce. Symptoms can take days to appear and your pup can be poisoned by either a large serving at one sitting or by eating small amounts repeatedly over a period of days.

If your Yorkie does eat garlic or onions and shows signs of being poisoned — including pale mucous membranes, lethargy, a high respiratory rate, and vomiting — you should induce vomiting and give your pup activated charcoal.

Chocolate

When a dog finds unguarded chocolate, they’ll probably chow down and eat everything they find. While most dogs — especially larger dogs — can eat chocolate and show no symptoms as long as the serving wasn’t too large, don’t forget that chocolate can be very dangerous.

Chocolate contains a chemical called theobromine that can be easily and safely metabolized by humans. Dogs, however, process theobromine very slowly and it can build up to dangerous levels in their bodies. To make matters worse, chocolate also contains caffeine. Both of these chemicals can stimulate your dog’s nervous system and increase their heart rate.

Whether or not your Yorkie will get sick from eating chocolate depends on the dog’s weight, the amount of chocolate he ate, and the type of chocolate.

As a general rule, a potentially dangerous amount of chocolate is 1 ounce of milk chocolate per pound. The average Hershey’s bar is 1.55 ounces. The darker the chocolate, the more dangerous it is. While 1 ounce of milk chocolate has about 60 mg of theobromine, the same amount of dark chocolate has nearly 200 mg — almost 4x as much. For a Yorkie, eating a bar of dark chocolate can be fatal.

Xylitol

Here’s This artificial sweetener is found in a huge variety of foods and treats, including sugar-free gum and candy and even baked goods, toothpaste, and chewable vitamins. While xylitol is considered safe for humans, even small amounts can be toxic to dogs. When a dog eats a food with xylitol, they experience a potentially life-threatening drop in blood sugar and liver damage. This can cause seizures and vomiting within minutes to hours.

It doesn’t take much xylitol to be dangerous, especially for a Yorkie. A single piece of sugar-free gum can be a toxic dose for a 10-pound dog — and Yorkies are usually half that weight!

Bones

It may seem like the most natural thing in the world to give your pup a bone after cooking a meal, but it can be dangerous — especially for very small dogs. Bones, especially cooked bones, tend to splinter very easily. These bone shards may become stuck in your pup’s intestines. Large amounts of bone can also cause constipation. The worst-case scenario is a bone splinter actually puncturing your pup’s digestive tract or causing an intestinal obstruction.

Pork and poultry bones are the worst in terms of danger because they splinter more easily than bones from beef. Cooked bones are also worse than bones from raw meat.

In some cases, it may be fine to give your pup a bone as long as it’s from raw beef. If you do give your Yorkie a bone, do it after he eats and take the bone away after 10 minutes The bone should be larger than the length of your pup’s muzzle so he can’t swallow it whole. A better alternative is simply giving your Yorkie a simulated bone for dogs to be on the safe side. Mini SmartBones are a good choice as they are rawhide-free, made from vegetables and chicken, and help maintain healthy teeth and gums.

Other Foods Yorkies Shouldn’t Have

In addition to these very dangerous foods for Yorkies, you should also avoid feeding your Yorkie any of the following:

• Dairy products which can give your dog diarrhea, digestive problems, and food allergies
• Macadamia nuts which are highly toxic and can cause paralysis
• Grapes and raisins which can trigger kidney failure in small amounts for an unknown reason
• Raw eggs which can cause food poisoning
• Salty food which can cause dehydration and even sodium ion poisoning

Human Foods a Yorkie Can Eat

The best thing you can do for your Yorkie’s health is focusing on a healthy Yorkie diet based on quality dog food, nutritious treats, and a good nutritional supplement like Tomlyn. Still, some human food can be part of a healthy diet for your Yorkie — especially fruits and vegetables which can help clean your Yorkie’s teeth.

Here are some of the best human foods you can give your Yorkie in small amounts:

• Cooked pumpkin
• Apples, either cooked, made into apple sauce, or sliced and uncooked
• Green beans, raw or cooked
• Raw carrots, a great way to support healthy teeth and gums
• Cooked sweet potato
• Unsalted peanut butter without xylitol
• Cooked chicken without bones