What can dogs eat and not eat? Over 60 foods from A to Z

Many foods from your kitchen are fine for your dog – cooked, unseasoned and in small amounts: for example rice, potatoes, carrots, chicken, cottage cheese or an apple without the core. The main foods to avoid are chocolate, xylitol (birch sugar), grapes and raisins, onions and garlic, macadamia nuts, alcohol and caffeine. And everything that isn't part of the main food should add up to less than 10% of daily calories.

This list is meant for everyday life: can your dog have that piece of cucumber, the dollop of quark, the leftover rice? When it comes to poisoning, critical amounts and emergencies, read our guide to foods that are toxic to dogs.

Exactly how much fruit and veg your dog can eat is worked out for their weight on our “Can my dog eat …?” pages – the linked names in the table take you straight there.

1. Unseasoned: No salt, no spice mixes, no sauces. Many ready-made products contain onion or garlic powder.
2. Cooked rather than raw for potatoes, pulses, grains, eggs and pork.
3. Remove pips, stones and peel – they can act as foreign bodies or contain cyanide precursors.
4. Small amounts: Introduce anything new slowly and watch how your dog's stools react.
5. The 10 per cent rule: Everything outside the main food – treats, fruit, cheese, leftovers – should add up to less than 10% of daily calories.

Yes = well suited in dog-appropriate amounts. In moderation = occasionally and in small amounts, with restrictions. No = do not feed.

The list is no substitute for veterinary advice. Dogs with existing conditions – affecting the kidneys, liver or pancreas, for example – or with allergies often need their own rules.

Never give your dog these foods, not even in small amounts:

• Chocolate and cocoa – theobromine and caffeine; the darker, the more dangerous
• Xylitol (birch sugar, E 967) – in sugar-free chewing gum, sweets, some peanut butters and baked goods; from as little as about 0.1 g per kilogram of body weight, there's a risk of low blood sugar
• Grapes and raisins – can cause kidney failure; sensitivity varies enormously from dog to dog
• Onions, garlic, leeks, chives – also cooked, dried and as powder; garlic is roughly three to five times more potent than onion
• Macadamia nuts – weakness, trembling, vomiting
• Alcohol and raw yeast dough – yeast dough keeps fermenting in the stomach and produces alcohol
• Coffee, black tea, energy drinks – caffeine
• Cooked bones – splinter into sharp-edged pieces
• Raw pork – can transmit the Aujeszky's disease virus, which is fatal to dogs

If your dog has eaten any of these, call your vet practice or a veterinary hospital straight away. Make a note of the amount, the time and the packaging, and don't try to make your dog sick yourself. Everything else is covered in our guide to foods that are toxic to dogs.

Rusks: Fine in small amounts. They're easy to digest, but mainly provide starch and usually sugar. For diarrhoea, the classic bland diet of chicken and rice is the better choice – more on rusks for diarrhoea and on the bland diet.

Quinoa, couscous, buckwheat, spelt: All four are fine cooked and unseasoned as a source of carbohydrate. Rinse quinoa thoroughly first. Couscous and spelt contain gluten, buckwheat and quinoa don't – for dogs without an intolerance, that makes little difference.

Cottage cheese, low-fat quark, quark: High in protein and popular with many dogs. They work as a topping, for filling a Kong or, in a bland diet, as a partial substitute for chicken – as long as your dog tolerates dairy. Amounts, lactose and what applies to Parmesan, feta or butter are covered in quark and cottage cheese for dogs.

Dates: Not toxic, but very high in sugar when dried. If at all, then only a little stoned piece now and then.

Soya: Cooked tofu or cooked soya beans in small amounts are possible. Soya is one of the ingredients that some dogs with intolerances react to.

Radishes: Not toxic, but hot. A slice to try is fine; larger amounts can irritate the stomach.

Parmesan: Very salty and high in fat. A few crumbs as a training reward are fine, but it's unsuitable as a regular snack.

Caraway: The ASPCA lists caraway as toxic to dogs, with the essential oils responsible. It names only mild vomiting and diarrhoea as consequences, so a few seeds in bread are not an emergency. Still, it's not something to give as a spice or as a home remedy for wind. If stomach ache or wind persists, your dog needs to see a vet. More on this under Can dogs eat caraway?. What else helps with stomach and gut problems, and what doesn't, is covered under home remedies for stomach and gut problems.

Chicken broth: Homemade without salt, onion, garlic or seasoning, it's a good addition. Ready-made stock isn't. You'll find a recipe for broth ice cubes in Homemade dog ice cream: 5 sugar-free frozen treats.

Beef lung: Lean and popular as a dried chew. Dried, 100 g contains considerably more energy than fresh – so it's best given in small pieces.

Alkaline diet: A concept from human nutrition. There is no evidence-based alkaline diet for healthy dogs. Food does affect urine pH, but it is only changed deliberately under veterinary guidance, for example with certain urinary stones.

You'll find more detail on individual varieties in our guides to fruit for dogs and vegetables for dogs.

Everything outside the main food counts as treats – and all treats together should stay below 10% of daily calories. For a neutered, normally active 10 kg dog with a daily requirement of around 630 kcal, that's about 63 kcal. To give you a rough idea:

You'll find the exact figure for your dog here: work out your dog's calorie needs.

The DoggoMeal app shows you for every ingredient whether it's suitable for your dog, and calculates recipes with exact amounts for their weight. Get the app.