If your dog licks their lips as stir fry sizzles on the stove, you might wonder if it’s safe to slip them a bite. It might not sound like a dangerous idea to give them just a taste, but you should first make sure your dish doesn’t contain scallions. A scallion is another word for the stalk of a young onion. As members of the Allium family of plants, onions and scallion are incredibly toxic to dogs and can be deadly in large amounts. While we don’t know exactly how many scallions it would take to hurt your dog, we definitely don’t want to take any unnecessary risks, and urge you to avoid giving them anything that potentially has this deadly ingredient.

What Is a Scallion?

If you like to cook, you might be familiar with a scallion, or the stalk of a bulb-less onion. Did you know green onions and scallions are actually the same thing? Scallions and green onions have a mild taste that resembles chives more than mature onions. They can be commonly found in Asian dishes such as stir fry, and even multi-cultural savory pastries such as quiches and biscuits. Thus, it’s important to know the full list of ingredients in a dish before you feed it to your dog.

Why Are Scallions Dangerous?

Onions belong to the Allium family,¹ a group of plants which produce bulbs and include leeks, garlic, and chives. Bulbous flowers such as Amaryllis are also included in this category. All of these plants are incredibly toxic to dogs and cats.² They contain an oxidizing agent that can damage red blood cells, inducing anemia and even causing death at high doses. Concentrated Allium products such as garlic powder and minced onion are much more toxic than a relatively mild scallion or green onion, but you should still avoid all of these ingredients out of caution.

What to Do If Your Dog Eats a Scallion?

If your dog accidentally grabs hold of a scallion, you should definitely try to make them spit it out. Don’t panic if it’s already down their throats but take note of how much you think they ingested and call the vet. They may recommend that you induce vomiting. In low amounts, Allium plants are only likely to cause gastrointestinal upset, such as vomiting and diarrhea. However, red blood cell damage may occur if they ate a larger amount.

Take your pet to the vet immediately if you notice signs of anemia or shock such as:

Unfortunately, it takes a few days for the compounds in Allium plants to fully affect dogs. Your vet will likely need to monitor them with frequent blood tests for up to a week following ingestion. In the meantime, your vet will probably recommend dog-friendly charcoal tablets to absorb the toxins. In severe cases, your dog may need intravenous fluids or a blood transfusion to keep them hydrated and replace the red blood cells that were destroyed.

Conclusion

All members of the Allium family, including the onion in all of its various parts and stages of life, are considered toxic to dogs and cats. Since scallions aren’t safe, you shouldn’t feed your dog anything that might contain them, such as commercially produced stir fry or quiches. In addition to limiting what human foods they’re allowed to sample, you should also keep your canine from poking around in your flower garden since many ornamental bulbs belong to the Allium family.

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Featured Image Credit: Barry Campbell, Pixabay