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Your dog Milo is as much a part of your family as anyone else is, so you probably want to celebrate his birthday in style. Whether it's a full-scale doggy birthday bash or just an understated special day for Milo, you may have considered the possibility of a dog-friendly birthday cake as part of the festivities. The good news is it's entirely possible to make a dog-friendly cake that Milo (and his friends) can enjoy. Just by following a few safety precautions and guidelines as listed below, it's sure to be a birthday Milo will absolutely love, and you'll love to give him!

Most pet owners know many of the most dangerous foods to give their dogs, and we're sure you and Milo are no different. But just to make sure, here are a few of the bad foods for dogs that may be more popular with cakes and parties.

Chocolate Chocolate is perhaps the most popularly known "no-no" food for dogs, thus a cake made from chocolate isn't a dog-safe choice. Chocolate (even white chocolate) has something called theobromine in it, which is toxic to dogs, even in small doses. Dark chocolate is the worst culprit. The caffeine in chocolate doesn't help anything either! It's also very bad for Milo.

Macadamia Nuts While peanuts are a popular nut that are safe for dogs, macadamia nuts can be poisonous, causing weakness, tremors and vomiting. Avoid giving them to Milo at all costs.

Milk Just like humans, dogs can have trouble digesting lactose in milk, so avoid using it as an ingredient in your cake, as it may upset Milo's stomach.

Avocados While avocados might not be an ingredient in your planned cake, they are popular in party settings and thus deserve being mentioned. Something called Persin found in avocados can cause vomiting, diarrhea and even death in some dogs. No guacamole for Milo!

Peanut Butter So now that you know what you should avoid in Milo's birthday cake, what can you make it with? When you look for recipes online, you'll probably find peanut butter flavored cakes are the most popular and for good reason-they're easy to make and delicious for Milo! Consider a thin layer of peanut butter as frosting. Milo will be licking his lips for hours afterwards!

Carob Another great option is cakes made of carob, which is a chocolate substitute that is safe for dogs. Carob is obviously a bit harder to come by than peanut butter, but if your local supermarket has it, why not experiment? It's delicious and safe.

Bananas Bananas are often another big hit with dogs, and are completely safe for them to eat (which isn't the case with grapes or raisins, so stay away from those!). Some mashed up banana makes for some great cake batter and is inexpensive. Banana also goes great with peanut butter (and probably carob too!) incidentally. Why not try a cake with all three?