It’s freezing here and Christmas is just around the corner, so just a quiet reminder of how to keep your dogs in tip-top health during the cold and festive season.
Here’s a quick list of food that can be super tasty for us, but completely toxic to dogs.
The artificial sweetener xylitol can be very harmful to dogs so always check your food labels.Peanut butter is good for dogs but check that the brand you use doesn’t contain xylitol. Dogs are extremely sensitive to this sweetener and just a small amount can cause toxicity. It is found in sugar-free sweets, diabetic and diet foods too, not the sort of thing you would ever offer to your dog but may leave around thinking they are quite harmless!
From the list above you can see that many of the ingredients of mince pies, Christmas cake and Christmas pudding contain harmful foods for dogs, so don’t be tempted to give your dog a little Christmas treat.
If your tree has chocolate or candy decorations hanging from it, make sure they are well out of reach from your dog.
Salty foods are also bad for dogs, so avoid giving them popular Christmas buffet items like crisps, salted popcorn, and pretzels.
Alchohol is present more often at Christmas so keep your glasses out of harm’s way.
Turkey carcasses are a hazard when cooked so dispose of these carefully.
You may be well aware of the added dangers of toxic food at Christmas but make sure that your guests or dog sitters know too.
Finally, if your dog has accidentally eaten any of the above, be extra vigilant for symptoms such as stomach upsets, seizures, lethargy or excessive thirst and speak to your vet straight away.
Happy Christmas and keep those tails wagging!