Monday, November 3, 2014

Foods and Plants that will Make Your Dog Sick

During the holidays, there are things that decorate the house and things that people eat that dogs should not eat.  Here are just a few health and safety tips.
 

  • High-fat holiday foods that people enjoy can make some of animals sick.  Fatty foods can lead to pancreatitis in pets, just like it can in people, and perhaps easier in smaller dogs. This is a very serious illness, get and can mean staying in the animal hospital.

  • Chocolate, coffee and tea contain something that causes cardiac problems and problems with the nervous system in pets, which can lead to seizures and gastro-intestinal upset.  Dark chocolate is even worse than regular chocolate, which is bad as it is.

  • If you have a party and serve alcohol, be sure that pets don't get tempted to finish off the glasses, that can be fatal, every year hundreds of dogs die from alcohol poisoning.

  • The pretty plant, Holly, causes digestive upset in dogs and cats.

  • Mistletoe causes heart problems and digestive upset

  • Poinsettias cause blisters in the mouth and digestive upset

  • Secure your tree if you have a cat, especially if it's your first Christmas with the cat and you don't know their habits.  They will sometimes climb the tree, and knock ornaments off the tree to play with.

  • Cats might swallow tree tinsel, ribbon and other things that can cause obstructions inside that might require surgery.

  • Don't have batteries lying around or other little things that your dog might chew on and make them very sick because of the toxins inside.

  • Macadamia nuts are not good for pets, they can affect the nervous and digestive system.

  • Potpourri, the wonderful smell comes from oils, and those oils can be toxic to pets.
  •   Xylitol which is in everything from gum, to candy, to toothpaste and more is very poisonous to dogs.
  •  DON'T GIVE PETS AS GIFTS unless you have planned well ahead for them...so many pets end up in shelters or out on the streets because the family isn't prepared and gets tired of them, and that's just plain mean and sad.

A lot of these tips came from a vet in a town not far from here, his site is newtonvet.com.

Image: Pixabay