Holiday goodies not to be shared with the dog!

Related Articles

My ZEN Garden of Mutual Harmony will not make my dogs sick!

Double up-Water is important to you and to your doggie!

Oh where, oh where can that fur-baby-sitter be?

It’s that time of year…food everywhere!  We are always nibbling….and sharing!  One important thing to keep in mind is that not everything we taste and digest should be shared with our dogs! Dogs do not have the same metabolism/ digestive track and for this reason..even though it is the time to be merry, it’s also the time to be careful and ensure that we, or anybody else, are not feeding our dogs anything that could be toxic to their health.  Here are 15 ( not inclusive) foods to keep away from the dog!

• Beer-intoxication, panting, fever, racing heart, liver damage, coma, seizures and death.
• Candy-( may contain an the artificial sweetner Xylitol)-drop in blood glucose,depression, loss of coordination, and seizures, liver damage
• Chocolate/cocoa-vomiting, abnormal thirst, seizures, abnormal heartbeat, death ( bakers chooclate is the worst!)
• Nuts – weakness, incoordination, and tremors, pancreatitis, severe vomiting and diarrhea.
• Grapes/ raisins-kidney damage
• Onion/Garlic – contain sulfides and can cause the destruction of red blood cells causing anemia.
• Chips/ pretzels-bloat, sodium ion poisoning as a result of high salt content
• Fat trimmings-pancreatitis
• Nutmeg- tremors, seizures and death
• Tomatoes–tremors and heart arrhythmias.
• Avocados-(fruit, pit and plant) difficulty breathing and fluid accumulation in the chest, abdomen and heart.  
• Yeast dough-can rise and cause gas in the digestive system causing stomach or intestines to rupture.
• Milk ( eggnog too!) -diarrhea, digestive upset
• Cooked/ uncooked turkey/chicken bones- splinter and scratch the gastrointestinal tract.
• Canned salmon/ tuna-gastrointestinal illnesses

And a few more suggestions–

• If you run out of dog food, do not feed the dog cat food- it is much higher in fat and protein and not made for dogs.
• Holiday plants such as mistletoe, poinsettias, lilies and holly can poison or make your dog very sick so make sure they are out of reach. 
• Keep an eye on your holiday guests (especially youngsters) from feeding and treating your dog to dangerous foods over the holidays. 
• Indulging is not good for us and not good for the dogs- keep yourself and the dog from overeating. Overeating and overtreating pets during the holidays or anytime can lead to obesity ( not even dogs are spared:)

The holidays are meant to be happy, healthy, safe and stress free for dogs too-buy or make some natural pet treats, engage the dog in a good belly rub and ear scratch, go for a long walk and keep the dog away from the table at dinnertime.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOUR PETS!