The holidays pose many risks for our beloved pets.
At Halloween there are things that can happen with decorations, candy, costumes and people. It’s also a time of high risk for animals getting out of your house and possibly lost with the door being opened and closed all night.
Trick or Treat candies are NOT for pets. Keep an on eye on the candy bowl. All forms of chocolate, especially dark chocolate, can be dangerous and even lethal, to both dogs and cats! Chocolate can cause severe vomiting, diarrhea and seizures.
Chocolate covered raisins are a combination of two potentially deadly ingredients. Raisins can cause severe kidney failure. If your pet happens to eat a chocolate covered raisin, immediately get them to your vet.
Candy corn and other high sugar candy can cause severe gas and diarrhea. Candy with plastic and foil wrappers pose a health risk of causing an obstruction in the intestines and can irritate the lining of the GI tract.
Hard candies taste delicious to dogs, but they pose a major choking hazard. And MOST IMPORTANTLY, do not let pets ingest sugar free gum or candy, which may contain Xylitol, a sugar-substitute. Xylitol can be deadly to your pet. This is by far, the most dangerous type of candy for pets!
We all love Halloween and fall decorations, but dogs and cats tend to explore new things with their mouths. A curious or bored dog or cat will happily scarf down fake spider webs, fake bugs or even dried corn decorations. Any of these items can obstruct your pet’s digestive tract.
Pumpkins usually have a candle in them, which your pet could easily knock over and start a fire or at the least, cause a mess.
Make sure your pet is properly identifiable. Up to day microchipping is so important. Have a collar and ID tag on them just in case Fido decides to bolt when you open the door to those trick or treaters.
And lastly, if you’re going to put your pet in a costume, make sure it fits properly and doesn’t have any pieces that can easily be chewed off. Make sure it doesn’t interfere with their sight, hearing, breathing, movement. Let your pet get accustomed to the costume and never leave your pet unsupervised while in costume.
Thanksgiving also can be a treacherous time. Fatty foods are hard for animals to digest, poultry bones can damage your pet’s digestive tract and holiday sweets can contain ingredients that are poisonous to your pets.
Keep your food on the table, not under it! Turkey and turkey skin, sometimes even in small amounts can cause a life-threatening condition in pets known as pancreatitis. Fatty foods are hard for animals to digest, and many foods healthy for people are poisonous to pets, including onions, raisins and grapes.
A small piece of turkey (make sure it’s boneless, white and cooked all the way through) or a lick of mashed potatoes will not harm your pet, but anything more than that could potentially be harmful.
Don’t spoil your pet’s holiday by giving him access to raw yeast bread dough. When a dog or cat ingests this, the yeast continues to convert the sugars in the dough to carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. This can result in bloated, drunk pets, which could become a life-threatening emergency.
Just like Halloween, be careful with decorations. Pinecones, needles and other decorations can cause intestinal blockage or even perforate an animal’s intestines if eaten.
Taking a few extra precautions will
ensure your pet stays safe.
