8 Naughty Foods To Avoid Giving Your Dog During The Holidays!

The holidays are hectic. The shopping, the dinners, the packed living rooms and the variety of foods available, and the general sheer chaos of it all are a recipe for our pets to consume things they should not. Little fingers passing treats under the table and pups that help themselves to whatever drops to the floor can make your dog sick to her stomach, or worse.

The following foods, which can cause afflictions in dogs, ranging from mild tummy distress to death, are seemingly innocent and mild foods that might easily be considered harmless. This makes it all the more important that these foods stay on your radar.

Here are eight foods that dogs should not eat:

Chocolate

Luckily, many of us already know that chocolate is highly toxic for dogs. It’s the chemical theobromine that causes the distress. All types of chocolate are harmful. The worst offenders are dark chocolate, unsweetened baking chocolate, and chocolate mulch.

Coffee

Ok, so what dog is gonna drink coffee? Well, that would be our lab, Django. If you have a coffee cup, she will try to get in your lap and lick it every time. Large consumptions of any caffeine (including those in energy drinks, sodas, cocoa, and even some medications) can cause death. And there is no antidote for caffeine overdose.

Grapes

Seemingly harmless, grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure. Even a small amount can make dogs sick. Repeated vomiting is a telltale sign.

Salt

Just like in humans, too much salt can cause heart, kidney, and liver problems in dogs. Dogs do not need additional salt added to their diet if they are consuming a nutritious dog food, which will already have a small amount of sodium included.

If your dog gets into a bag of chips or another salty snack, it’s OK, and there is no need to panic. Just replenish your dog’s water bowl to ensure that she has enough water to flush out the excess sodium. A dog would have to ingest a great amount of salt to get sodium iron poisoning.

Symptoms include excessive drinking, vomiting, and diarrhea. Too much sodium on a regular basis can also throw off a dog’s electrolyte balance.

Candy and Gum

…but probably not why your think. Any foods sweetened with xylitol can be damaging. Xylitol causes a dog’s blood sugar to drop and might also cause liver failure. As a result, many low-fat, diet snacks are off limits for dogs!

Macadamia Nuts

This seemingly natural food can be fatal to dogs. Just a few can make them sick, and if they eat cookies with chocolate in them, that ups the chance of the consumption being fatal.

Onions and Garlic

A little won’t do any long-term damage, but prolonged consumption of onions and garlic breaks down a dog’s red blood cells, which can lead to anemia.

Yeast Dough

Just like in an oven, if it ends up in a dog’s tummy, it will rise and expand, causing your dog’s belly to swell — and experience a lot of pain. Oddly enough, when the yeast ferments the dough, it produces alcohol, which might also cause alcohol poisoning.

All dog owners want to safeguard their dog’s health, and accidental ingestion of harmful foods often occurs as an oversight. If your dog starts experiencing vomiting, diarrhea, panting, sluggishness, or just doesn’t seem right, please call your vet. It’s also a good idea to keep the phone number of your local, 24-hour emergency vet in a handy place in your home.

10 Strangest Items Swallowed By Dogs

My mother’s Schnauzer mix, Sha Sha, eats just about anything. I didn’t quite believe just how often she would quickly snap up everything in her sight until a few weeks ago when she swallowed a quarter and a nickel in the blink of an eye. The vet advised my mother to watch her for the next few days as the coins would likely pass. It’s a very common issue among dog owners and it doesn’t only happen with puppies. The majority of dogs do grow out of the need to eat inedible objects. It can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what a puppy would eat so it’s best to be vigilant about where you dog is allowed to freely roam. Many dogs and puppies have been known to swallow seemingly unsuitable items, which you might not find in any way enticing or preferable, but they do. Check out this list of the strangest things swallowed by dogs as witnessed by the ASPCA :

10 Cold Weather Tips for Your Pets

The frigid temperatures around the country are not just inconvenient; they can be incredibly dangerous for our pets. It's important that pets are kept warm and protected from harsh temperatures. Experts say frostbite can set in in less than 15 minutes, and animals are not exempt from this despite their furry coats. While frostbite is bad enough, hypothermia is the most dangerous hazard when the weather gets this cold. Signs of hypothermia include “violent shivering followed by listlessness, a rectal temperature below 95°F (35°C), weak pulse, lethargy, and coma.” It can become fatal very fast. It goes without saying that every dog and cat needs to be indoors during cold temperatures like these. I would argue, however, that dogs and cats need to be indoors during any cold temperatures. If you are cold, they are cold, simple as that. Outdoors is no place for pets.

10 Most Common Medical Conditions That Send Dogs to the Vet

No one likes going to the vet, especially our dogs. Like many others, my dogs can sense when they are going way before we get there. They get nervous and hyper. Some dogs whimper endlessly at the vet’s office while countless others have fear-induced accidents right in the office. While regular check-ups and vaccinations are a necessary evil, we can try our best to keep our pups in optimal health thus avoiding another dreaded trip. Veterinary Pet Insurance compiled a list of the 10 most common medical conditions that send dogs to the vet. Some are unavoidable while others may be caught early on. Dr. Carol McConnell, DVM points out that many of the conditions that most regularly require vet visits “can be stopped early or successfully managed in partnership with a veterinarian. To prevent some of the discomfort that so many pets experience from common diseases, the place to start would be by checking them regularly for developing problems.” Check out the full list here at Babb

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