Christmas Foods and Others Things to Avoid for your Dog

Dec 24

Food is such an important part of any celebration and with Christmas coming there’s usually an abundance of different goodies and yummy food on offer. It is also a very busy time with a lot of people around too so the perfect time for your dog to show off their gorgeous big puppy eyes to score some of the Christmas titbits. However this is not the time to let your guard down on being a responsible dog parent and keeping your beloved dog safe.

Christmas should be a time of joy and festivities, but we don’t want it to turn into an unexpected not to mention expensive trip to the vets when your dog has eaten something that they shouldn’t have. A dog that is very food focussed will always try and find a way to get to that tasty food so management will be the key and being on the ball.

So we have compiled a list of favourite foods that may be at your table this Christmas and what to avoid for your dog and some signs to watch out for.

Dogs and avoid chocolate — **Chocolate**

what’s Christmas without chocolate? But just make sure it’s not part of your dogs Christmas. Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, which are toxic to both dogs and cats. The darker the chocolate the more toxic and unsafe it is for your dog. Chocolate toxicity varies from the amount and type of chocolate ingested and the weight of your dog. Some signs of chocolate toxicity include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, seizures and tremors.

Dogs and avoid mince pies, pudding — **Christmas Pudding, Fruitcake, Mince Pies**

We all love dessert but doesn’t mean your dog should join in with you. All these products generally contain raisins, currants and sultanas which are all very toxic to both cats and dogs (Fresh grapes are included in this list and also very toxic). They can cause vomiting, dehydration and even kidney failure.

Dogs and avoid onions — **Onions (including shallots, spring onions, chives, leeks and powdered form)**

Onion is very good at sneaking into a lot of Christmas food including in stuffing and gravy. Onion contains a certain toxin that can cause damage to the red blood cells and cause gastrointestinal problems, anaemia, lethargic and weak. Side note: gravy is high in salt and fatty for dogs too.

Dogs and avoid fatty meat — **Meat offcuts including fatty ham trimmings, chicken and turkey skins**

You might think it’s a nice treat for your dog to give them a bit of ham, pork crackling, processed meats or sausage but take it easy on this. A little might be okay for a treat (if your dog doesn’t have tummy issues already) but too much fat can cause upset stomachs or worse pancreatitis which is a very serious condition. Signs including vomiting, nausea, dehydration.

Dogs and avoid cooked bones — **Cooked bones**

It’s the time of the year to fire up the BBQ and having a great traditional cooked Christmas meal, which also means a lot of cooked bones. Cooked bones can easily splinter and cause internal damage to your dogs and cats so avoid at all costs.

Dogs and avoid sugar, xylitol, lollies — **Sugar and artificial sweeteners especially xylitol**

Another hidden bad guy in a lot of foods including lollies, chewing gum, toothpaste, peanut butter and baked goods. Xylitol is very harmful to cats and dogs and can cause hyperglycaemia, liver failure, seizures, and convulsions. Sugar is not good for our dogs either so keep the human treats like biscuits and cakes to you only.

Dogs and avoid macadamia nuts — **Macadamia nuts**

They are very poisonous to dogs so whatever you do keep out of reach. Macadamia nuts can cause the inability to walk or stand, lethargy, muscles tremors, vomiting and hyperthermia.

Dogs and avoid avocado — **Avocado**

One of our favourite salads at Christmas includes avocado. It is the stone, skin and leaves that pose the danger to your dog due to a substance called ‘persin’ and it quite toxic to dogs. Due to the size of the stone it can cause blockages in the stomach or internal damaged if swallowed. Symptoms may include vomiting, heart congestion and diarrhoea.

Dogs and avoid rawhide — **Rawhide bones and treats**

There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING good about rawhide whatsoever. They are full of chemicals and toxins some of them including artificial colours, bleach, and hydrogen peroxide and glue. Not to mention they are a big chocking hazards, risk of contamination such as salmonella and can cause digestive issues and internal blockages. Choose your dog treats from a reputable source that uses quality local ingredients. There are many amazing dog treat companies that offer local made and natural products.

Dogs and avoid dairy cheese milk — **Dairy products including milk, cream, ice cream and cheese**

Dogs have issues digesting dairy just like a lot of people so make sure you check what you are giving your dog. Too much can cause them to have upsets stomachs, vomiting, gas and diarrhoea.

Other notable mentions:

Dogs and avoid alcohol coffee tea — **Drinks to avoid**
**– Alcohol** – it’s time to be merry but just not for your dogs in that kind of way. Alcohol can be very harmful and cause kidney failure, liver damage, vomiting, diarrhoea, difficulty breathing, and issues with central nervous system.

**– Coffee and tea** – it’s all about the caffeine. Dogs are very sensitive to caffeine and can be quite harmful. So keep it away while you are doing the 11pm wrapping of the presents.

Dogs and avoid plants poinsettia — **Plants** – best to keep them out of reach of pets.
Ones to avoid that are popular at Christmas include:
**– Poinsettias** – some dogs like to get a bit too close to poinsettias and have a bit of a chew on them. This can cause stomach pain, vomiting and discomfort.

**– Holly, mistletoe and ivy berries and leaves** are poisonous and may cause some upset stomachs.
**– Christmas Trees needles** could cause internal damage if eaten due to sharps tips plus not to nice on their paws.

Dogs and avoid food wrapper — **Food wrappers**

Always make sure that food and chocolate wrappers or items with food on it like foil and cling wrap are disposed appropriately. Choking, intestinal obstruction or damage to the oesophagus or intestines can occur. Also watch out for toothpicks and skewers which can get stuck.

Dogs and avoid paper crackers — **Wrapping paper and cracker toys**

Keep picking up your paper your rubbish and make sure the cracker toys are not left where your dog can reach them. Also good to mention to not put anything edible under the Christmas tree incase you have a curious four legged friend wants to open a present that doesn’t belong to them.

Dogs and avoid rubbish — **Removing your rubbish**

With all the great food smells it would be very alluring for your dog to get a midnight snack. It’s very important to remove all your rubbish and food scraps including avocado seed and skin, cooked bones, seafood scraps, corn cobs etc. where your dog can’t get into.

Management is the best thing you can do for your dog and so much less stress than trying to worry if they are going to get into things. Having them in a quiet place happily munching on doggy appropriate food or a chew toy or a fun enrichment puzzle toy to keep them distracted. A licki mat with some of their favourite wet food squished into it can work wonders.

If it's practical, baby gates to the areas where there is food or putting your dog in their own quiet area. (see blog, “7 Tips for a Calm Dog with Visitors”)

Prevention is better than a cure but what to do if they get into these foods or other items? Remain calm and get professional advice immediately by contacting your vet. It’s always good to be prepared and have your closest emergency vet number and location on hand. Check out the Emergency Animal Poison Helpline website or call 1300 869 738.

We all seem to go a little overboard with the amount of food on Christmas so how about sharing the leftovers with your family and friends but definitely not to your dogs.