As the weather picks up, the spring flowers appear and we start to look forward to Easter, this may be a good time to also think about our dogs and their excitement for Easter too! As a dog charity, at Yellow Dog we are constantly aware of so many different aspects of our dogs, from situations where they may be shy, timid or even afraid and holidays are a time when routines change, events change and this means change for our dogs, which can be unsettling. However if these changes involve family, food, change of scenes we can help our dogs to have as much fun as we are, by being considerate and sensible when planning Easter fun.
We all love an Easter hunt and the joy of chocolate but if our dogs join in, it’s not fun! Chocolate is sadly on the bad list for dogs and really quite poisonous. I know of one little dog who even searched out the chocolate easter eggs hidden in the bedroom cupboard, before the hunt even began! He ate a whole bag of chocolate bunnies and then spent the afternoon in the vets! An expensive and worrying Easter Hunt, which none of us want. At a time when we may be entertaining and lots of children running around we do need to be mindful that our dogs just love to join in too and it is our job to keep them safe. Also there can be some unexpected foods on the bad list, so it just helps if we are aware of as many as possible, this helps children too as they grow up to understand which foods they must never give to dogs, even though they may think they are being kind and generous sharing their treats!
Maybe research the poisonous food list for dogs and put these on your fridge for all to see…
On the list of poisonous foods for dogs it includes…..
Chocolate
Hot Cross Buns & Simnel Cake (due also to all the raisins in the cake)
Avocado
Corn on the Cob
Onions
Grapes and Raisins
Cooked bones
Alcohol
Blue Cheese
Bread Dough
Macadamia Nuts
And in the garden do keep your Spring bulbs and flowers away from your dogs, as these too are poisonous if eaten.
So please enjoy Easter but keep all the treats away from your dogs. If you want an Easter Hunt in the garden just hide bunny tokens or plastic easter egg holders, then when the children bring them in you can replace these with chocolates, so nothing is left hidden in the garden for the dogs to find in their own time.
If your dog does eat any of these foods that are poisonous do contact your vet and they can help sort the problem.
Happy Easter!