At Christmas, we don’t share our plate! Certain ingredients can cause serious health problems in our four-legged companions.
When families sit down to more elaborate meals than usual, the dogs have only one objective: to collect what falls, what sticks out or what an absent-minded guest leaves lying around. Not to mention grandpa or grandma who discreetly slips a small piece under the table. But unfortunately, this period leads to an increase in veterinary consultations for food poisoning each year, often because a festive ingredient has ended up in the mouth of the bad gourmand.
In a video posted on TikTok, Paul Haylock, dog trainer, alerts owners to the dangers of foods circulating during this period. He first recalls well-known cases: grapes, present in many desserts or on a cheese platter, are likely to cause severe kidney problems in a dog. Another well-known food to ban: chocolate. Omnipresent in homes in December and the number one scent of traditional logs, it remains one of the main causes of poisoning at Christmas. Also, certain mature cheeses, whose content of fermented substances far exceeds what a dog’s body can tolerate, must be prohibited in your animals’ diet. However, if these products remain easily identifiable, others go under the radar, especially when they are added to a very elaborate dish.
This is where the risks increase, because no one imagines that the toxic ingredient is hiding in a much larger mixture of flavors. Paul Haylock then emphasizes an often overlooked point: “We also need to talk about garlic and onions, cooked or raw.” He continues: “So think about stuffing and stuff like that: it’s extremely toxic to your dogs.”
Indeed, ingestion of this type of ingredient can cause vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite and then anemia, with symptoms that sometimes appear several days later. For the educator, at Christmas, the watchword therefore remains caution. Pleasing your pet is tempting. However, if all the guests do the same, it is better to make the rules clear from the start, before sitting at the table.
