Keeping your Dog Safe this Easter
Easter is nearly here and it’s a chance to put a spring into your step and get into the festivities.
With Easter falling later than usual this year it means that we might get some warmer weather. The perfect chance to get out and about, stretching your legs on a long walk with your pup.
Whilst all the family members like to join in with the Easter events, it's important to keep your dog safe and away from harm.
The main issue with Easter fun is the amount of chocolate that we all consume. All this chocolate is delicious but not so good for animals such as dogs who find chocolate to be toxic.
Keep your chocolate treats to yourself and out of the way of any animals.
This includes any Easter egg hunts that you have in your garden. Ensure that your dogs are not allowed out unsupervised whilst the chocolate eggs are in the garden (if your dog is likely to eat them they don’t let them out in the garden at all), and ensure that every single chocolate egg laid out for the hunt has been found before they are allowed to resume normal business in the garden.
If you do have dogs in your household, then it may be safer to hide Easter images that your family can find and exchange for chocolate eggs instead of hiding the chocolates themselves in the garden. That way they still have the fun of the hunt but without the possibility of the chocolate eggs being found by the family dog, or indeed other wildlife that frequent your garden.
Don’t forget that your dogs don’t have to miss out on the fun. You can set out their own Easter hunt in the garden using their favorite toys or perhaps a tasty nibble that they can have.
Other items that are common at Easter which can harm dogs are:
- Daffodils
Pretty flowers but their bulbs are toxic so if you have a naughty pup that likes to dig then make sure that these bulbs are not in your garden. Keep them in pots away from where your dog is likely to go digging or admire them from other people’s gardens or out in public.
- Popular Easter foods like Simnel Cake and Hot Cross Buns
For some reason, Easter food seems to have a lot of raisins and sultanas in them. Both raisins and sultanas are toxic to dogs, along with other products in the grape family, so keep items that contain them away from your pups.
- Roast dinners.
A popular meal for Easter and this is the dinner that seems to make dogs drool the most when it's cooking. However much they love it, do be mindful that items such as the gravy and stuffing often contain garlic and onions which are both toxic to dogs. On top of that, the popular Roast dinner can contain a high level of salt which is also bad for dogs to consume.
Whilst it's hard to say no to those puppy dog eyes, denying them the food that has the potential to make them seriously ill is kinder in the long run.
However your family plans to celebrate Easter this year, make sure that you have all the fun without any of the stress by keeping your dog safe from harm.