Ah, the Diwali celebrations, reunions with friends, family traditions and, of course, those delicious meals. If you have a dog, your canine pal will probably be paying very close attention to those yummy dishes, but with tempting human food comes pet risk. Here’s our naughty festival food list you want to avoid feeding your dog, and some helpful tips to help avoid costly treatment.
A few simple precautions will keep your pet safe amid all the jolly chaos.This year let's celebrate Diwali in a safe and responsible manner. Here’s Zack’s No-No List!
1) Grapes, Raisins and Kishmish
Raisins are commonly found in dry fruit boxes, home made sweets, baked goods and as snacks. When ingested, these fruits from the Vitus sp. can result in severe acute kidney injury. Signs of poisoning often don’t show up for days, until kidney failure has already taken place.
2) Nuts
Nuts, including almonds, pecans, and walnuts, contain high amounts of oils and fats. The fats can cause vomiting and diarrhea, and potentially pancreatitis in pets.
3) Sweets & Desserts
Indian sweets are generally rich in fat and are made of dairy products that aren’t safe for your dog. They can cause diarrhea and can even be fatal to dogs that have allergies. High amounts of any sugary treat can be dangerous to pups.
Though your pup may love the taste of it, the processed sugar causes more harm to their system than one can imagine. Feeding your pet these sweets can lead to many short and long-term health issues like obesity , cavities, diarrhea , vomiting etc.
4)Bones and Chicken/Meat legs
While you may think you’re giving your dog a treat, you’re actually putting him at risk for a possible foreign body obstruction. The bones can also get stuck in the stomach or intestines, potentially resulting in a perforation (or rupture) of the intestines.
5) Onions, leeks, chives and garlic
This toxic food is a bit overhyped, as it typically takes a large ingestion to result in poisoning in dogs. That said, when ingested, these common kitchen foods can result in oxidative damage to the red blood cells, making these cells more likely to rupture (e.g., hemolyze). Cats are especially sensitive, and can develop a severe anemia (low red blood cell count) from even small amounts. Thankfully, this is typically seen more with chronic ingestion (e.g., when they are eating it for days), but to be safe, keep these out of reach.
6) Chocolate, coffee and Caffeine
These products all contain substances called methylxanthines, which are found in cacao seeds, the fruit of the plant used to make coffee, and in the nuts of an extract used in some sodas. When ingested by pets, methylxanthines can cause vomiting and diarrhea, panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and even death. Darker chocolate is more dangerous than milk chocolate. White chocolate has the lowest level of methylxanthines, while baking chocolate contains the highest.
7) Alcohol
Ahh , that’s human’s favourite but our pet’s worst enemy. Dogs can be poisoned by ingesting alcoholic drinks, so keep the mixed drinks and beer away from your dog. Accidental ingestion can cause severe coma, slowed respiration, and a life-threateningly low blood sugar in your dog.
Wish you the happiest tail wagging Diwali!
