Keeping your pet safe over Christmas
Around this time of year, we often indulge in chocolate and mince pies but vets are advising we make sure our four-legged friends are not doing the same.
Dan from Capon Tree Vets told ITV Border: "I think we need to be really careful at this time of year for those extra treats. Mince pies are a real problem because of the raisins and sultanas. Chocolate, obviously we all know chocolate and there is a lot of chocolate around at Christmas time. Nuts, people often have a lot of nuts out and some of them, particularly Macadamia nuts aren't great for dogs. So we want to keep those away."
Chocolate contains theobromine, a stimulant similar to caffeine, which can cause vomiting, increased heart rate, agitation and seizures in dogs.
Between 2012 and 2017, 386 cases of chocolate poisoning involving 375 animals were reported at almost 230 veterinary practices in the UK, researchers at the University of Liverpool found.
Chocolate exposure was more than four times as likely to be recorded at Christmas and almost twice as likely to be recorded at Easter than in non-festive periods.
And it's not just food that can be a problem for pets around Christmas. Festive decorations can pose a threat too.
The advice is, don't introduce foods that your pet isn't used to. It is possible to get advent calendars for pets that contain normal treats, which vets would advise as the safest way to give your pet a festive treat.
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