Did you know lillies are extremely fatal to small pets? Think twice about accepting the Tulips from the cute old lady at work as well. Your next trip to the florist could land you at the vet! Avoid amaryllis, azaleas, chrysanthemums, daffodils, hyacinths, oleander, and sago palm, toname a few. Make sure that mulch used in pet-accessible gardens is free from cocoa beans.

And Christmas is a downright disaster for dogs!

Besides the invasion of new relatives (and their smells!) and small, excitable children, many plants associated with the yuletide are toxic. Pointsettias, holly, mistletoe, and the pine needles from Christmas trees are all toxic. Don’t be assured that your dog is immune if they have ingested some of those things. Pets tend to hide illnesses if they think they’ll end up at the veternarian. Make sure to be proactive to avoid accidental poisoning–keep pets away from places where you keep cleaning products, automotive solvents, and garbage. Use covered trash cans, and keep an extra eye on your pet during Christmas. Even bones are unsafe! In the words of a veterinarian, “Some dogs have lead-plated stomachs; but some don’t, so why take the chance?” She went on to tell me that three of the dogs in the operating room that night were there because of table scraps. There’s no need to take risks. Sharing your meal with your pets won’t make them happy; they will immediately want more, and it will set a bad behavioral precedent for the future. Eventually, it won’t be cute when your animal begs for food; but if you’ve yielded to their charms in the past, it’s nobody’s fault but yours. Your best bet is to stick with a high-quality dog food, with low ash content and low fat.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 12th, 2008 at 5:51 am and is filed under K9 Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.