There's a range of hazards pet owners face at Christmas. Photo / 123RF
Experts provide top tips on how to keep dogs safe from harm at Yuletide.
Hannah Love’s much-loved labrador Molly was always a fan of Christmas, but one particular year, she truly lived up to her breed’s reputation for being unstoppably greedy.
“We went out for lunch on Christmas Eve and when we got home, we couldn’t find the Christmas cake anywhere,” says Helen, from [to come]. “We eventually found the board under the sofa – the entire 30-person cake had been eaten, including the ribbon round the edge.
“Then on Christmas night, Molly got in the bin and ate the whole turkey carcass. On the 27th, she stole and devoured a whole box of biscuits. Then she started feeling poorly.”
A diagnosis of gastroenteritis followed, along with a £400 ($810) vet bill. Their dog recovered, thankfully, but it was a reminder that some canines take the Christmas spirit of overindulgence to the absolute limit.
Meera Jethwa, the puppy trainer, spent two Christmases working in an emergency vet practice and she says the phone rang non-stop with owners panicking that their dogs had eaten things they shouldn’t have. “It was everything from Christmas pudding to mince pies, whole boxes of After Eights and even a pair of children’s knickers,” she says.
According to the latest figures from the British Veterinary Association, during the 2021-22 festive period, three quarters of vets saw a case of chocolate-based poisoning and more than two thirds treated dogs taken ill after eating raisins or sultanas (both are toxic to dogs). More than one in four vets also reported cases of toxic ingestion in cats, with holly, mistletoe, foreign bodies and antifreeze among the chief culprits.
Laura Gillett, from Maidenhead, ended up at the vet’s on December 23 when her German Shepherd, Sadie, tucked into a box of liqueur chocolates.
“Any German shepherd owner will know the guilty look – ears back and down, head low and a low tail wag. I found the box, which was cellophaned when I left, open and completely empty. Thankfully I managed to get one of the last appointments before Christmas so I only had to pay £100 ($200) for the dreaded jab to make her sick. The vet warned me she’d be feeling under the weather and nauseous for a few days, but that dog bounded out of the surgery like she didn’t have a care in the world. She’d learned no lesson whatsoever.”
When Calli, our tiny goldendoodle puppy, landed in our lives on her oversized paws in July, we drilled our three girls (aged 11, eight and five) on the importance of no longer playing with Lego or Playmobil on the floor. We moved breakables out of tail-wagging reach and had a serious chat about chocolate and grapes. Like all puppies, Calli was a bundle of mischief and mayhem but it was summertime and so it largely unfolded in the garden, under the gaze of three thoroughly obsessed little girls.
Yes, we suffered some unfortunate Sylvanian family casualties – Mr and Mrs Otter look like they narrowly survived a house fire – and the girls have had to perfect the knack of cleaving open Calli’s jaws because the “drop” command is still very much a work in progress. But it was all going pretty well until we hit December, and suddenly a new host of hazards appeared.
Within minutes of them being hung on the tree, pinecone decorations were snaffled and crunched to oblivion. A Quality Street wrapper appeared in Calli’s morning deposit. The chocolate advent calendars became a source of great interest, and wrapping presents proved frankly impossible.
“Christmas is going to be a nightmare,” I declared to my husband, as the reality of spending the day surrounded by two toddlers, three children, 15 grown-ups and 30 pigs in blankets finally dawned. “The only thing worse than Christmas with a puppy is Christmas with a full-sized alligator,” said a dog-walking friend. “It’ll be stressful, you’ve just got to keep your wits about you.”
Apparently that’s wise advice. Jethwa says that a dog’s first Christmas can be magical but staying vigilant is key. “Owners always say, ‘He’s never done anything like this before,’ which is why you need to make sure your pets are supervised over Christmas. Never underestimate them. And if you’re staying away from home, look up the nearest emergency vet and take your pet’s paperwork and insurance details with you so that if the worst happens, you’re prepared.”
With that in mind, vets and experts explain the main hazards that cats, dogs and their owners will face this Christmas and what to do if you suffer a mishap. Good luck!
“Make sure wires are out of the dog’s reach,” says Dr Katie Ford, a vet of 10 years. Otherwise you might find yourself in copywriter Estelle Lee’s shoes. Lee invested in an oversized tree for her small cottage and went out for a couple of hours only to come home to find the tree had toppled over, and her two dogs – a cocker spaniel and a black labrador – tangled up in the lights. “They panicked, so they also thoroughly emptied their bowels everywhere. It was a three-day clean-up operation as I had to wash all the rugs and cushions.”
Not the run-up to Christmas any of us would want.
“It’s the cocoa solids that are poisonous to dogs, so it’s really important to let the vet know what type of chocolate it was and the size of your dog. Vets have ‘chocolate calculators’ to help them decide the right course of action so when you ring up, have the packaging to hand, and know your dog’s weight,” says Dr Elizabeth Mullineaux from the British Veterinary Association.
Plates of mince pies and stollen should be kept out of reach (that includes any you’re leaving out for the big man), as both contain sultanas and raisins, which can be toxic for some dogs and even cause kidney failure.
“It’s quite common for relatives to feed the dog extra treats but try not to deviate from your dog’s usual diet too much,” says Dr Mullineaux. “My dog will be having some turkey as a Christmas treat, but it will be mixed in with her usual dried food.”
“Ribbon and string make great toys for cats and kittens but don’t leave them with it unsupervised. If those things are swallowed, they can corrugate the gut and cause life-threatening injuries,” says Dr Mullineaux. “Cats can also eat the little toys and trinkets inside Christmas crackers or bits of Lego so if they are being sick, it’s worth contacting your vet.”
“Everyone’s busy and distracted at Christmas, and with friends and family coming and going, it’s very easy for a dog or cat to slip out of the house unnoticed,” says Dr Ford. “Make sure collars and microchips are up to date so that they can be easily traced once found.”
“Supervise interactions between young children and dogs, especially if your dog isn’t used to kids,” says Jethwa. “Puppies can get nippy if they’ve had enough, or they need a break or a nap, so make sure there’s a space for them to decompress away from the chaos.”
Think ahead about how your dog will be around small toys and, if necessary, think about creating a “safe doggy space” away from the main arena. If something is bitten off and swallowed (Barbie’s head was a recent casualty in our house), keep the remainder to show the vet.
“Food waste should be taken straight to the outside bin,” advises Dr Ford, to avoid cats and dogs chomping through leftovers. Cooked meat often contains bones, which can splinter and cause injury so dispose of it as quickly as possible.
Lilies are extremely toxic for cats, but also beware poinsettias, holly berries and mistletoe – ideally don’t even have them in your house. If your cat ingests any of these, early symptoms include salivation, vomiting and diarrhoea, and you should contact your vet.
Don’t feed dogs or cats any of these:
The average age of patients in the study was just 38, highlighting risks for younger adults.