We Love Pets Livingston warns owners about the dangers of traditional Christmas foods for their dogs

MD, Bryan Sharp who walks and pet sits for over 100 dogs a year said: “Many pet owners have no idea how dangerous Christmas foods are for their dogs. It’s a busy time of year and it only takes a few minutes for your back to be turned and instead of sitting down to turkey and all the trimmings you are on the way to the emergency vets because the dog’s eaten a packet of mince pies or Auntie Cath’s box of chocolates from under the tree. We’d urge all dog owners to by hyper vigilant this year and keep potentially harmful foods away from their dogs this Christmas.”

The foods owners should be very careful of around dogs are:

· Mince pies/Christmas cake/Christmas pudding/stollen, chocolate covered raisins (grapes, raisins, currants and sultanas are toxic to dogs. Effects can be delayed by several days, consult your vet asap)

Bryan Sharp, owner of We Love Pets Livingston and his dog, Leela.

· Chocolate (Chocolate contains theobromine, which is poisonous to dogs so look out for: coins on tree, advent calendars, boxes of chocolates, wrapped presents.)

· Sage and onion stuffing (onion part of allium family which contain a substance that can damage a dog’s red blood cells and cause life threatening anaemia)

· Macadamia nuts (can cause dog to become weak, dully and sleepy plus vomiting, tremors and increased body temperature)

· Blue Cheese (Roquefort and other blue cheeses contains roquefortine C, produced by the fungus that’s used to produce these cheeses. Can cause muscle tremors and seizures)

· Alcohol (dogs are more sensitive than humans and may be attracted to egg nogg or cream type drinks) Can cause all the effects of being drunk plus low blood sugar, seizures and coma.

· Bones – (Cooked bones become brittle and can penetrate the stomach or intestinal wall. Make sure the turkey carcass is out of reach.)

· Mouldy food – (contains many different toxins which could make your dog ill)

We Love Pets resident vet Dr Eloise Quince said: “If you think your dog has ingested any of the above, give your vet a call immediately. We will want to know how much they have eaten, when, and the age, weight and breed of your dog. You may need to bring them into the surgery, or we may keep in touch with you by phone to monitor the situation; either way, prevention is better than cure, so try to keep all contraband foods out of their reach this Christmas.”