NO CHOCOLATE!!
At
Nurturing by Nature we want to promote responsible pet owners and with the
Easter bank holiday just upon us we thought that it would be an important time
to highlight the dangers of chocolate.
I’m not
going to lie we (the humans) at Nurturing by Nature love a bar of chocolate and
a chocolate digestive spends less time in the biscuit tin than it takes to say
chocolate digestive. However we are different in some ways to our four legged
friends and however much chocolate may be unhealthy for us it is not that
dangerous. Resulting in us putting on a few extra pounds. With dogs, chocolate
is highly toxic and in the most sever of cases can be fatal.
It is even
more import to be aware of the dangers at this time of year when chocolate
tends to be more readily available in most households.
“So you’re
in the kitchen making a cup of tea when all you can hear is a commotion coming
from the front room. You walk into the front room and all you can see is a
scattering of silver foil and half eaten cardboard packaging boxes. Boris (the
collie) laying in his bed looking super proud of himself and there are no
chocolate eggs to be seen.”
Boris must
have had the chocolate!
Some of
the visible signs that may occur within the hours after the event are;
·
Vomiting
·
Excessive
drinking
·
Restlessness
·
Salivation
·
Excitability
and hyperactivity
In severe
cases;
·
Diarrhea
·
Urinary
incontinence
·
Convulsions
·
Muscle
rigidity
·
Circulatory
failure may occur
The
effects of Chocolate to the health of our four legged friends are really quite
serious and should not to be treated lightly!
It is also
worth noting that many muffins, biscuits and cakes can also contain traces of
chocolate and although they may only contain a small trace of chocolate, they should
also be treated with caution.
At
Nurturing by Nature we want to encourage everyone to really get to know your
animals and promote being responsible pet owners. Whilst we do not intend to
scare you it is important to understand just how dangerous chocolate can be. If
any of our four legged friends manage to help themselves to our chocolate snacks
over the holiday period please don’t hesitate to seek Veterinary advice.
