In the excitement of Christmas Eve, somehow Jessie managed to scarf down a six-pack of mince pies. The shredded packet was all the evidence needed, plus an unusually quiet Jessie.
Fortunately Jessie’s owner knew the seriousness of the situation - she knew that raisins can be fatal to a dog - and rushed her to the vet without waiting for her to get sicker.
And that’s where Jessie stayed over the Christmas break, in intensive care, on a drip, while they worked to save her kidneys.
That story has a happy ending. Jessie came back home, weak and tired - but with fully functioning kidneys. It was a harsh, frightening, and probably very expensive lesson for Jessie’s family. You can be sure there’ll be no mince pies left lying around in that house in future!
Nor any Christmas cake, fruit cake, chocolate, chocolate with raisins, headache pills, artificial sweeteners, slug pellets, rat poison - the list goes on.
Not to mention rubber bands, paper clips, mothballs, small pebbles, cooked poultry, wooden meat skewers, plastic meat wrapping, and elastic netting and string for parcelling meat.
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The world is such a dangerous place!
Not really. We don’t need to get anxious about it. Parents of toddlers automatically keep the area clear of known hazards.
We just need to know about a few hazards that are peculiar to the dog.
Like raisins and chocolate, for instance.
Who’d have thought the humble mince pie could cause so much trouble?
Leave It!
Of course, you also want to teach your dog that food and other interesting objects are not for general consumption. And there’s a very simple way to do this - laid out step by step - in Leave It! How to Teach Amazing Impulse Control to your Brilliant Family Dog
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RESOURCES
http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poisons/ Comprehensive site with American plants
http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/top-10-dog-poisons#1
http://www.vets-now.com/pet-owners/dog-care-advice/food-dangers-poisons-dogs/
http://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/dogs/health/poisoning/common
