Protect Your Dog From These Dangers

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When it comes to keeping your dog safe, it’s worth doing some research into the dangers. Whilst some hazards are obvious, others can be less noticeable. Here are a few everyday dangers to protect your dog from.

Toxic foods

Many foods that us humans are able to eat are toxic to dogs. It’s important not to leave scraps of these foods lying around as they could cause your pet to get very ill in some cases.

Chocolate is one of the most notable dangers – this is due to a stimulant in the chocolate known as theobromine. Dark chocolate is the worst due to its high levels and could result in severe vomiting, diarrhoea and seizures. As a result, it’s best to hide those opened xmas chocolates. Other foods with stimulants in such as coffee and tea can also cause similar effects.

Onions, garlic and chives can also be a danger, causing gut irritation and red blood cell damage due to their unique acidity. These foods are commonly found in everything from pizza to leftover Chinese takeouts to baby food, so you should take care when feeding these foods to your dog.

The last common human food to be wary of is grapes and raisins. Whilst the reason for the toxicity is unknown, these foods commonly cause kidney failure in dogs. Just one raison can be enough to cause kidney failure, so make sure to be strict about this food.

Poisonous plants

Certain household and garden plants could also be toxic if consumed by your dog. Common examples include azaleas, foxglove and Japanese yew. If you can’t or don’t want to get rid of these plants, you should consider locating them out of reach. Spraying them with chilli or lemon powder may also prevent dogs from chewing on these plants.

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Cat litter

Dogs will try to eat anything – even cat litter. Not only is this gross, but it could actually be dangerous for your dog, so you want to curb this behaviour as soon as possible. Not all cat litters are toxic – you can usually find out if they are from the packaging. Relocating the cat litter tray out of reach of the dog could also prevent your pooch from eating it, although you could simply train your dog not to go near it if this isn’t possible.   

Choking hazards

Many small loose items can pose a choking hazard to your dog. This could include anything from plastic wrapping to stones to kids’ toys to socks. It’s not always easy to prevent your dog getting hold of these items, however you should train your dog to drop items early so that you easily stop them chewing and swallowing these items. It could even be worth learning how to help your dog when it chokes – there’s a Heimlich for dogs which is very different to the human Heimlich manoeuvre. Be wary that even dog toys and bones can pose a danger. Generally you’re best avoiding balls that aren’t designed for dogs such as tennis balls.

Electrical cables

Electrical cables are a big hazard to dogs – if your pooch chews on a live cable, they could get an electric shock. Damaged cables that have been chewed on could also cause a fire hazard.

Hiding cables out of sight and out of reach can prevent your dog getting hold of them. Alternatively, you may want to cover your cables in a protective sleeve that your dog can’t chew through as easily – you’ll find these protective sleeves online. Another option could be to use a deterrent spray such as chilli powder or lemon spray – your dog will take one taste and never out the cable in it’s mouth again.

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Blue-green algae

When out on a walk, there are also hazards to look out for, one being blue-green algae in stagnant water. Blue-green algae is in fact not algae at all but clumps of bacteria that take the appearance of algae. It’s most commonly found in puddles and pools of water in hot weather when there hasn’t been much rainfall and has a green scum-like texture. If consumed, this algae is extremely toxic and can kill a dog in fifteen minutes. It can also cause severe skin irritation if a dog jumps in water with this bacteria present. As a result, you should be careful of letting your dog jump in water in hot weather – stick to flowing or clear water where this algae isn’t present.

Grass seeds

In the summer months, many dogs can injuries from grass seeds. Whilst not serious, these injuries can be very irritating for your dogs. The most common places for grass seeds to cause irritation are the paws and the ears – the seed may get stuck in creases in the skin, where they will continuously rub. You can’t do much to prevent these injuries, however you should look out for any excessive scratching of ears or hobbling when walking as this could be a sign that they  have a grass seed stuck there.

Conkers

In the autumn, conkers can be a big danger to your dog. Not only can they serve as choking hazards, but they’re also poisonous when consumed. Some dogs won’t touch conkers but others may be obsessed with them, which can make going on walks in autumn a bit of a struggle. Train your dogs to not to pick up conkers so that they don’t harm themselves.

Extreme heat

The summer heat can be a hazard too. Many dogs have thick coats that make extreme heat unbearable and they can pass out from heatstroke if it gets too hot. You should obviously never leave your animal in a car in summer without opening the windows and you should avoid going for walks during the hottest time of the day. Also make sure to test out tarmac when going for walks – very hot tarmac can burn your dog’s feet.