Holiday Traditions

Over many years of working in the clinic, clients have shared with me the special holiday traditions they have with their pets.  One in particular stands out for me and I think of it every year.  For many years, one family always gave their dogs a special Christmas treat.  Not so unusual as most of us buy special treats or toys for our pets every year.  Every year this family gave their 2 large dogs sausages as a Christmas treat.  The end result was always the same.  The next day (and for several days after) both dogs would vomit and have diarrhea.  We could count on getting a call for an appointment every year to see the dogs and prescribe medications to deal with the aftermath of the sausages.  Personally, I can think of better ways to spend my holidays than cleaning up vomitus and diarrhea from around my house.  I was never sure if they thought that some year the consequences would be different or what but I never did understand this tradition.  I'm sure the dogs enjoyed their sausages very much at the time, but I'm also pretty sure they did not enjoy the way they felt for the next several days. Fortunately, neither of the dogs ever developed pancreatitis (a potentially fatal condition) after eating the sausages.  We all like to treat our pets to something special, but we need to use caution in what we give our pets.  Fatty treats like sausage and ham can lead to serious illnesses, such as, pancreatitis.  Too much of anything other than our pets' normal diet can lead to gastrointestinal upset. So, by all means treat your pets to something special for the holidays, but use caution and learn what human foods can be toxic to your pets and always treat in moderation. You may be very surprised at what can be toxic to pets.  Check www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/ for a list of dangerous foods.
Jan Hueben, RVT