Seasonal advice for your pets: Winter
Winter can brings challenges and dangers to our pets. To help you keep your pet safer and in top shape during winter, we’ve pulled together hints and tips to help you deal with them.
Winter hazards to pets for you to be aware of…
Human foods
Certain human food can be highly toxic to pets, such as chocolate, grapes, raisins, currants, sultanas, some nuts and allium species. All these are usually in abundance at Christmas time.
Check out our poisons & hazards page to find out more.
Cold weather
Anti freeze During cold snaps, antifreeze poisonings become increasingly common. These typically occur when ethylene glycol, one of the main ingredients in antifreeze, leaks from car radiators or screen wash containers. This chemical is extremely toxic to dogs and, to exacerbate the problem, it’s also very sweet so they like the taste.
Any amount is dangerous, even if it’s found in contaminated water such as puddles, but just a few tablespoonfuls are potentially fatal. Treatment may be needed if your dog swallows any antifreeze so please contact your vet as soon as possible. Cold Weather Slim dogs and older dogs may feel the cold more than others, so consider getting a coat for your dog.
Dark nights
Many of us lead busy lives and in the winter months there’s little choice but to walk our dogs during the hours of darkness.
- Always carry a torch.
- Wear bright clothing.
- Use reflective collars and leads
Toys & batteries
Christmas day can be exciting, but be cautious of small toys or parts, as they could cause an intestinal obstruction if a pet was to chew them. If a pet chews batteries, this can cause burns or an obstruction, so be careful where you store them.