Death by chocolate: don’t kill your dog with kindness

There was news recently of a dog owner who was forced to make a substantial claim on his pet dog insurance policy because his dog had managed to get at a supply of chocolate. The dog consumed a lot of it and would have died without the expensive emergency medical treatment he received.

It’s frightening how many people don’t realise that chocolate is actually toxic to dogs. Probably one chocolate from a box of chocs won’t kill him, but it won’t do him any good either. If you never give him any chocolate, he may be less likely to develop the taste for it. Other things poisonous to dogs are onions, macadamia nuts, and raisins in large quantities.

But if your dog does manage to feast himself on chocolate, how will you know? For example, it’s easy in all the excitement at Christmas not to realise Rover has chewed up a bar of chocolate that was left lying around.

The symptoms you would notice are vomiting, restlessness, twitching, and breathing difficulties. If this happens get him to the vet straight away. The treatment could be expensive, but your pet dog insurance should cover it.

So what should you be feeding your dog? The short answer is: dog food. Many dogs develop a taste for human food because they are regularly fed with scraps from the meal table. Some people even cook their dog fancy meals and think they are being extra kind. The dog will love it – dogs like us enjoy high fat food. But apart from poisoning, the biggest risk to your dog’s health is obesity.

And don’t overfeed your dog, even on dog food. If the packet says two meals a day, two meals a day is what he needs. It will give him the nutrition he needs and no more.

Remember, if you regularly overfeed your dog against vet’s advice, he could well develop heart problems. And in that situation you run the risk that your pet dog insurance may refuse to pay out.

So listen to your vet, stick to regular dog foods, feed him a sensible diet and you’ll have a happy healthy dog. And you’ll still have your pet dog insurance for emergencies.