14/12/2025
🎄❤️ Christmas Treats Can Break a Dog’s Heart (and Their Gut) ❤️🎄
At Christmas we love to spoil everyone we care about… and that includes our dogs 🐶
But for many pets, a little festive “treat” from the table can lead to days (or weeks) of pain, sickness, and emergency vet visits.
❗ Dogs’ digestive systems are NOT designed for rich, fatty, seasoned human food.
Even small amounts of leftovers can trigger:
• Vomiting & diarrhoea
• Painful pancreatitis
• Gut inflammation
• Long-term digestive sensitivity
🚫 Foods to actively avoid giving dogs at Christmas
Please don’t assume “just a bit won’t hurt” — some of these can be genuinely dangerous:
❌ Fatty meats & trimmings (turkey skin, gravy, sausages, stuffing)
❌ Cooked bones (especially poultry bones – they splinter and perforate the gut)
❌ Onions, garlic, leeks & chives (toxic to dogs, even in gravy or stuffing)
❌ Chocolate (toxic at all doses)
❌ Alcohol (even small amounts are dangerous)
❌ Mince pies, Christmas pudding & fruit cake (raisins/sultanas are highly toxic)
❌ Cheese & rich dairy (commonly causes gut upset and an lead to pancreatitis as many dogs are lactose intolerant (acute pain and large vet bill - I’ve seen this many times unfortunately)
❌ Seasoned or spiced foods (irritate the stomach and intestines)
🧠 A gentle reminder
Your dog doesn’t understand Christmas dinner —
They understand comfort, routine, and feeling well.
The kindest gift you can give them is:
✔ Their normal food
✔ Fresh water
✔ Safe, dog-friendly treats
✔ Extra walks, cuddles, and attention
If you’d like festive treats, choose dog-specific Christmas snacks or give a little extra of their usual food instead.
🎁 Love isn’t what’s on your plate — it’s keeping them healthy.
Please share this to help protect dogs this Christmas ❤️🐾