Eggs-pert advice on how to have a dog-friendly Easter

With the Easter bank holiday weekend quickly approaching, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, Dogs Trust, is reminding dog owners to keep chocolate out of reach of our four-legged friends.

As Easter eggs and other tasty cocoa treats find their way into homes, the charity hopes to raise awareness of the continued risk that the consumption of chocolate poses to our canine companions.

Dogs Trust is providing top tips and advice for any dog owners on how to have a dog-friendly Easter.

Josie Cocks, Dogs Trust Veterinary Surgeon, has highlighted the importance of not allowing dogs to eat human chocolate.

She said: “Chocolate can be poisonous to dogs, so owners should ensure they keep it out of reach of their four-legged friends.

"Whilst some chocolate is more toxic than others, any amount is potentially harmful to your dog.

“If you suspect your dog has eaten chocolate, we would advise owners to contact their vets immediately.

"Chocolate poisoning can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, excessive thirst, excitability, drooling, seizures and potentially kidney and heart failure.”

Here is some Dogs Trust’s advice and top tips for dog owners at Easter time:

Never give your pooch any human chocolate as a treat. Ensure that children and visitors understand why and adhere to this rule too.

Make sure that bins are dog-proof to prevent them scavenging through rubbish.

Never leave any chocolate unsupervised, such as cakes cooling on worktop surfaces

Keep a close eye on your dog whilst out walking, to avoid them scoffing down discarded food that is potentially harmful.

Although our canine companions shouldn’t be eating human chocolate, there are plenty of other ways for them to enjoy the holiday weekend.

Tamsin Durston, canine behaviour officer at Dogs Trust, has offered some suggestions.

She said: “There are plenty of exciting things we can do with our pets over the holiday weekend.

"Taking them on their own Easter hunt around the house that includes dog-friendly treats instead of chocolate is a great way of bonding and giving our dogs lots of stimulation.

"You can also save up your Easter egg boxes and put them to good use by building a small hurdle for your dog and getting them to jump over it, or hide their toys or teats in them for them to sniff out.

"You could even create a twist to last year’s Snoot Challenge by using the egg-shaped hole in the Easter egg box for your dog to pop their snoot through.

“Dog owners could build them their own Easter bunny burrow, or ‘Doggy Den’ so your furry friend has a cosy, comfortable place to sleep.”

For more information and advice, visit: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/advice

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