BBQ's and Family Picnics

Everyone loves a cookout, especially your pet, who gets to feast on table scraps. Some surprising foods, such as grapes, onions, garlic and raisins, can be toxic to dogs if consumed in large quantities and should stay off their menu. 

Watch out for these BBQ favourites that can pose a problem for your pet.

• Barbeque: This slow-cooked delight can cause non-delightful diarrhoea in dogs and pancreatitis.

• Corn on the Cob. Dogs often have difficultly digesting corn cobs and this barbeque staple can be a choking hazard and also could become stuck in the stomach or intestines. Have a look at the x-ray below of a dogs stomach where a corn cob has become lodged. 

• Fruits with Pips. Peaches, Avocados and other pitted fruit can be choking hazards.

• Food with Bones: Even things like bone can be very dangerous for your pet, as they may splinter and hurt their GI system, sometimes even piercing their bowels. Avoid the emergency room by not feeding your pet anything with bones.

• Foods with Toothpicks or Skewers: Ingesting toothpicks or splinter can again pierce the intestines.

• Ice cream: A little of any flavour is fine for most dogs. Try some, but it may not agree with all dogs, especially if they have a sensitive stomach. Just like people, some dogs can be lactose intolerant, and the end result can be diarrhoea.