Sharing your Easter egg with your pup: Why you should think twice!

We all like to indulge in a sweet treat or two over the Easter period, but as many dog owners know, chocolate can cause serious problems for our precious pups.

In 2023 we saw an 11% increase in claims relating to chocolate poisoning vs. 2022 - with almost a third of these being for dogs under two years of age.

What’s more, daily incidents of chocolate harming increased by 157% over the Easter period compared to the rest of the year due to the increase of chocolate around the house.

So with the curious nature of puppies, it’s best to keep chocolate and other harmful foods out of reach!

Chocolate contains a chemical called theobromine. Poisoning from this chemical usually starts six to 12 hours after a dog has ingested chocolate, leading to symptoms ranging from vomiting and diarrhoea to seizures and, in rare cases, fatalities.

Different types of chocolate have different concentrations of theobromine in – with milk and white chocolate having the lowest concentration, and dark and baking chocolate containing the highest.

However, just because your dog eats one piece of chocolate, doesn’t mean they’ll get seriously ill. The severity of the symptoms will depend entirely on the size of your dog and the quantity ingested. Vets use a toxicity calculator to determine the likelihood of symptoms, so if you think your dog has eaten chocolate, contact your vet as soon as possible for advice.

There are of course other foods toxic to dogs that tend to surface at different times of the year, so be sure to brush up on your knowledge of these too to keep your dog out of harms’ way.

Educating the whole family on what their dogs should and shouldn’t eat is an important part of pet ownership.

To make sure your furry friend can be involved with the Easter celebrations, why not try some of our dog-friendly recipes so they too can indulge in a sweet treat or two!