Our friend Jim Helems and Jake came in to visit us at the Laurel Mountain Basket Co Studios the other day. Jim is a dog trainer and Jake is one of his Aussies. Jim and Jake teach lots of things including Pet Health and First Aid.
I was really surprised to learn that the ASPCA Poison Control Center received over 167,000 calls last year. That’s a lot of calls about pets getting into things that can make them very sick and even make them die. The most common calls were about pets that got into over-the-counter and prescription medicines. There are so many things around every house that are poison. Much of the stuff used to clean the house or take care of the car are poisonous. Antifreeze is really, really bad. I don’t know from experience but it’s supposed to taste sweet so dogs and cats don’t know it is bad.
Lots of household plants like Aloe and Jade and garden plants like many type of holly are very bad for dogs. We have Aloe and Jade in our house and Mom makes sure they are way out of my reach like on top of the refrigerator.
People food can be bad for pets. I know I’m not supposed to beg but I love pizza. I only get the crust, if I get anything at all, because onions and garlic are two people foods that are very bad for dogs.
Even if your humans are careful and keep all the bad poison stuff on high shelves or in cabinets, curious or bored pets can get into lots of trouble. I learned from The Preventive Vet that Mom’s purse has lots of things in it that can make me sick, like aspirin and sugarless gum with stuff called Xylitol in it. So Moms, don’t hang your purses over the back of a chair or on a door knob where we can get to them.
If you know of other stuff that is bad for us, I'd like to know cuz I want to have my house be as dog safe as we can make it.
And remember, when your human says "drop it!" you need to let go of whatever is in your mouth because it could be very bad for you.
Until next time, be safe
Your friend,
Zeva
You are so right Zeva. A few other bad foods include: Chocolate (dark chocolate is worse then white), Grapes, Avocados, Macadamia nuts and many seeds from fruits like apple seeds are also dangerous.
ReplyDeleteAnd with warm weather on its way, becareful of staying in a car to long. It only takes minutes for a car to warm up to 150 degrees.
Take Care
Thanks for reminding us to be extra careful in warm weather. We know that sometime when we mean to only be in the store for a minute things happen and it take much longer than intended.
DeleteSloppy kisses to Jake and the rest of the crew,
Zeva
I got into the chocolate once... fortunately it wasn't enough to make me sick. But Jen learned a valuable lesson- take nothing for granted!
ReplyDeleteOh Rumpy Dog!
DeleteI'm so glad you didn't eat so much that it made you sick. I know how hard it is for us and our humans to remember all of this stuff but it is important.
Just yesterday I ate some of one of Mom's plants and it made me throw up. I remembered after I ate it that I wasn't supposed to.
Sloppy kisses,
Zeva