Vet warns owners against feeding their dogs mince pies, chocolates and gravy because the festive treats can be FATAL – but says it’s fine to give them a plain slice of turkey for dinner
- Dr Scott Miller, spoke to Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes today on the show
- Revealed what not to feed your dogs including mince pies, gravy and chocolate
- Said mince pies can be toxic to their kidneys – even mouthful can be dangerous
An expert has revealed what not to feed your animals this festive season – including mince pies and gravy, however plain turkey is fine.
Dr Scott Miller, a London based veterinary surgeon, spoke to This Morning hosts Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes today and even said that pine needles, from Christmas trees could be damaging to cats and dogs stomachs.
He also explained that the raisins in Christmas puddings and mince pies can be toxic to their kidneys – so even a mouthful can be dangerous.
However, fans of the show took to Twitter to say how ridiculous the advice was – and just a bit of ‘common sense’ was needed when deciding what to give their pets.
Dr Scott Miller (right) veterinary surgeon, spoke to This Morning hosts Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes today and even said that pine needles, from Christmas trees could be damaging to cats and dogs stomachs
Dr Scott Miller, who was there with his dog, started the conversation around Christmas decorations: ‘Pine needles are very sharp on a tree and dogs and kittens can chew them.
‘This time of year it can be a nightmare as they’ll be playing with them – needles will get stuck in their stomach – my dog vomited some up the other day.’
Ruth went on to ask: ‘So you shouldn’t have a real Christmas tree?’
However he said that wasn’t necessarily the case: ‘Its just monitoring them a bit more, making sure they don’t have free access to that area all of the time.’
Some fans of the show thought the advice was stupid and they had always given them food such as chocolate
‘Tinsel is also a bad one, if they swallow it it actually produces a linear foam body, it cuts through the gut and can be really damaging, even life threatening.’
They then went on to talk about food that you may give your dog or cat this Christmas. ‘Lets start with the mince pies and Christmas puddings – they both contain raisins – which are very toxic to cats and dogs kidneys.
‘So even one mouthful can be problematic – so if they do eat any you’d have to bring them down to the vets to make sure that they sick it up.’
After Ruth admitted that she gave her dog turkey, Scott said that the meat is fine but the gravy, especially if it has onions in, is problematic
After Ruth admitted that she gave her dog turkey, Scott said that the meat is fine but the gravy, especially if it has onions in, is problematic.
‘They can cause a lot of issue with vomiting and diarrhea – could also lead to tremors and neurological diseases,’ the veterinary surgeon said.
Some fans of the show thought the advice was silly, with one saying: ‘Common sense really, people should know what not to give dogs by now! Mine got turkey and carrots!’
Scott went on to explain that dark chocolate has theobromine in it, which causes the dog to have a fast heart and respiration rate
While another simply said: ‘Just feed them normal food – job done.’
However Scott carried on with his advice and said that chocolate can be quite toxic: ‘Dark chocolate has theobromine in it, which causes the dog to have a fast heart and respiration rate.
‘While sweets which artificial sugars have an ingredient in them which really effects dogs, makes their blood sugar levels drop – and they could go into hypoglycemia shock.’