Potentially Deadly Easter Dangers for Dogs

It’s finally spring! A warm welcome to many dogs (and dog owners!), springtime is, for many, the best time of the year. But, along with the beautiful weather, colorful blooms, and the singing of freshly hatched birds comes some serious dangers to our four-legged friends, especially surrounding the celebration of Easter.

Follow these guidelines to stay safely away from the animal ER this Easter holiday:

Easter Decorations:

When decorating your home this Easter, be mindful of curious pets. Easter Lilies, and other types of lilies, while not necessarily toxic to dogs, cause severe illness and death in cats every single year. For cats, even licking a few grains of pollen from their fur can result in liver failure. For dogs that consume the plants, upset stomach and gastrointestinal distress, though very rarely fatal, are common.

If you share your home with cats, opt for silk flowers instead – the risk to their health is just too high. If you only have dogs in the home, keep lilies and other flowering plants well out of reach to avoid upset stomach.

Also be mindful of ribbons and bows, streamers, and other decorations that are within reach of curious canines.

Easter Eggs:

If you participate in an Easter egg hunt this year, remember your best furry friend will likely be curiously sniffing around for hidden goodies, too. Easter eggs can be an exciting find for your festive pooch, but can quickly become deadly. Because of the shape and size of eggs, they pose a very real choking hazard.

Hard-boiled eggs, while perfectly safe for your dog to eat, are often forgotten after being hid a little too well. Unfortunately, your dog will easily be able to sniff them out and, as any pet parent knows, if a dog can eat it, he will – the stinkier and more rotten, the better. So, if you hide real hard-boiled eggs, make sure they’ve all been found and collected before wrapping up your celebration. If your dog gets a hold of a rotten or spoiled egg, the chance of severe food poisoning is quite high.

If you choose to use and hide plastic eggs, just keep them safely away from your dog. Not only are they normally filled with unsafe items, like candies, coins, or raisins, dogs will easily mistake a plastic egg for a toy and try to play with it. These eggs very easily crack and splinter into tiny, sharp shards that, if swallowed, can do some serious damage.