Give your dog a merry little Christmas

Christmas isn’t just a time to spoil ourselves, we should also remember our pampered pooches. They have worked hard all year long to keep their humans upbeat and positive during the pains of the pandemic and so deserve the ultimate Christmas treat!

The pet nutrition experts at home-cooking platform, VetChef (www.vetchef.com) have put together a delicious Christmas recipe that is quick and very easy to cook and is filled with healthy goodness, festive leftovers and plenty of love.

Turkey & Trimmings

To serve one meal (providing half a day’s calories) for a typical 20kg dog, you will need:

• 200g turkey mince
• 300g potatoes
• 100g parsnips
• 100g brussels sprouts
• 1 tsp cranberry sauce
• 1 tsp dried sage

To prepare the meal, simply chop the veg into small chunks, and then mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan. Pour in 300ml water and place on the stove. Bring to the boil, and simmer gently for around 20 minutes, stirring regularly. Once the veg are all soft, allow to cool and serve.

If feeding this recipe regularly, nutritionists advise that it needs a source of calcium added to balance the mineral content. Half a tsp of calcium carbonate per serving would be ideal. You can source this from Vetchef.com, or simply use well crushed eggshells.

There are a number of popular Christmas treats that dog owners need to avoid letting their pups get their paws on. Dr Joe Inglis, Head Vet and Founder of VetChef says: “This Christmas, we’ll hopefully be making up for last year so there’s a high chance it’ll be a year of excess. However, it’s important not to feed your dog too much – or the wrong thing. And with friends and family visiting, it’s important to be aware of the dangers of some of our favourite festive snacks so you, or any of your loved ones, don’t accidentally poison your dog.”

Joe has listed the most popular Christmas foods that can cause problems:

• Christmas cake, mince pies and Christmas pudding – The raisins and dried fruit can give dogs serious bloating and gastro-enteritis, potentially even kidney failure and long-term liver damage.
• Chocolate – Keep that Quality Street lid firmly shut while the dog’s around as chocolate contains a stimulant called theobromine which can cause heart issues, tremors, seizures and kidney problems in dogs.
• Sage and onion or mushroom stuffing – Onions and mushrooms are toxic to both dogs and cats. Too much onion, garlic or chives can damage their red blood cells and cause gastrointestinal irritation.
• Tomatoes and green peppers – They might be good for humans, but they can cause serious stomach upsets in dogs
• Nuts, particularly macadamia nuts – These can make your pooch very poorly.
• Foods that are high in fats and salts – Avoid fatty foods like roast potatoes and titbits that can cause diarrhea and pancreatitis
• Grapes – You might be serving grapes with your after-dinner cheese platter so make sure your dog avoids them. Like raisins and sultanas, they can cause liver damage and kidney failure
• Blue cheese –If you have blue cheese, like Roquefort or Stilton, in your platter, don’t let your dog get at it. They contain a substance called roquefortine C and in rare circumstances, this can cause dogs to develop muscle tremors and seizures.
• Cooked bones – While dogs love a bone to gnaw on, make sure that they are raw bones because cooked bones are very dangerous as they splinter and can choke your dog.
• Water from the Christmas tree stand – The sap from a natural Christmas tree can poison the water so make sure your pet can’t drink from it and, instead, they’ve got a steady supply of fresh water in their bowl ready when they need it.
• Christmas decorations – They might look fun for a dog to play with but if they accidentally eat one of your favourite ornaments it could lead to major surgery to remove them from their stomach
• Foods that have been leftover for too long – Using the right kind of leftovers to serve your dog some delicious homecooked food is a great idea. But, you need to make sure you’re not serving them anything that’s been out too long or has gone mouldy as that can be very dangerous.

Dr Joe Inglis is the founder of VetChef, the experts in home cooking for dogs. They supply recipes and supplements to make it easy and hassle-free to feed your dog fresh food and has been created by a team of expert nutritionists. For more information visit www.vetchef.com.