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Late Summer Pet Threats Are Too Serious To Ignore


The traditional summertime outdoor meal can pose some surprising threats for pets if owners don't use a little caution.
Hopefully, you’ve gotten this far without you or your pet stumbling over summer dangers.

Whether it was the fireworks around July 4 or hot weather, ticks or other potential dangers, you’ve hopefully gotten past the midpoint without harm.

But you’re not home free yet!

One of the most surprising dangers of summer for many pets involves the popular summer cookout. Especially for dogs, everything from choking to diarrhea and burns are surprisingly widespread. Like most pet dangers, these are rare enough that they’re easy to ignore until your furry friend suffers an emergency, vet visit or worse.

Table scraps, whether handed out or “borrowed” on the sly, are a typical danger. First, a surprising range of foods can be bad for your pet. The list even includes onions, raisins and garlic, which can be toxic if eaten in large amounts. Barbeque can also be dangerous.

Barbeque brings up another issue: bones. Pets have a tendency to wolf down food. Summer cookout meats include a lot to be worried about here. Chicken is one of the most obvious dangers, with lots of small bones, but so are fish, ribs and other foods that frequent outdoor menus.

A similar choking issue is possible with foods like corn on the cob. This and other hearty summer food is often disposed of in ways that make it easy for a pet to grab a mouthful that causes problems swallowing. The results can be serious.

So what’s okay? Safe bets for small samples are things like hamburger, boneless chicken and hotdogs. Remember, though, your pet is designed to eat anything and everything – that’s how they survived in the wild before joining us at the table. But that means your pet may not know when to stop eating. You should!

A big challenge for many outdoor cookouts, or any event involving more than your immediate family, are the guests who may not have pets or know pet safety. It can be awkward to explain to each and every one that you have a pet that you prefer not to be fed scraps. However, you can solve the problem in one swoop and make it fun by announcing to everyone that your pet is on a special diet that they should respect!

Regardless of your tactics, nothing is worse than a choking pet or one that develops diarrhea in the middle of a friendly gathering. That’s an emergency you can avoid with a little caution.