Fall is here. That means football and game day parties!

Game day parties can be quite exciting – watching your favorite team play, sharing great food and drinks with your friends. Because everyone is having so much fun, it is distracting and keeping an eye on your pets can be challenging. Your pet is an opportunist. This means that when you are distracted and not looking, either your guests will playfully feed your pet or your pet will gobble up any left out yummy treats in a flash. Game day foods are fun and delicious for us, but can be detrimental for your pet.

Let’s talk about dangerous drinks and foods for your pet:

Alcohol – alcoholic beverages can cause vomiting, diarrhea, incoordination, central nervous system depression, difficulty breathing, abnormal blood acidity, coma and even death.

Caffeinated beverages – the caffeine in sodas, teas and coffees can cause abnormal heart rhythm, seizures and death.

Dips – many of the dips contain garlic, onion and chives. Onions, chives and garlic are extremely dangerous to pets and can cause gastro intestinal irritation and can lead to red cell damage.

Salty Snacks – consuming large amounts of salty snacks, salted chips, pretzels and salted popcorn can cause excess thirst, urination and even salt poisoning. Over consumption of salty foods can result in vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, seizures or even death.

Nuts – almonds, pecans, walnuts, peanuts contain high amount of fat which causes vomiting, diarrhea and could lead to pancreatitis. Never leave macadamia nuts out if you have dogs. It can cause weakness, depression, vomiting, tremors and elevated body temperature.

Grapes and raisins – snacks such as muffins, cakes, cookies, breads, that contain grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure in dogs and be life threatening.

Chicken wings – fried chicken wings are very high in fat and can cause vomiting, diarrhea and can lead to pancreatitis. Wings have small bones that can cause choking, gastro intestinal blockage, and can puncture the digestive tract.

Pizzas, hamburgers, nachos, hot dogs – contain high fat and can cause vomiting, diarrhea and can lead to pancreatitis.

Let’s have a fun and safe game day party for everyone including your pets. Please keep your pets safe by placing game day foods and drinks where your pets cannot reach them. Always, tell your guests not to feed your pets. If you notice that your pet has consumed any of the above foods or drinks, please contact your veterinarian immediately.

Have a fun and safe football season!