We continue our 12 Days of Quiz-mas with a tough one! This is a very very bad deal if your dog (or cat) eats it, yet it doesn’t get nearly the press that chocolate and raisins do. I’ll give more details below…
Which holiday treat can be fatal if eaten, and almost ALWAYS means a trip to the veterinary emergency clinic if consumed by your pet?
A) Rising bread dough
B) Candy cane
C) Frosted spice cake
D) Mashed potatoes
Answer is A. A lot of people don’t think of bread dough as being dangerous, but it actually has TWO ways of making your pet very sick! The stomach acts as an incubator, causing the yeast to ferment. The dough ball grows, making attempts to vomit unsuccessful due to the increasing size of the dough ball (that whole square peg – round hole thing!). More importantly, think about what we use fermented yeast for: alcohol! So along with the distended stomach, which may compress blood vessels (very bad – similar to bloat) we also have a pet undergoing alcohol toxicosis. It is survivable with aggressive treatment, but hospitalization and critical care are almost always required. Your best bet – keep anything with active yeast away from your pet!
