November 11, 2017

Acorns and chestnuts are dangerous for dogs


  


In autumn, many chestnuts and acorns are found lying on the ground. Lots of dogs like to play with them. Unfortunately, some dogs also eat these chestnuts and acorns. This can cause serious physical damage. If they eat quite a lot of chestnuts or acorns, this can cause gastrointestinal tract problems.

Symptoms are vomiting, diarrhea, a lot of pee, lack of appetite. It can even lead to neurological problems. The physical problems may occur after 1 to 6 hours, but also as much as 2 days after eating the chestnuts or acorns. In addition, a chestnut or acorn can be lodged in the gastrointestinal tract. This results in a very sick dog who often has both diarrhea and other problems. Ultimately, this situation can be life-threatening if it is not caught in time. Often the chestnut or acorn needs to be removed surgically.

If you have seen your dog eating the chestnuts or acorns in large quantities, it is advisable to contact the vet. Often it is decided to let the dog vomit it out. But do not attempt to make this happen by giving it salt! A large amount of salt can cause your dog to get salt poisoning. Unfortunately, acorns can also cause long term problems. The acorn contains tannic acid which can cause kidney damage in the long term. The symptoms of this are excessive drinking and a lot of peeing.

A blood test will give a clearer understanding of the dog's kidney function. In addition, it is sometimes necessary to do a scan of the abdomen to assess the kidneys. So be careful not to let your dogs eat chestnuts or acorns because this is not as innocent as it seems.

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