Dog owners have welcomed a new sign warning of a deadly danger in a country park. Posted to a tree in Burntstump Country Park, near Hucknall, is a sign for dog walkers to "beware" after an innocent gesture from a nature lover has put peoples' pets at risk.
Sultanas and raisins have been found in the picturesque spot - and can be "deadly" if ingested by dogs. The laminated warning reads: "Unfortunately, the man who has been feeding birds here - who has been asked to stop, because it is luring pheasants to this site and they are getting killed on the road - has decided to put sultanas/ raisins in the feeders. Raisins and sultanas are toxic to dogs".
Dog owners Andy and Vicki Forsey, from Arnold, were in the park this morning (Saturday, July 8) walking their lively five-year-old Golden Retriever, Marley. A Pedigree, Mrs Forsey found the boisterous one-year-old on Gumtree Lincoln for £600, when dogs of his kind now sell for thousands.
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The couple both agreed the sign in the park was a good idea, with Mrs Forsey telling Nottinghamshire Live, how she read a dog ate a corn on the cob the other day and had to have an operation. "They can eat anything!"
Signs have been posted before in the woodland after a large wasp nest caused havoc when dog walkers were getting stung. Of the latest warning, Vicki said: "If Marley ate sultanas, I would be more than heartbroken".
According to pdsa, the vet charity for pets in need, grapes, raisins, currants and sultanas are all part of a family of fruit called ‘Vitis vinifera’ that can cause gut and kidney problems in dogs. "We don’t currently know how these fruits cause poisoning, but we do know that dogs can become extremely poorly (and sometimes even die) after eating very small amounts of them (especially the dried fruits).
"Interestingly, symptoms of poisoning can vary a lot from one dog to the next. Some appear to be mostly unaffected by the fruits, whereas others develop severe symptoms just a few hours after eating them. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to know whether a dog will be severely affected or not, even if they have eaten the fruit before without issues.
"Poisonings tend to be most common around festive times, when the fruits are readily available in foods such as Christmas cake, hot cross buns, cookies and chocolate ".
Symptoms of grape/raisin/currant/sultana poisoning tend to include:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Painful abdomen (tummy)
- Blood in poo
- Low energy
- Reduced appetite
If your dog is severely poisoned by the fruits, they may develop kidney failure over the following 1-3 days. As part of their treatment, your vet will monitor your dog for signs of a kidney problem, and if necessary, run blood and urine tests to check their kidney markers.
When to contact your vet
Contact your vet immediately if you believe your dog has eaten grapes, raisins, currants or sultanas - do not wait to see if they develop symptoms.
