Alison Daniel, founder of healthy pet supplement company Din Dins, has offered her advice on which tempting festive treats can be harmful for your pet’s health. It's a good idea to inform your customers about them.

We all know that Christmas is the perfect excuse for us humans to feast on rich and sugary treats. Whilst the downside to this short term indulgence may be a few inches to our waistline, our pet’s digestive systems are far more susceptible to the dangers of highly processed and rich foods. Dogs and cats are simply not designed to eat processed human snacks, and the smelly breath, stinky wind, sore or dry skin and itchiness are often linked to diet.

It’s never too late to change your pet’s feeding habits and help improve their immunity, general health and quality of life. Din Dins founder Alison Daniel has extensive experience in pet nutrition and, alongside a daily diet of the 100% natural supplement Wickedly Raw Superfoods, below she’s listed those popular Christmas foods never to feed your pet.

1: Chocolate and sweets: You shouldn’t ever give your dog chocolate, whatever the occasion! Active ingredients including theobromine and caffeine can affect hormonal and neurological functions in dogs, with side effects including hyperactivity, vomiting, lethargy, seizures, coma and potentially death. With high sugar and fat content, sweet delicacies in general are a severe no-go – feed your pet one plain biscuit and you may as well be giving your dog or cat a hamburger in human terms.

2: Crisps: Hidden ingredients including onion powder in crisps can interfere with your pet’s blood circulation and may cause haemolytic anaemia (causing oxygen-rich red blood cells to abnormally break down), whilst maize and corn are common allergens for many pet breeds.

3: Cooked turkey bones: Cooked bones, especially poultry, are brittle and can splinter your pet’s throat or gut. Raw bones, on the other hand, are beneficial for teeth and health. Introduce raw bones gradually and keep the leftover cooked bones firmly on your plate.

4: Mixed nuts: For reasons still inconclusive, raisins and grapes can cause kidney failure in cats and dogs with macadamia nuts also a cause for paralysis of the hindquarters as well as limb manipulation and muscle tremors in dogs.

5: Nutmeg: Found in eggnog and seasonal cakes, nutmeg contains minute levels of cyanide. Alongside fruit seeds, nutmeg can cause dog seizures and must be avoided for pet safety. Sliced fruit is fine, but avoid feeding your pets entire pieces of seed-rich fruit.

To find out more about pet nutrition for dogs and cats from head to tail visit www.dindins.co.uk