Christmas Safety for Dogs: Festive Foods & Hazards to Keep Away From Your Greyhound

Christmas is a joyful time for our dogs, but many festive traditions - from fireworks to decorations and seasonal foods - can pose risks for greyhounds. Vet Carol Gray shares practical advice on keeping your hound safe and relaxed over the holidays, including managing firework fears, creating a calm retreat during busy gatherings, and which treats your dog can indulge in.

Thomas McMeechan

25 Nov 2025

Bring Us Some Figgy Pudding - But none for our hounds!

Christmas time can be exciting and enjoyable for dogs, with lots of visitors to investigate and interact with, and yummy food being bought or prepared. Amid the celebrations, however, we need to remember that some of the ingredients for a Merry Christmas for us may cause distress or even harm to our hounds.

Fireworks and Noise: Supporting Your Dog Through Holiday Celebrations

I’ll start by harking back to our last blog, where we looked at firework phobias. Fireworks can/will reappear over Christmas and New Year, so it may be time to prepare that safe space for your greyhound again and continue the counter conditioning training (giving treats when there is any firework noise) that you started in November.

Christmas Decorations: What to Watch Out For

It’s great to put up the Christmas decorations - just keep a lookout for anything that may appeal to a greyhound looking for something to play with. Some tree decorations may be attractive as toys or something to chew. Luckily, it is rare for greyhounds to chew tinsel, however, keep an eye on your hound once the tree is up!

Managing Visitors and Giving Your Dog a Safe Retreat

The arrival of lots of visitors may be a bit overwhelming for some dogs, but if you have the safe space sorted out, make sure that your dog has a choice of retreating to this place when guests arrive. He/she may prefer to interact but giving them the choice of staying with guests or escaping to their retreat will make them happy.

Festive Foods Dangerous to Dogs

greyhound cuddling a santa teddy

Finally, we need to talk about Christmas food – what can you give to your hound as a treat and what is on the banned list? There will be lots of food left over all through the festive season, so it’s worth going through the foods that can cause poisoning in dogs.

Chocolate Toxicity in Dogs

There is, of course, a lot of chocolate goodies about at Christmas and chocolate poisonings increase over the Christmas period. If your greyhound finds a stash of chocolate and helps themselves, please contact your vet immediately with the amount eaten and the type of chocolate. They can then work out if your dog needs urgent treatment. Vets can give medication to make your dog sick up to 6 hours after they have eaten the chocolate.

Raisins, Sultanas and Grapes

Remember that these can appear in Christmas cake, Christmas pudding and mince pies. Some dogs can become very sick after a small amount, whereas others can eat more without any ill effects. Again, contact your vet as soon as you realise what has happened, and they will advise you.

Alcohol

Dogs are very bad at dealing with alcohol, so even a tiny amount is bad for them. (As you’ve probably worked out, the worst thing that your dog could eat would be chocolate covered liqueur-soaked raisins). If your dog helps themselves to any alcohol, please contact your vet for advice.

Onions, Leeks and Garlic

Dogs are unlikely to eat these in their raw state, but once cooked in soups, stuffing or pies they could be very appealing. Again, contacting your vet as soon as possible is essential.

Macadamia Nuts and Xylitol

Bizarrely, macadamia nuts are also a forbidden foodstuff for dogs, but other nuts are okay. Peanut butter is fine, but not if it contains xylitol (an artificial sweetener) which is poisonous for dogs.

Safe Christmas Treats for Your Dog

greyhound by the christmas tree

Which foods are safe to feed as treats? Usually, turkey is safe, and together with roast potatoes, carrots and peas would make a lovely Christmas dinner for your dog (as long as your dog is okay with turkey, and it doesn’t cause diarrhoea). Hold the gravy if you made it with onions, and I’d suggest no stuffing for the same reason.

Other Treat Options

Any other treats? My dog would eat crisps all day, but you should limit their intake due to the salt content (sorry Henry!). Apple and banana are healthy treats, but who wants to be healthy at Christmas?