Keeping Dogs Safe This Christmas: Foods & Hazards to Avoid
Updated for the 2025 holiday season.
The holiday season brings family gatherings and festive meals that create extra risks for dogs. With more food, more people, and more chaos, dogs often get into trouble through dropped food, unattended plates, and well-meaning guests wanting to indulge those hungry eyes.
To help you navigate the holidays, we’ve compiled a list of foods and holiday items dogs should never eat, plus tips for keeping them safe
Toxic foods dogs should never eat.
Chocolate remains one of the biggest risks at Christmas simply because it’s everywhere — tree decorations, gifts, side tables, and coffee tables. Chocolate contains theobromine, which dogs metabolise very slowly, allowing toxic levels to build up and affect the heart, nervous system, and muscles. Remember: dogs don’t need to be fed chocolate to get into trouble; they just need access.
Grapes, raisins, sultanas, and currants are another high-risk group. These show up in Christmas pudding, mince pies, fruit cake, and festive baking. This is rarely deliberate feeding — it’s dropped crumbs, shared plates, or a curious dog finding leftovers. In dogs, these dried fruits are associated with sudden kidney failure, and sensitivity is unpredictable — even small amounts can be dangerous.
Onions, garlic, leeks, chives, and related plants are toxic to dogs and commonly appear in stuffing, gravy, pan juices, and seasoned dishes. Even small amounts can cause problems, which is why unattended plates and leftovers are risky. These foods damage red blood cells, which can reduce oxygen delivery around the body, particularly with repeated exposure.
Alcohol and coffee aren’t foods people give dogs — but unattended glasses, spilt drinks, or alcohol-soaked desserts increase exposure at Christmas. Alcohol depresses the central nervous system and disrupts blood sugar regulation, which can rapidly become life-threatening in dogs. Dogs are far more sensitive to alcohol than humans, and even small amounts can lead to serious poisoning.
All candy is unsuitable for dogs due to sugar, wrappers, choking risk, and in many cases chocolate. Sugar-free candy poses a higher emergency risk because it may contain xylitol, which can trigger a sudden insulin release in dogs, causing dangerous drops in blood sugar and acute liver injury.
Macadamia nuts deserve a specific mention because they are one of the few nuts with a recognised toxicity syndrome in dogs, causing weakness, tremors, vomiting, and fever. Macadamia nuts cause a recognised toxic reaction in dogs, leading to neuromuscular symptoms even at relatively low doses. Other nuts are generally more about fat load or obstruction risk.
Cooked bones are the single most important Christmas food hazard. Cooking changes bone structure, making it brittle and prone to sharp splintering rather than safe digestion. Turkey, chicken and duck bones are the biggest culprits around the holidays season, and feeding them to dogs can cause choking, intestinal perforation, or obstruction.
Non-food Christmas hazards.
Tinsel, ribbon, string, meat twine, and decorative wrapping are genuine risks. Dogs do swallow these items, and string-like objects can cause dangerous intestinal blockages if eaten. Decorations and packaging also increase chewing and swallowing opportunities simply because there’s more novel chewing material around.
Certain traditional Christmas plants — mistletoe and holly in particular — are toxic if chewed, while poinsettias are usually mild irritants. These plants primarily cause gastrointestinal irritation, but mistletoe can also affect the nervous and cardiovascular systems depending on the species.
The simple rule that actually works
At Christmas, if food is processed, seasoned, cured, sweetened, glazed, or altered for human consumption, it shouldn’t go to a dog. Foods designed for human enjoyment often place unnecessary digestive and metabolic strain on a dog’s body.
The safest options during a busy holiday are:
- Plain, unseasoned meat with no cooked bones,
- Clean, single-ingredient treats with no additives of any kind.
Single-ingredient dehydrated meat or seafood treats are a simple way to include dogs without adding unnecessary risk. Minimally processed treats reduce digestive load and avoid the cumulative effects of salt, sugar, flavourings, and preservatives.
At Christmas, dogs rely on us to manage their environment. Choosing simple, biologically appropriate foods helps support digestion and overall health.