With the golden colours of autumn beginning to show, it’s a great time to head out for a picturesque walk with your dog .
But owners should be on the lookout for a common find at this time of year that could pose a serious threat to their pooch. Conkers - the seed of the horse chestnut tree that are instantly recognisable with their spiky cases and shiny red-brown seeds inside - are toxic to dogs.
If your dog happens to eat a conker while having a curious sniff around in the crunchy autumn leaves, it can lead to them getting very sick. This is because conkers contain a toxic chemical called aesculin, which is found in all parts of the horse chestnut tree.
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Conkers can also cause blockages in your pet’s stomach due to their large size. Although it’s rare for the seeds to cause fatalities in dogs, the effects of eating conkers are still “very serious”, warns Blue Cross .
According to the animal welfare charity, conkers can cause dogs to vomit, collapse, have diarrhoea, become restless with discomfort, become severely dehydrated, and go into toxic shock. While signs of poisoning in dogs can show up within one to six hours of eating conkers, they usually don’t arise until a couple of days later.
Owners who believe that their dog may have eaten or swallowed a conker are urged to contact their vet immediately. Dogs who have been affected by poisoning will need to receive medication and be rehydrated, while any conkers still in their stomach will need to be removed and in rare cases surgery may be required to remove blockages caused by the seeds.
The Kennel Club has issued a similar warning when it comes to conkers. The Club explains on its website that it is unlikely that dogs will eat conkers due to their bitter taste, but added that the amount of toxin varies in each seed - meaning that it’s difficult to predict how much eating a conker will affect your dog.
Because of this, The Kennel Club repeats the advice to contact your vet as soon as possible if your dog chews or swallows a conker. Owners are urged to keep a watchful eye on their dogs while out on walks this autumn to avoid a trip to the vet.
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