Don't put your dog at risk - go for a walk on Tottenham Marshes! 15/02/05

Justin Hinchcliffe, Chairman of Tottenham Conservatives, has urged Haringey's dog-owning residents not to give their dogs left-over Valentine's Day chocolates - as it could kill them!

Chocolate contains a chemical called theobromine, which is harmless to humans but toxic to dogs and causes vomiting.

Justin Hinchcliffe, an animal lover, said:

"Special chocolate drops are available from pet shops if you really want to give your dog a chocolate treat, but the best thing to do is keep them on their normal diet. A treat they'd really like is to play an extra game in the garden or go for a longer walk on Tottenham Marshes"

Too many food treats can cause pets to become overweight, which makes them more vulnerable to illness. About a third of all pets in the UK are overweight - so it's a big problem!

Follow these tips to help keep your pet trim and healthy:

exercise your pet regularly

cut out all treats and snacks

if you've got more than one pet, feed them separately so that one doesn't snaffle extra food from the other pet's food bowl

try and keep your pets in another room when you eat - to stop them begging for scraps.

ENDS.