Beware! Holi colours may harm your pets

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 19

Holi being the festival of colours that signify joy may cause serious health problems and trouble for our pets, cautioned Dr Kirti Dua, Professor of Veterinary Medicine, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana.

Generally, it is considered that the use of dry colours is harmless for the dogs but many a time manufacturers mix harmful chemicals in these colours. Most of the colours available in the market are actually a combination of various toxic chemicals, like zinc, lead and mercury. Dr Dua strongly recommends that these colours shouldn’t be smeared on your pets as chemicals present in the colours may act as accumulative poison and can cause skin and eye allergies, respiratory distress and many sorts of toxicities. Many a times, dogs tend to lick their body, and the taste of dry colours makes them prone to throwing up. Puppies, senior dogs and short-hair-coat dogs are more predisposed to falling victim to these colours.

He advises pet parents to keep their dog safe from all these problems. They should make all efforts to keep the pet away from children who tend to throw water balloons at the pet. Throwing water balloons on the dogs can also cause eye injuries. In case of balloon hit, wash the eyes of the pet with clean water and observe it for any sort of irritation. Pet parents should keep water balloons and other Holi paraphernalia out of the reach of dogs as they may end up chewing and swallowing them.

Dr Dua recommends that after Holi, do not use detergent, kerosene, spirit, nail polish remover, alcohol or acetone to try and remove the colours. These are strong irritants and tend to break down the protective skin barrier. Use normal bathing soap and moisturise the skin well.

Accidental ingestion signs such as excessive salivation, vomiting, loose motions, behavioural changes like aggression or stupor may be observed in the pets. In that case consult the nearest veterinarian. He suggests don’t take the pet out along with you to play Holi as the pet is much safer at home

There are two aspects of Holi: Colours and sweets. “Both of them can cause

potential harm to your pet. We must take into account that sweets do not go down very well with the canines and may give them stomach-related problems,” he said.

If you are taking the dog for a walk on the next morning, then it is recommended that you put a muzzle on your dog to avoid accidental licking of colour spread over roads or Parks, he added.