Conker Hazards For Dogs

In the Autumn, conkers (also known as Horse Chestnuts), can be found in abundance in streets and woods. While many of your furbabies ignore these on walkies, some like to play with them or even try to eat them. Conkers can generally cause two types of issues for dogs that try to eat them – Blockages or Poisoning.

Conkers are highly poisonous to dogs if chewed and eaten. They can also cause blockages in your pet’s stomach. Serious cases of illness are rare. But if you think your pet has eaten a conker, contact your vet immediately.

Blockages

Even though the chestnut is a smooth and shiny nut (after it has shed from the green spiky shell) they can still cause life-threatening blockages. If swallowed, they can get lodged in the stomach or intestines (gut), which can require emergency surgical removal to clear the obstruction.

Poisoning

Conkers contain a chemical called aesculin - found in all parts of the horse chestnut tree, including the leaves – which is toxic to dogs.

What are the symptoms?

Your dog can become very unwell if they ingest conkers. Symptoms include vomiting, collapse, have diarrhoea, get very restless with the discomfort and pain, and display abdominal pain and generally look really uncomfortable.  They can become severely dehydrated and go into shock.   It has also been reported that dogs can experience respiratory paralysis and can die. Signs of illness usually arise after a couple of days but dogs can show signs of being poisoned within one to six hours of consuming the conkers. It is important that you get them treated urgently as although fatalities in cases where dogs have consumed conkers are thankfully rare it is still very serious and not out of the question.

Has your dog eaten them?

Remain calm (dogs pick up on our emotions/stress), but get in touch with your vet immediately. If you can tell them roughly how many your dog has eaten it can help.  Also list the symptoms they are displaying. Then the Vet can make a better treatment plan depending on the severity and the number ingested, the vet may choose to drop the dog and surgery may also be needed. The advice is to keep a good eye on your dog during walks when conkers have fallen, especially if they tend to pick things up whilst out.

What treatment is my dog likely to receive if he or she has eaten a conker?

Poisoned dogs need to be re-hydrated and medicated, and any chewed up conkers still in their tummy need to be removed. In rare cases, surgery may be required to remove blockages.

How do I stop my dog from eating a conker?

Although dogs love to forage when they’re out exploring, do keep a watchful eye on them when they’re around conkers. Don’t encourage them to catch or play with them and if they show signs of becoming unwell after you have been out and about then contact your vet as soon as possible. Always take a suitable dog toy out with you to distract them if they are interested in playing a game.

Although cases are rare, Blue Cross has treated dogs who have fallen very ill after eating conkers. In one case, children had been innocently throwing conkers for a dog to catch, unaware of the dangers.

We would like to thank Blue Cross for some of the information in this article.