Our tips for a happy, hoppy Easter with these egg-cellent ideas for you and your doggo!
Easter is such a fantastic time of year – it doesn’t have the same pressure as Christmas or Valentines Day and is easily enjoyed with family, friends, and a good old fashioned Easter Egg hunt!
Then we thought to ourselves, surely our dogs could join in on the festivities? Of course, they can! Setting up a dog-friendly Easter Egg hunt is a sure way to make sure you remember Easter 2024 for a very long time. There are a few things you need to keep in mind to make sure that your hunt is safe and we’re here to let you know what those things are!
While you’re here, read this: How To Keep Your Furry Members of The Family Entertained While You Work From Home
How to Create a Dog-Friendly Easter Egg Hunt
1. This is a chocolate-free zone
This is probably the most important thing you need to know, which is why we’re starting off with it: chocolate is extremely bad for dogs. We’re so used to leaving scatterings of sugar and choccies for the little ones but the same isn’t going to apply for your furry friend! Chocolate must never be included in your dog-friendly Easter Egg hunt.
If you are using the same space for your kids and your dog, you need to be extra careful. Remember where you have hidden the chocolate eggs and where you have hidden your dog treats and keep a steady eye on where your dog goes.
2. Use real eggs
If you want to give your dog something exciting to sniff out that will also be really good for them, cook up some eggs! Eggs are a great source of protein, fatty acids, minerals and vitamins and your dog can eat them at any age. Simply boil a few eggs, scatter them around the garden and wait for the sneaky tail-wag to let you know your pup is having a good time.
3. Skip the plastic eggs
So, we scoured the internet and a lot of sites kept suggesting plastic eggs to contain your dogs’ treats. There were DIYs and home-made options but to be honest, we don’t think it’s a great idea. Hiding your dog’s favourite treat inside a plastic egg could be swallowed whole by your dog or damage their teeth or gums.
Not to mention, plastic is pretty horrendous for the environment. Your dog will be JUST as excited finding their treats inside a toy from home or finding them uncontained. If you use a toy, make sure it has holes designed for objects to be inserted and pulled out.
Did we mention that one of our most common claims is foreign body removal? This is an emergency procedure that requires your vet to retrieve an object swallowed by your dog (like a plastic egg, for example). In situations like these, it definitely helps to be on a pet insurance plan to cover those costly vet bills. With Oneplan Pet Insurance (that’s us), we help you cover the big and small vet bills from as little as R160pm*!
4. Don’t over cater
Remember, dogs aren’t supposed to be eating copious amounts of food and especially not food that is rich. Keep the number of treats in your Easter hunt limited. We would recommend no more than three and even then, consider the calories in each doggie-treat and how that works within your dogs daily calorie intake. You could even incorporate their daily meal into the hunt!
Why not keep your dog’s treats home-made this year? Not only does this mean you can keep an eye on the ingredients, but you’ll get that extra heart swelling sensation when you see your zooming dog smelling and eating their Easter presents!
5. Use a leash but let it loose
Obviously, you know your dog better than anyone so if you know they will be cool, calm, and collected when faced with an annual treat hunt then, by all means, take your dog off the leash. If you are apprehensive about your dog getting a little overexcited or boisterous around kiddies or other dogs there is nothing wrong with using a leash.
They will still have an egg-straordinary time with you plus you’ll be able to keep them from running into anything or toppling something over. If you do need to use a leash, allow it to hang a little loose to give your dog the chance to be the leader of the pack and rely on his killer sense of smell.
If you’re going away with your pets over Easter, be sure to read this: Keeping Your Pets Healthy & Happy on Holiday
6. Keep it simple
The way a dog loves is simple. It doesn’t require much but it changes our lives forever. If you keep your dog safe, you will keep your dog happy. You don’ need elaborate routes or cunning hiding places – this will only make your dog bored and confused. Rather, stick to bushes, low seats or under curtains. Also, avoid high places. It only causes crazy dog jumping and chaos.
A very happy Easter to you and your furry friend!
Your Pet Insurance Family,
Oneplan
*Premiums risk profile dependent.
