Dog owners warned by vet not to follow viral TikTok trend as it could cause your pet to choke

Dog owners are being warned by a vet not to follow a TikTok trend which could cause their pet to choke.

Doctor Anna Foreman, Everypaw Pet Insurance’s in-house vet, has issued an urgent warning for pet owners as the TikTok trend 'dogs vs. lemons' has gone viral, where pet owners are throwing lemon slices into their dogs’ mouths and filming their reactions.

Videos which have the hashtag #DogVSLemon have amassed more than 20 million combined views on the popular social media platform. The trend is intended to be humorous, with many videos showing owners giggling as their dogs pull funny faces in reaction to the sour test of the fruit.

But, Dr Foreman has issued a stark warning, saying the trend is not funny at all and could actually have a very serious and tragic impact on your four-legged friend.

In one recent video uploaded to TikTok, which has had over 16 million views, a pet owner is seen throwing a slice of lemon into their dog’s mouth, with the dog looking visibly shocked and the piece of fruit almost getting stuck in its jaw.

Dr Foreman said: “This dog will clearly try and eat anything that is thrown in its direction, and implies that it would do the same to anything found on the floor. This can be dangerous. For example if a human drops something toxic to dogs, such as a raisin, chocolate, or onion.

"Many dogs will eat anything thrown at them without a second thought, often not even sniffing or tasting it first. This can be good in a few scenarios, for example with giving a dog a tablet, however it can be quite dangerous in many others." In light of this, Dr Foreman has spoken out on the dangers of this trend, saying “throwing food at a dog for them to catch is a choking hazard, particularly if the piece of food is too large to swallow whole”.

There are also other potential health hazards for dogs, as although the flesh of citrus fruits such as orange and grapefruit are not toxic to dogs, they do contain moderate quantities of sugar.

Dr Foreman said: "This can cause vomiting or diarrhoea if consumed in large quantities. Sour citrus fruits such as lemon and lime tend not to be palatable to dogs, however if eaten in anything more than minimal quantities can cause gastrointestinal upsets or more severe clinical signs like collapse."

She added: “I believe there has been a rise in the number of animals misused on social media for entertainment”.

However, Dr Anna also believes that if carried out responsibly, and only if the dog has been taught to be restrained, this technique “could be a valuable training tool for dogs who are prone to eating things they shouldn’t”.

She explained: "If a dog is taught to be more restrained before eating an item, this could save these events from occurring. After catching and tasting the lemon, this dog may do the same thing again if repeated, however after a couple of repeats, the dog will associate the consequences of their actions. They will then sniff the lemon first before trying to eat it, and will be put off from the smell alone. 

"The dog has essentially been taught to hesitate before eating something. This hesitation may then allow a ‘wait’ or ‘stop’ command to be listened to, as their mind will not be automatically telling them to eat the item."