Holiday Safety

‘Tis the season for holiday safety

• Make sure your Christmas tree is secure and cannot be tipped over by your pets (anchor Christmas tree to the ceiling or wall with a cord to keep it from falling on your pets.)
• Christmas tree water can be toxic to your pet because some trees may contain fertilizers and stagnant tree water can harbor bacteria… use a tree stand and tree skirt that keep the water inaccessible to your furbabies.
• If you’ve got a very active dog or curious puppy, place an exercise pen around your Christmas tree to keep them from harm’s way.

• Keep decorations such as tinsel, glass ornaments, and lights out of reach: Tinsel: Unless you are using the old type, tinsel today is no longer made of lead. But, any tinsel should be out of reach and not on the bottom branches where pets can pull off and eat or get tangled in their mouths.

• Decorations/Ornaments: Big temptations, especially for puppies! They see swinging toys…you see your favorite decoration on the floor in a million pieces or full of teeth marks. Again, avoid the lower branches.

• Be sure electric cords are out of chewing range… especially with a puppy in the house!

• Keep toxic holiday plants such as holly, mistletoe and poinsettias out of reach of pets.

• Keep harmful foods and beverages away from pets! Food that may cause harm, include:
  • Alcohol
  • Chocolate (the darker, the worse it could be for your dog)
  • Macadamia nuts
  • Walnuts
  • Turkey and chicken bones (cooked bones may splinter)
  • raisins
  • Onions (Lots of onions can cause red blood cells to break down and cause anemia. Even onion powder can be dangerous.)

• A few treats are fine, but don’t encourage guests to feed your pets table food. The change in diet could cause upset tummies, or worse.

• Promptly pick up gift-wrapping ribbon and paper so playful pets can’t mistake it for a new toy.

• Provide a quiet space for your pet if the commotion of holiday celebrations seem to be too much for them.

• Don’t pass them around- human babies don’t always like it, so why should your pet. If they want to be in someone’s lap, you will know.

• With so many potential visitors during the season, make sure your pet can’t dart out into the street. (As a precaution, make sure every pet in your household wearing a collar, current license and I.D. tag)