Tidings of Good Joy means taking a few steps to ensure your pet's safety. To ensure a safe and happy holiday, follow these important safety tips.
IMPORTANT PET BEHAVIORS
● Holidays are a merry time of year to celebrate with friends and family. This busy time can also create stress and some health risks to your furry family member. Dogs are curious creatures that sniff and inspect new things within their reach.
OPENING THE FRONT DOOR
● Dogs can quickly dash outside and get struck by a car or vanish instantly. Before opening the door for package deliveries or arriving guests, secure your dog on a leash, inside a crate, or put them in another room and shut the door.
● Make sure your dog is microchipped and wears a collar with ID tags that have your name and cell number.
TREE AND ROOM DECORATIONS
● Keep strings of tinsel, yarn, lights, popcorn, and cranberries out of your dog's reach. Avoid using fake snow, artificial plants or berries, and netting. Any of them, when chewed on or ingested, can pose a serious threat to your dog’s health.
● Be aware that the following plants (SEE CHART) are toxic to your dog. Keep them high above and/or away from your dog’s reach.
● Use bells on the lower branches to warn if your dog is too close to the Christmas tree. Only hang fragile ornaments on the uppermost tree branches.
TOXIC FOODS FOR DOGS
● Protect your dog from eating chocolate, grapes and raisins, macadamia nuts, onions, leeks, garlic, ham, turkey bones, casseroles, stuffing, and xylitol-sweetened sugarless products. If any are consumed, take your dog to the ER veterinary hospital immediately.
SAFE PEOPLE FOOD FOR DOGS
● You can treat your dog to a safe and tasty holiday dinner by adding some carrots, celery, skinless turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, apples, and pumpkin.
SIDEWALK SALT
● If you live in snow country, only use pet-safe sidewalk salt products or cat litter. Dogs lick their paws, so wash their paws immediately if they accidentally track through some regular salt.
CANDLES & OILS
● A wagging dog tail can easily tip over a lit candle. Potpourri oils can become dangerous when dogs lick them, so avoid applying them to your dog's coat. Put candles and fragrant oils high on a mantel or avoid them altogether. Instead, substitute with a scented plug-in product.
Ensuring your pet's safety makes for a wonderful and joyous holiday for all. WOOF!
