10 Holiday Safety Tips for Dogs
Here are 10 holiday tips for dogs and their owners. Be aware of these common plant, food, and holiday decorations that pose threats to your pooches!
- 1) Poinsettia Plants and the sap of the plants can cause sickness, nausea, or vomiting for your pet. It’s best to err on the side of caution and keep it away from your pooch!
- 2) Mistle and Holly can be very harmful to pets. It’s best not to keep them in the house or near where your dog plays outside. If you find that your dog consumed either mistle or holly, call your veterinarian and/or poison control immediately for further instructions.
- 3) Lily and Daffodil bulbs are highly toxic to dogs. They can cause extreme symptoms such as kidney failure, convulsions or even death. Keep out of reach from your pets and if you are thinking of gifting a plant bulb kit from the Lily family, think twice if the potential recipient has pets!
- 4) Even the beloved Christmas tree poses a threat to your pooch. Although it is considered only midly toxic, the Christmas tree fir tree oils can cause excessive drooling and vomiting. The Christmas tree needles, if successfully digested, can cause GI obstruction or puncture along with vomiting.
- 5) If you have a real Christmas tree in your house, make sure your pooch can’t drink the bacteria and fertilizer filled water at the base. It is harmful and should never be accessible by your pet.
- 6) Holiday and candy go hand in hand. Make sure you and the adults in your home know that all chocolate products are harmful to pets and should not be given to them as ‘treats. The same goes for these other people food items: grapes, raisins, onions, macadamia nuts and anything sweetened with xylitol.
- 7) Puppy and kitties alike are interested in everything, be sure to keep the wires from holiday lights tucked away from your pet. If they get into the cords and wires, a bite can be electrifying and fatal. This means keeping all the low Christmas tree branches bare as not to temp them with the holiday lights and their cords and wires. Batteries can also cause burns to the pets mouths so don’t leave them lying around.
- 8) Glass ornaments can easily break and if broken, can easily cut your pets paws and mouth. Keep the tree in a room not accessible by your pets if you insist on having glass ornaments or switch to an alternative. Plastic ornaments can also resemble toys but the paint on them can be toxic. Be sure to leave the lower branches bare to ensure a safe holiday season for your pooch.
- 9) Tinsel is shiny, foofy and fun looking but ingesting it can cause a lot of problems for your pets intestines. If you use tinsel, make sure it is not accessible by your pet or close off the rooms that have it while you are gone.
- 10) Tobacco products are very toxic to pets and signs of ingestion can appear within 15 minutes. Make sure your smoking guests keep their toxic products out of reach from your pooch.