The holiday season is here, and while it is a good time for you to rest you should allow your pets to enjoy the holiday too. Who says dogs can’t celebrate Christmas too!
Let us look at some of the holiday survival tips for pets that you should be known with.
Christmas decoration
While it may look really pretty and Instagram worthy for you to take a picture of your dog by the Christmas tree, you should be wary of leaving exposed wires or putting low hanging decorations or ornaments on the tree itself. Obviously, the exposed wires will be dangerous for dogs! You certainly wouldn’t want the Gnome to end up in your dog’s stomach, or the nicely wrapped Christmas gifts being shredded by your dog. We recommend you to remove the cables when you leave the homeand put the gifts onto a higher desk so that your dog doesnot have access to them.
Last but not least, some of you may keep candles on or the fireplace burning during Christmas. Make sure to keep the flames away from the dog! Candles should be placed on a higher level, and you should keep the fireplace fenced up so that your dog does not go near it.
Going Overseas?
If you intend to bring your dog overseas, please plan ahead! During the festive season, pet-friendly hotels can be hard to come as there are so many people traveling overseas with their pets. If you manage to find suitable lodging, you should then plan the itinerary and take along some basic necessities, including your dog’s vaccination records. If you are bringing your dog to a cold country, ensure that they will be properly insulated against the weather.
Guests
People usually invite guests during the festive season. This can be a gift for dogs who absolutely love attention, but a bane for dogs who are more reserved. Hence, when guests arrive at your house, you will need to be mindful of the following.
- Inform the guests that you have a dog in the house. If your dog is reserved, advise the guest not to disturb the dog.
- If you have a separate area for the dog, ensure that the guests do not intrude into the room. Keep it strictly off-limits.
- If your guests are bringing along their children, you might want to ask if the kids are allergic or comfortable around dogs. Also, if your dog is aggressive in nature, then you should take necessary precautions to ensure the dog does not attack your guests.
Be mindful of the food and drinks
During the festive season, it is pretty exciting as there would usually be a lot of food on the table. The wide array of food is awesome, and dogs will be extremely tempted to have a bite, whenever they have a chance to do so. But it isn’t good on several levels.
- Not all foods are safe for dogs. Chocolates, for example, are harmful to dogs and your dog should never ever consume them.
- Overeating is bad. While you may wish to feed the dog with a small part of the turkey, your guest might want to do so too. And if you snowball it up, your dog may eventually end up eating a big chuck out of the turkey. If this is the case, your dog will end up having an upset tummy, which will lead to vomiting and some really ugly scenes in the house. Avoid giving your dog too much food, even during the festive season.
- Clear the trash when you can. This is because dogs are extremely good at finding scraps, and the trash bins one of the biggest sources of it.
- Keep the booze to yourself too, as it is very dangerous for dogs to consume any alcohol. While it may seem funny to see the dogs being inebriated, it is not funny when you start to see the dog falling into a coma.
Be mindful when heading outdoors
This is something that some owners miss out. Sometimes, they tend to let their dogs run about in the snow as well as run in the frozen lake. Both of the mentioned activities can be dangerous for dogs. When it is snowing, the snow might cover dangerous potholes, ditches or even sharp objects. And when your dog run into snow, they might unknowingly run into thorns or the ditch.
As for the case of the frozen lake, there is a risk that the dog might fall into the water beneath the lake itself. This can happen, especially if the lake is just starting to freeze up, and your dog run onto the thin layer of ice on top of the lake.
One last thing: try not to let your dog lick the ice around them. We really do not know what might be in the ice!
Conclusion
Yes, holidays can really be fun for you and your dog. But please keep you and your pet safe, so that both of you can really have a good festive season ahead.