Dog Safety Tips for the Holidays

With the holidays conscionable astir the country and the festive play ahead, clip spent with household and friends is apt successful your future. For your dog, that means caller sights, smells, people, décor, and nutrient volition beryllium successful their environment, making information highly important.

We’ve outlined immoderate tips you tin usage to marque the holidays a harmless and enjoyable clip for everyone, including your furry household member.

DOG-SAFE FOOD

Food often brings radical unneurotic during the holidays, but for pups, straying from their emblematic fare and giving them nutrient that is deemed unsafe for pets tin origin serious, sometimes life-threatening, wellness issues.

No substance however convincing their puppy-dog eyes whitethorn be, these are immoderate of the holiday-themed foods you whitethorn find connected your array that you should not stock with your furry friend:

• Onions and different alliums (garlic, shallots, leeks, scallions, chives)
• Seasoned turkey and turkey skin
• Gravy
• Macadamia nuts, walnuts, pecans, pistachios
• Pumpkin pie
• Mashed potatoes with added ingredients
• Stuffing and casseroles
• Grapes/raisins
• Chocolate
• Items with xylitol (can beryllium recovered successful sugar-free peanut food and desserts)
• Certain herbs and spices similar oregano and cinnamon
• Leftover bones (choking hazards and tin easy splinter erstwhile ingested)
• Corn connected the cob

It is important to support successful caput that portion immoderate quality nutrient tin beryllium harmless for dogs to devour this vacation season, it whitethorn lone beryllium steadfast for them to devour successful tiny quantities, specified arsenic ham (due to its precocious sodium and abdominous content), definite dairy products, plain cranberries, broccoli, etc. Additionally, immoderate nutrient tin beryllium a choking hazard, truthful it is important to supply your pup with bite-sized pieces and to show them erstwhile they eat.

As for the nutrient they tin enjoy, plain, cooked pumpkin, carrots, peas, plain potatoes, and saccharine potatoes tin adhd a festive interaction and other nutrients to their bowl; unseasoned turkey without bones and tegument tin connection a large root of macromolecule and B vitamins; and plain apples and carrots tin supply fibre and vitamins. It is ever champion to get the greenish airy from your vet earlier introducing caller nutrient to your pup’s diet.

BE MINDFUL OF HOLIDAY DÉCOR

Decorating for the holidays tin beryllium a item for galore this clip of year, but if you person a furry person successful your life, it whitethorn instrumentality immoderate rearranging, replacing, oregon securing to make a dog-safe environment.

• Christmas tree: From hanging branches to delicate ornaments, tinsel, and more, Christmas trees tin beryllium a hazard to dogs who could leap connected them and pb to a shattered messiness connected the floor. If your pup frequents the country wherever you’ve placed your tree, you tin either adhd a puppy gross astir it, put ornaments higher up connected the tree, opt for shatter-proof ornaments, oregon each the above. Keep an oculus connected your canine erstwhile they’re astir the histrion to debar it toppling over.
• Candles: Whether you person festive-scented candles astir your location oregon are celebrating Hannukah, unfastened flames tin beryllium unsafe astir dogs. It is champion to support immoderate candles distant from your dog’s scope oregon sweeping process and see faux-flame options to assistance make that cozy vacation atmosphere.
• Scents: If you person candles burning, an indispensable lipid diffuser going, oregon potpourri astir your home, it is important to beryllium mindful of the scent. When it comes to indispensable oils, cinnamon, peppermint, pine, beverage tree, and others tin beryllium harmful, arsenic the lipid and h2o diffuse into the aerial and tin onshore connected your dog, starring to imaginable ingestion, respiratory problems, and tegument irritation. Additionally, ever cheque to spot if the candles successful your location are made from paraffin wax, arsenic this could pb to toxins being released erstwhile burned, which tin harm dogs.
• Hanging lights and hold cords: Loose oregon hanging wires tin beryllium unsafe for pups, arsenic they could pb to yanking and chewing and summation the hazard of shocks oregon different injuries. Always support wires up and distant from your canine and see cord solutions similar clips oregon protectors to assistance trim perchance unsafe temptations.
• Snow globes: While decorative, snowfall globes tin incorporate ethylene glycol, which is toxic to dogs if ingested. In a divided second, a dog’s process mightiness accidentally sound implicit an accessible snowfall globe, truthful it is champion to debar them oregon to support them connected precocious shelves.

DESIGNATE A CALMING SPACE AWAY FROM THE FESTIVITIES

Some dogs tin go overstimulated by people, music, large talking/laughing, décor, and more, truthful creating a harmless abstraction they cognize they tin spell to calm down tin beryllium helpful. You tin deliberation of this abstraction arsenic a accidental for your pup to instrumentality a “breather” from the festivities.

When overstimulated oregon suffering from sensory overload, dogs could acquisition anxiety, excessively bark, oregon contiguous assertive behavior. You tin look for aboriginal signs similar panting, articulator licking, yawning, pacing, drooling, and more.

Whether successful your location oregon astatine idiosyncratic else’s, this abstraction tin beryllium personalized for your dog. You tin acceptable up (or bring with you) their crate and/or comfy bed, mind-stimulating toys similar a dainty puzzle oregon snuffle mat to support them occupied, and their favourite comfortableness artifact oregon blanket. You tin besides enactment relaxing euphony connected successful the inheritance to drown retired the sound and assistance calm your canine down. But not conscionable immoderate music—a study recovered that erstwhile dogs perceive to classical music, their accent and agitation levels decrease, and they walk little clip barking and pacing.

KEEP YOUR DOG’S COLLAR ON WHEN GUESTS ARE OVER

With guests often coming successful and retired of your location during vacation gatherings, it’s casual for your beforehand doorway to beryllium near open; this tin make opportunities for your canine to tally outside. While keeping your pup distant from the beforehand doorway erstwhile guests get and permission is important, accidents tin hap quickly. To assistance others place your canine successful the unfortunate lawsuit that they escape, effort to support your pup’s collar connected with an updated recognition tag.

SUPERVISE YOUR DOG AROUND NEW TOYS

Gift-giving is particularly amusive erstwhile the recipient is an adorable pup! If your friends oregon household acquisition a canine artifact to your furry household subordinate this season, beryllium definite to look for immoderate tiny batteries oregon escaped parts that could beryllium a choking hazard earlier giving it to them to play with.

It is ever a bully thought to support an oculus connected your pup portion they play, particularly with caller toys. If immoderate of your friends oregon household are looking for artifact suggestions to springiness your dog, toys made from durable material, sturdy rope, KONG toys, and puzzle toys are ever large options to adhd to their privation list.

CREATE DOG-FREE ZONES IN YOUR HOME

If you cognize determination volition beryllium items astir your location that could beryllium perchance unsafe astir your dog, specified arsenic décor, gifts, oregon definite food, you tin prep beforehand by creating dog-free zones. Adding canine gates, for instance, and letting your guests cognize that your pup can’t beryllium successful definite areas of your location tin make an added constituent of information to your gatherings. Keep successful caput that doing this whitethorn necessitate immoderate readying and rearranging truthful your canine tin inactive roam freely successful different areas.

Let your canine unrecorded their best lifeSchedule your dog's Meet & Greet

MAINTAIN SAFETY ON THE ROAD

If you and your pup volition beryllium traveling to vacation get-togethers, maintaining their information successful the car is essential. Consider getting a harness that works with your car’s seatbelts. Look for a harness that fits comfortably and securely and has passed information inspections. The Sleepypod Clickit Sport car harness is an fantabulous option, arsenic it has been crash-tested according to U.S., Canadian, and E.U. kid information standards, among different information measures.

While it whitethorn look similar letting your canine escaped successful the car tin assistance them consciousness much escaped and little closed in, particularly connected agelong drives, it tin pb to a assortment of information concerns similar distraction oregon carnal wounded successful the unfortunate but unpredictable lawsuit an mishap occurs. In fact, securing pets successful a moving conveyance is required by instrumentality successful immoderate areas. Keeping pups unafraid successful the car and taking breaks arsenic needed is important for ensuring some their information and your bid of mind. For much car and roadworthy travel tips to guarantee a comfy thrust for your dog, click here.

BOARD YOUR DOG DURING THE HOLIDAYS

In the hustle and bustle of the vacation season, having your canine by your broadside whitethorn not ever beryllium possible, nary substance however overmuch we privation them there. Whether you are attending vacation parties astatine different friends’ homes, enjoying precocious nights retired and incapable to instrumentality your canine connected their evening locomotion oregon support their routine, oregon you cognize your canine tin acquisition sensory overload erstwhile determination are a batch of radical successful your house, boarding tin beryllium an fantabulous solution.

At Dogtopia, we recognize this clip of twelvemonth tin beryllium stressful for some you and your furry household member. That’s wherefore we connection convenient short- and semipermanent overnight stays wherever dogs tin committee and bask each the amusive that daycare provides during the time and person a comfy and restful slumber astatine night.

Our squad of doggie experts cognize however to support pups progressive truthful they ne'er consciousness bored, and our harmless indoor playroom situation provides a clean, supervised abstraction wherever your canine volition play with others who lucifer their size and personality. And erstwhile you’re missing your dog, you tin cheque successful connected them with our playroom webcams, disposable connected our app oregon website.

Contact a Dogtopia adjacent you to publication your dog’s boarding stay. Happy holidays!

This blog was reviewed/edited by Dogtopia’s Director of Health & Safety Lorraine Rhoads, an experienced carnal biologist and biology scientist.

The station Dog Safety Tips for the Holidays appeared archetypal connected Dogtopia.