During the holiday season, keeping your 4-legged
family members safe is not an easy task, especially your first Christmas
together. After all, there are lights, presents, plants and ornaments to think
of. This is without even mentioning the Christmas tree! There are a few things
you can do to create a pet-friendly holiday season to avoid any potential
emergency room trips for your pet.
Screen
Your Fireplace
This holiday season; avoid any accidental fireplace
burns by positioning a screen in front of your fireplace. In the same line of
thought, place candles high above mantels or shelves that your pet’s wagging
tail cannot reach.
Ornaments
No matter what, it is a bad idea to use popcorn or
cranberry on a string as tree ornaments. For your pet, goodies such as these
are simply irresistible and they won’t be able to resist tugging on them, which
could potentially knock down your spruce filled with wonderful décor.
Christmas
tree Safety
Your pet, whether he is a dog or a cat, will most
likely want to either climb or attack your Christmas tree the first time they
lay eyes on it. To prevent this from happening, what you can do is to place
plastic drink bottles filled with odds and ends or aluminum foil to create
noise on the bottom limbs of the tree. Noise tends to discourage pets after a
few attempts, protecting both your tree and your pet from danger.
Holiday
Health Hazards
There are a few holiday plants including poinsettia,
mistletoe and holly that can poison cats or dogs. Keep these in areas
inaccessible to your pet if you must have them around this season. Also, you
might benefit from knowing that a live Christmas tree’s pine needles that shed
are able to puncture the intestines of your pet when ingested. For this reason,
keeping the area clear and free of pine needles at all times is essential.
High
Lights
When putting up Christmas lights on your tree,
ensure that you don’t put any on the lower branches. These can cause your pet
to get tangled up and inadvertently bite the wire, which potentially causes
electric shock. Paws may also get injured by ornaments that are within your
pet’s reach. Just as you would child-proof your home, pet-proofing this
Christmas will save you heaps of trouble that could arise when pets and
Christmas balls are in the same room.
Of course, all the fun is in the decorating. Go
ahead and spruce up your home this Christmas season, making sure to keep it
simultaneously safe for your pet.
Mark
Perissinotto has been a practicing
veterinarian for over 20 years, 14 years of which he was the owner and
principal of a busy multi-vet mixed animal hospital. One of the two co-founders
of Vet Shop
Australia, graduated from the University of Queensland
with Bachelor of Veterinary Science and one of the best retailer of pet
supplies Australia.
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