Holiday Season – Getting Through the Big Four
It’s that time of year when the celebrations seem to hit us one after another! Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years – whew!! The holiday season parties and family gatherings help to ease us into winter. As we quickly transition from one theme to the next new pet dangers are constantly popping up. A well-seasoned pet owner may know these dangers like the back of their pets paw! If you’re new to the pet game or even new to decorating or hosting holiday events in your home here are some top dangers to watch out for!
Pet Dangers for the Holiday Season
Halloween
- Chocolate or other candy – including their wrappers which can have remnants or prove to be choking hazards.
- Loose parts of costumes or decorations, candles in pumpkins, chewable electric cords.
- Strangers. People unfamiliar to your pet can cause stress and fear as can high traffic. Keep pets safe, even if it means temporarily confining them to a quiet portion of your home.
Thanksgiving
- Bones, scrapes, and sweets! Make sure guests understand your rules about sharing food with your pets and keep pets out of areas where they can access human foods easily.
- Chrysanthemums are a popular and lovely fall decor, but also deadly poisonous to dogs.
- Hot things in the kitchen. Creating a delicious meal means lots of hot plates, pots, pans, and liquids. Tripping over a pet at the wrong moment could lead to more than just a ruined dish. Keep your pets safe by keeping them out of the kitchen during peak cooking times.
Christmas
- The chrysanthemums may be past their prime by now but poinsettias are just as deadly to your pets!
- Chocolate! and all other holiday treats and sweets. Sugar is bad for pets.
- Glass from broken Christmas lights and ornaments.
- Wrapping paper, ribbons, tags, and bows can all prove to be choking and tangling hazards. Make sure your pets are well supervised if they like to frolic in the post-Christmas morning aftermath.
New Year’s Eve
- Alcohol. Don’t ever give your pet alcohol or leave it where they can easily access it.
- Confetti, ribbons, and small celebratory things can lead to digestive and intestinal issues in pets.
- Chocolate and sweets. Yeah, we really like candies… Always keep them out of your pets reach!
- High traffic, again, is a threat here, but doubly so if your guests are drinking. Unsteady feet don’t mix with little creatures at foot level.
Know your pet and always keep them in mind before, during, and after each holiday!
photo credit: The 3 bulldogs Hangover, hangover, hangover… via photopin