Best Puppy Safety Tips for Holiday Festivities

Written by Senior Editor Peter Ghr

Best Puppy Safety Tips for Holiday Festivities

Best Puppy Safety Tips for Holiday Festivities

During the festive season it’s always good to be reminded of the best puppy safety tips for holiday festivities and beyond. With unfamiliar visitors, extra noise, late nights, and a shift in regular schedules can be enough to cause your puppy a measure of insecurity.

Taking time to be mindful of the disruption to your pet’s schedule will help them be assured and aid in normalizing what would otherwise be a disruptive period. Of course, it’s not always possible to completely devote every attention to your puppy, but as habitual members of our households it can sometimes be more difficult for them to part from the norm than you may realize.

Best Puppy Safety Tips for Holiday Festivities

As much as possible, maintain your pet’s usual routine with feeding and exercise. Dogs and cats are creatures of habit – they’ll be much more content if you incorporate their daily needs into your overall holiday planning.

Keep poisonous plants out of reach of your pets.

Poinsettias, mistletoe and holly are the most common offenders, as well as lilies that are harmful to cats. A complete list of plants should help narrow it down.

Watch out for any liquids other than the clean, fresh water you provide for your pet every day, or made-for-pets gravy.

No unattended alcoholic beverages. That includes eggnog and spiked punch.

The most dangerous liquid to keep out of your pet’s way is antifreeze – it tastes sweet but can be lethal. It’s also sometimes an ingredient in snow globes.

Keep the garbage can lid securely closed, or even in another room away from your pets.

If any of your family members or guests take medications, be sure to keep pill boxes and medicine bottles tightly closed and secured out of a pet’s reach. Zipped plastic bags, locked medicine cabinets are all good protection where both kids and pets are concerned.

If you have a live Christmas tree, the water in its stand may contain fertilizer or preservatives not good for Fido.

Beware of electrical cords that can trip a pet – or a human – and catch fire, cause a lethal shock, or be tempting to a puppy as something else to chew. Use duct tape to keep wires in place.

No lit Menorah or Christmas candles in wagging tails’ way. Set them (the candles) in stable candle holders, up on a table, and blow them out if you leave the room.

Keep a good supply of healthy pet treats handy so you won’t be tempted to sneak your pet human treats like: chocolate that can lead to digestive upset, cooked bones that can splinter internally, or spicy or high-fat foods like gravy that can lead to pancreatitis.

Need a better way to keep Rover or Muffin occupied? Try dental chews and similar treats that take several minutes for your pet to work on. Fill a Kong or other toy that’s more or less indestructible with healthy, digestible treats to ease a lot of an excited dog’s nervous energy.

Give your cat her own new holiday presents – toys with catnip, a big ball to chase. And of course, lots of playtime.

Before guests arrive and endless chaos ensues, give your pets plenty of quality time. Plenty of exercise before the party will help hold down a pet’s level of excitability.

Reserve a “time-out” room, crate or carrying case for your pets while guests are arriving, and let Fluffy and Spot out once the constant door-opening and closing has subsided. Or if your pet is comfortable with the action, keep a leash on to reduce the chance of your pet escaping when no one is looking. Click here to visit the original source of this post

The best puppy safety tips for holiday festivities start with common sense. Parties can generate a level of excitement that can be unsettling for your pet, so stay sensitive to their needs and provide them with as much normalcy as possible to keep their daily regimen as structured as possible.

2 thoughts on “Best Puppy Safety Tips for Holiday Festivities

  1. We had a Cocker that was normally OK with small groups but could get a little weirded out by larger or boisterous groups. We knew he was becoming overwhelmed when he got “the big eyed look”. He didn’t want to be separated from us; if we put him in our room in his cage, where he normally slept, he would simply bark until we let him back out. We found the solution was to bring his bed into the area where the activity was going on, put the bed out of the flow of traffic but where he could still see us, and he would then calm down and possibly even doze off. Perhaps the bed created a safety zone in his mind. The point is you need to pay attention to your pet’s reaction to surroundings, and be prepared to try a couple different things to help them adjust and relax.

    • Thanks for contributing Jill. Very good idea. It also shows you are very “tuned in” to your pet, and caring for his needs and watching his body language and behavior. Great stuff! Wonderful!

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