Tips for Keeping Pets Safe During Holidays

We hope these Tips for Keeping Pets Safe During Holidays help you this season. Pets are a lot like children, especially when it comes to the holidays. They are just as overwhelmed with excitement and want to enjoy Christmas chocolates and treats just as much as your kids do.

Tips for Holiday Safety with Pets

Christmas trees and candles might spark some curiosity, and the next thing you know, your Christmas tree is knocked over and your house is on fire. Here are several tips for holiday safety to have in place so that your pets don’t accidentally leave you your family out in the cold.

Warn Visitors Not to Give them Table Scraps

While you might not feed your pet table scraps during a meal, your family or friends might not know it. Politely let everyone know that Bingo doesn’t want to get sick around the holidays from eating people’s food. There’s nothing rude about it.

Keep Treats Out of Reach

Candy canes, chocolates, raisins, and mints are used as stocking stuffers and common gifts that should never be left out and unattended. Your pets can sniff them out and be indulging in them faster than you can say “mistletoe.” Pets can have serious illnesses and seizures from treats that they get into.

Keep Holiday Plants up High

Holiday plants such as lilies, poinsettias, holly, and mistletoe are dangerous for animals to nibble on. The last thing you want is something fowl that resembles a creamed spinach on your white carpet.

Secure your Christmas Tree

Pets are curious creatures that notice when a tree moves into the living room. There are hundreds of stories of knocked over Christmas trees due to a pet that found interest in it. Finding a corner and secure your tree any way you can. You could even use a fishing line hanging from the ceiling to help keep it in place. Here are a few ways of securing your Christmas tree.

Skip the Tinsel

While tinsel certainly spruces up a Christmas tree nicely, it won’t be pretty being ingested in your animal’s stomach. If you decide to hang it, make sure it’s up high out of reach.

Keep in mind Tree Decorations

The same thing goes for the decorations and ornaments that go on the tree. Tails wagging can knock down glass ornaments and break them. They could make them worse by hurting their paws by stepping on the broken glass. Ornaments made of candy and food should be avoided as well.

Keep Pine Needles off the Ground

Pine needles from your real Christmas tree need to be picked up after so that your animal isn’t eating them also. They can also irritate your pet’s stomach just like holiday plants do.

Don’t Leave You Pets alone with candles

You might be celebrating Haunukuh during the holiday season with a menorah. Or maybe you just like having candles lit just because. Keep them up high. Never leave them on a table or where they can knock it over with their tails. You should never leave candles unattended.

Keep Little Toys off the Ground

Unwrapped Christmas presents and toys that are small enough to be put in your pet’s mouth should be picked up. Make sure your children put up their treasures so that they don’t get choked on or chewed to smithereens.

Give Them a Safe Place

Having a safe place for them to calm down from all the visitors is a good idea too. You can also have their bed in that designated area for comfort.

These are several tips for keeping your family, home, and pets safe through the holiday season. If you’ve survived the holidays with pets for a long time, what other advice might you have to make it a more merry one?

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