HOLIDAY PET SAFETY
Original Post Nov 27, 2022
THANKSGIVING, CHANUKAH, CHRISTMAS, THREE KINGS, KWANZA NOW WHAT?
Winter holidays are a time of excitement, novelty, and sometimes stress for us and our family pets. Dogs of all ages will be interested in holiday preparations but you can bet money that young puppies and adolescent dogs may get themselves into trouble especially if it's their first time seeing, smelling, and perhaps even tasting the accoutrements of the upcoming holidays!!
Anything new in the environment will get your pup's attention. Trees, wreaths, seasonal plants and flowers, special foods, chocolate and other candies, candles, presents (especially those containing food or dog toys), batteries, and wires for holiday lighting and more will be of great interest especially to puppies.
When it comes to animals and holidays, management will be your best option for keeping your dog safe and your holiday merry! Some management options that will keep your dog and holiday hazards separated:
Elevate the elements of your holiday decorations to keep them out of reach.
Close the door to the room where the festivities will occur. Or put a sturdy gate across the doorway.
Use an Ex-pen as a barrier around your tree or the part of the room with celebratory candles.
If a tree is part of your holidays, decorate late or keep interesting decorations higher up in the tree.
Avoid decorations that are potentially dangerous like tinsel, fake snow etc.
Avoid decorations that are food items of any sort.
Wait to put presents out until close to opening time and then keep the door closed or the room gated off when unsupervised.
Clean-up as presents are being opened to avoid a pile of paper and ribbons for a curious pup to get into.
Put your pup in an ex-pen or crate with a great bunch of chew toys while presents are being opened.
While management will sometimes fail because we forget or the pup is a little too smart, it will go a very long way to keeping your holidays sane.
Along with management…
You still have a little bit of time to do some training or simply refresh your training with your dog so that you get great responses when management isn't enough. Being able to get your dog's attention and call them away from a situation gives you tremendous control over potentially dangerous or problematic situations.
Does your dog love the sound of their name? The answer is yes, if when you say your dog's name once they turn to look at you with happy anticipation.
Does your dog know come or touch?
Does your dog know drop-it or trade?
Does your dog know leave-it or walk away?
Does your dog know find-it? The answer is yes if you've taught it to your dog! They all love it. Find-it means that small bits of food or treats are about to be scattered on the floor and what dog doesn't pay attention to that!!
You can spiff-up all of your training by doing easy practices with your dog and being generous with high value treats so that when the holidays arrive and the temptations are high your dog knows there's something in it for them to respond to your cues and requests. Keeping those treats coming for good behavior will save you a lot of headaches and annoyance during the holiday season.
And finally….
Be prepared in case of an emergency, make a list that includes your vet's name and number plus the closest 24 hour emergency vet, and the poison control number for your area, depending on where you are located there may be a charge for this service. Put the list in a prominent location and be sure all your family members know where the list is.
To dig deeper on holiday time hazards for pets these are great resources:
ASPCA list of things that are poisonous to animals:
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/general-pet-care/holiday-safety-tips
https://www.medvetforpets.com/12-dangerous-holiday-pet-hazards/
