Discussing The Various Things That Are Hazardous To Our Pets Around The Holidays And How To Keep Your Pets Safe From Them
The winter holiday season is a truly wonderful time of year filled with merriment, cheer, and quality time with loved ones. However, it can also be a dangerous time of year for your pets. With the holidays comes holiday hazards such as holiday foods, decorations, and plants.
This article will take an in-depth look into the various hazards that could affect your pets around the winter holidays. We will also offer some general advice on how to keep your pets safe from these hazards as well.
A cat playing with holiday decorations
Holiday Decorations
A long standing tradition of the winter holidays is putting up holiday decorations! While these decorations are pretty and fun to look at, they can be hazardous to your pets. This is especially true for dogs as they often love to chew on stuff they shouldn’t be chewing on. Cats are also notorious for knocking over shiny looking decorations as well.
Many holiday decorations are rather small and they can potentially be a choking hazard for pets. Some holiday decorations are also electronic and have some form of electrical wires. These are very dangerous to pets as they can seriously hurt themselves if they chew on these electrical wires.
Safety Tip
To keep your pets safe from these choking and electrical hazards, we recommend keeping your decorations out of your pets’ reach when possible. Try putting decorations high up on a wall or shelf so your pets are less likely to play, break, or chew on them. For electric powered decorations, try using battery operated decorations instead of the plug-in type.
Holiday poinsettias
Holiday Plants
A very common gift during the winter holiday season is the gift of a holiday plant. Some commonly gifted holiday plants include Mistletoe, Holly, and Poinsettias. All three of these plants are very festive, but very dangerous if consumed. Holly and Poinsettias can irritate your dog or cat’s mouth and stomach. Common side effects of consuming these three plants include drooling, vomiting, and diarrhea and difficulty breathing.
Safety Tip
If you have any of the aforementioned holiday plants in your home this season, be sure to keep them out of your pet’s reach. Try putting them on a high shelf or attach them to a hanging basket. Additionally, keep your spare bags of soil and/or fertilizer out of their reach too. This can also be toxic if consumed. We recommend keeping spare soil in the garage or outdoor shed, away from your furry friends.
Holiday foods
Holiday Foods
It wouldn’t be a holiday without holiday foods and dinners! No matter what holidays you celebrate this time of year, there is sure to be plenty of delicious food around. This is a good thing for people, but a bad thing for pets. Ideally, pets shouldn’t eat the food that we eat. This is especially true during the winter holidays.
Here are some examples of holiday foods to keep away from your pets. Sweets, chocolate, baked goods, turkey, yeast dough, and nearly all table scraps. All of the aforementioned foods have ingredients that are not healthy for pets. This is because our pets’ bodies can’t break down these foods the same way we can. Ingesting these types of foods can be toxic and/or lead to health complications.
Safety Tip
If you are hosting a holiday dinner, let everyone attending know that your pet’s are not allowed any table scraps. No matter how cute they look! Additionally, you can also make/prepare some holiday treats especially for your pets. This way they won’t feel left out. For holiday dog treat recipes, click here. For holiday cat treat recipes, click here.
Hire A Pet Sitter This Winter Holiday!
Are you hard-pressed for time this winter holiday season? Then you should hire a professional pet sitter! Do your holiday shopping and errands knowing that your pets are well taken care of at home.
Long Island Pet Services is the best place to turn to for professional, quality pet sitting services. We offer a wide variety of services including dog walking, drop-in visits, overnight stays, pet taxi, and more! Click here to become a client today or give us a call at 516-247-6976. We look forward to hearing from you and happy holidays to you and your furry family!
Be sure to check us out on social media too! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X to stay up-to-date on everything pet related!
