Holiday Stress

Holidays are a wonderful time, but can be stressful for animals. Keeping your pet safe and calm will make for a better holiday for all.

·       Secure tree/ornaments; it’s easy for things get knocked down by a tail or a climbing pet. Add a heavy base, secure to the wall, or place a fence around it. All decorations should be pet safe (glass or food is a bad idea) and placed out of reach of pets.

·       It’s exciting when guests arrive, but often dangerous for the guests who might get knocked over or tripped, or the pets escaping. Set up a room just for your pet to keep him safe. Have water, beds and toys inside to make it fun, and they won't miss the party mess. Training your dog to stay in place back from the door is another great option if you only have a few guests.

·       Pets can bite into holiday light cords and often pets are attracted to candles. Burns or fires could result. Always watch a burning candle, use fake candles instead when possible, and place cords in pet safe conduit.

·       Make sure guests know your house rules for feeding your pets, and don’t let pets get into personal items such as medications or clothing.

·       Getting a new pet for the holiday is cute but stressful for pet and owners. Avoid the holiday stress and get an adoption kit for the holiday gift instead (toys, bowls, etc). Bring your new pet home when regular routines resume.

Sharing Treats with Your Dog

As we all love a little treat for ourselves often we pass it along to our pets to enjoy too. Some people cringe at a pet getting ‘human’ food, but really some can be a great and healthy treat, often better then the sugar filled store bought treats. Not that every dog will like all of the types that I will mention but why not give it a try.

This guy shares an apple and banana daily with his brother

Veggies- Many veggies can be very healthy for dogs, fresh, canned, cooked and dehydrated. Carrots, pumpkin (cooked), potatoes (cooked), broccoli, and green beans to name a few that dogs often like to eat. Avoid corn, onions, garlic and mushrooms as these can be dangerous or cause allergies.

Fruit- Lots of fruits can also bring nutrients to the table, both in raw, cooked or dehydrated. Apples, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, oranges are some fun fruits to share. Never let your pet eat the seeds or pits of the fruits and grapes are poisonous to dogs and cats.

 Dairy- often too much can lead to stomach problems so only use small amounts, but my dogs love a little cube of cheese. These can also be high in fat  and salt so only as a special treats.

Meats- Dogs love meat, but make sure you find low fat cuts and use small amounts so that they don’t gain weight. Check for sodium (or salt) and try to keep it to a minim. Raw meat can be great but make sure the dogs can handle it and cooked chicken and pork bones should never be given because they splinter. Eggs raw are harmful but cooked can be good, just watch for allergies.

Nuts- Peanut butter is a fun treat to add to many toys to get the dog to play, be careful of allergies both in humans around the dog as well as the dog. Almonds and peanut butter can also be high calorie so give small amounts or check for low fat and salt free. Never give macadamia nuts, as they are toxic to dogs.

Lastly never give your dog chocolate or coffee, it’s the caffeine that affects your pets and they can get sick for days. No xylitol (a sweetener) or fluoride as both can be toxic, otherwise have fun with sharing food, but make them work for it and away from your snacking areas unless you like an audience when you eat.