As with all occasions, ensuring your pet is safe and well during festivities is paramount. It is not only environment changes that need to be considered with your pet but their mental welfare too. You can all too often overlook your pet’s thoughts and needs when it comes to festive fun.

Check the Homely Petz 12 days of Christmas top pet care tips;

• Reduce your pet’s stress by maintaining regular feeding and exercise routines.

• Use un-breakable baubles and “dangles” on the tree, i.e. wood or natural materials, not glass/ceramic. If your pet decides to play “bop” and they fall off, they will not break and splinter!

• Put packages and gifts out of reach! Dogs may rip them open. Food is the No. 1 holiday hazard for dogs. Ingesting toy parts can cause choking and may result in surgery.

• Ask guests not to share their indulgences with your pet. Poultry skin, fat trimmings, rich gravies, and sauces can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, or even worse, a life threatening inflammation of the pancreas. Remember an ounce of alcoholic beverage can put a small dog into a coma.

• Do not give chocolate of any kind to any pets or animals – it is toxic to them!

• Buy only decorating products that are labelled non-toxic.

• Secure large trees to the wall to prevent tipping, or consider a smaller tree that can fit on a table top.

• Ensure treats and candies are not left on low coffee tables for pets to reach.

• When you have guests, ask them to not get too excitable around your pets, if there is to be frolics or loud music, take your pet to a quieter room or spend time with them during the festivities.

• Throw away all wrapping paper and trimmings after use, some pets may love chewing these. Cats may also like to play with ribbon or string and unsupervised can be dangerous.

• Place holiday plants out of reach and vacuum the floor often. Poinsettia (Christmas Flower) can cause drooling, oral pain, and vomiting. Mistletoe causes vomiting, laboured breathing, shock, and death from cardiovascular collapse. If animals eat the needles from real or fake trees, they can get intestinal blockages.

• Display candles on high shelves to avoid burns and singed whiskers.

Article Courtesy of Homely Petz