Pet Christmas Time Tips

To help ensure Christmas festivities go off without a hitch, consider these tips to keep your pet happy, healthy and safe this season.

• Food: Whether it’s decorations or food, your pets will most likely be curious and ingest things that can be harmful or not healthy for them. Chocolate candies and nuts such as macadamia and walnuts can be toxic for your pet. Have healthy treats on hand for your dog. They will find them just as delicious as table food.
• Decorating the home: All the Christmas decorations look like a whole new world and can be quite dangerous for your pet to explore. Ribbons, tinsel, bright lights and ornaments can transform your four-legged pal into a kid in a candy store. Ornaments can look like shiny, round tennis balls and can be very enticing for a dog, so be sure that ornaments on the lower branches are safe in case they are snatched! When wrapping lights around a Christmas tree, keep the strands away from the very bottom to prevent cats or dogs from chewing on the electrical cords, which can cause electrical shock. Pets can easily be intrigued by an open flame, whether it’s candles, a menorah or even a fireplace, so make sure the flames are in an area pets cannot get to.
• Christmas guests and visitors: ‘Tis the season for the doorbell constantly ringing with new Christmas packages and guests coming over for Christmas parties. If your pets are easily excited or anxious, your guests may feel anxious around them. Create a safe haven or retreat to allow your pet to take a break from the stress of your guests and crowds. Petmate’s Translucent Vari Kennel or Ultra Vari Kennels are great options for pets to feel comfortable, safe and secure around Christmas time.
• Keep them preoccupied: Keep stress levels down by keeping your pet preoccupied with fun toys. The JW Hol-ee Bone is an interactive or solo play toy that will keep dogs engaged, thus minimizing potential for disasters around the home.

For more information on how to care for your pet throughout the Christmas Season, or for the perfect Christmas pet gift listed above, visit www.petmate.com.

_{Article compliments of NAPS.}

Read more: http://www.courageouschristianfather.com/twas-the-night-before-christmas-poem-for-pets/#ixzz4py1AItTK

First published November 8, 2017. Last republished or updated December 11, 2018.