Every holiday season, dogs end up in the ER for eating something they shouldn’t. Cooked bones, too many holiday food scraps (or too much mixing of new foods), wrapping paper, bows, and Christmas tree parts. Keeping your dog safe, and out of the animal hospital for the holidays, is a matter of puppy-proofing your home for the holidays.
Things to Consider….
First, know that artificial trees are made of plastics. Obviously, your dog won’t have much of a taste for plastic pine needles, but puppies are known to chew and swallow some strange things. If you find that your dog has eaten any part of an artificial Christmas tree, take them to the pet hospital immediately.
Real Christmas Trees Can Be Dangerous, Too
- Because pine needles are not digestible, eating them can hurt your dog.
- Fallen needles can make a tempting chew toy for puppies. Even older dogs might enjoy the scent and put the needles in their mouth.
- Because they’re sharp, needles can puncture your dog’s GI tract. They can also cause cuts in their mouths.
Tree Water
- The water you use to feed a freshly cut tree collects the fertilizers, pesticides, sap, and other substances from the pine tree. Dogs accidentally drinking this water has cause many trips to the doggie ER. Make sure your dog is blocked off from this water dish.
Christmas Lights Choking Hazard
- Christmas lights, and all holiday-themed lights can present a choking hazard for your pup. Young dogs get tangled up in them. They are a tempting play toy, hanging off a tree, glowing. An unsupervised dog (or cat) can get tangled up and harmed very quickly.
- Older or bigger dogs can get snagged in these lights. This leads to a problem with choking. And, they can also pull the tree down. This is a fire hazard for your whole home.
- Avoid this issue by not striking the lights on the lower part of your Christmas tree. If you put up holiday lights outside or around windows, make sure they’re out of your dog’s reach.
Ornaments and Hooks
- These tend to be a bigger issue for cats who like to bat them around. But, dogs can knock ornaments off your tree, then stop on glass. Hooks can be swallowed and cause major damage.
- As with lights, keep ornaments high off the ground and away from your pup.
Gifts, Wrapping Paper, and Bows
- Ribbons can be fun for a dog to grab hold of and run around the room. Wrapping paper makes a delightful crinkling sound.
- This makes them attractive toys for dogs, but they’re also very dangerous.
- Try keeping gifts off the floor until you need them. If you do put your gifts, or any holiday themed ribbons, bows, wreaths, or wrapping paper around, teach your dog to stay away from it. Keep it out of reach, and you’ll avoid unnecessary holiday hazards.
Keep Your Dogs Extra Safe This Holiday Season
- Because the holidays are a break in your dog’s routine, they can cause stress and anxiety. And, they offer a lot of opportunities for your dog to get lost.
- Guests come into your home, open the door by accident and then… your pup is gone in an instant. The holidays can turn into a disaster quickly.
- However, it doesn’t have to be like that. With HelloNuzzle’s GPS dog collar, you’ll know where your dog is at all times.
- And, you’ll know even if they’re about to get out. Why? Because HelloNuzzle allows you to set up geo-fencing, giving you alerts if your dog is getting close to the no-go zone you’ve set up.
Source: Nuzzle
