Keep Your Pet’s Safe This Christmas
Christmas is a happy time for many of us, spending time with loved ones, exchanging gifts, watching movies and over indulging in tasty calorific food and drink. However, for your pets it can be stressful, particularly if you have noisy guests coming and going. If you do enjoy being a host, please ensure that your pet is given the option to move to a quieter room while you are entertaining visitors. It is vital that you facilitate your pets needs over the holidays as well as your own. They are vulnerable and dependent on you to keep them well and safe.
Helpful tips to keep pets safe over the Christmas
Avoid letting them get cold – Even though they have fur, they still do feel the cold so wrap a blanket over them when you are tucking them into their basket or bed.
Regular routine – Although you will be out of your usual routine, try and keep to your pet’s one as much as possible. Animals are creatures of habit and they can get very stressed if their routine is broken. Also try and avoid leading your dog home alone any more often than you usually would, and if you do have to, it is recommended to leave the radio or television on for him for company. After all dogs are sociable creatures and dislike being isolated.
Christmas tree and decorations – Never leave your furry friend unattended in a room with a Christmas tree. They could hurt their paws on the pine needles and on glass, or sharp decorations if they knock them off the tree. If your pet chews tinsel or ribbon it may cause them stomach problems, so placing them higher on branches will hopefully prevent this from happening. Also be mindful that chewing on fairy lights could cause them to be electrocuted, so it is probably best to call them away from the tree.
Toys- Be careful your pet doesn’t chew your child’s new toys as this could cause choking or a painful intestinal blockage.
Festive plants harmful to animals
Mistletoe, poinsettia, holly and yew tree are all poisonous for pets. Phone a vet immediately if you think it has ingested any of these plants.
Edible treats – What is okay for us in moderation could be toxic for your pet.
Here is a list of foods which are harmful for your pets
Chocolate, alcohol, coffee and tea (because it contains caffeine) xlitol, chewing gum, apricot, cherry and peach pits, raisins, grapes, tomato leaves and stems, avocados, macadamia nuts, walnuts, mushrooms, onions, yeast dough, mushrooms, garlic, hops, rhubarb and potato leaves, apple pips and salt.
If you would like to treat your pet, a little bit of turkey is fine for them. Just make sure you remove the skin and fat before giving it to them.
Pet identification – It is advisable to microchip your furry friend in case he gets lost. This will almost always guarantee that you will be reunited with him if he strays away.
Your details are placed on a national database which will be picked up by the microchip when it is scanned.Microchipping is no more painful than a vaccination for them, and they don’t have to be placed under an anaesthetic for it.
The Irish government have made it compulsory to microchip your dogs from March 2016.
Dogs Trust Executive Director, Mark Beazley, said “Today marks a breakthrough for dog welfare in Ireland. To show our support Dogs Trust has financially assisted in the microchipping of over 5,500 dogs around Ireland to date and we will continue to offer subsided microchipping nationwide. The compulsory permanent identification of all dogs means that more dogs found, lost or straying can be returned to their owners and in a timelier manner. We believe compulsory microchipping will help reduce the burden on animal welfare charities such as Dogs Trust and reduce the cost to local authorities of kennelling stray dogs. The reality is that no matter how responsible an owner you are there is a chance your dog could get lost or stolen – microchipping is the most effective way to assist in a lost dog being returned to their owner. Whether it’s an abandoned stray or much loved family pet, there is no such thing as hierarchy in dog pounds”.
Bearing all of this in mind there is no reason why your pet won’t enjoy the holidays just as much as you, especially if you are spending more quality time with him.
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