Christmas Safety Tips for Dogs

The more we Americans see our pets as part of the family, the more we tend to include our pets in our celebrations. The Christmas holidays have long been thought of as the consummate family holiday.

Now our family dogs seem more and more likely to be the youngest member of our household. Young couples and retired folks are often the most likely to have a doggy Christmas stocking hung at the mantel along with their children's or grand children's stockings.

Here are some Christmas holiday safety tips for our four legged pets:

Glass Ornaments: Everyone loves to decorate for Christmas. Remember Fido when you decorate your house. Glass ornaments are often colored and sparkled and may look like edible treats. Fido is just as likely to think they are treats or toys. They are broken easily and glass under paw or in the mouths of curious dogs result in a trip to the vet. To prevent Christmas tragedy, make your decorations pet friendly. Use plastic ornaments rather than glass ornaments. Even though plastic can be ingested, it is less likely to cause severe cuts to mouth and paws. Paper card ornaments can also be used and are less of a hazard.

Tinsel: Tinsel, which is usually plastic covered with metallic paint, can be highly poisonous and dangerous to pets and young children. Much of it is made without concern for ingestion. Also tinsel can cause gastric blockage. Why not hang strung popcorn garlands high on the tree instead of hanging tinsel? Popcorn may not be the best food for your dog, but it's not toxic.

Sweet Treats: Chocolate is toxic for dogs and it is a main staple in candy bowls. The candy bowls are often accessible to the pets. Don't leave candy and cakes unattended in a place where your dog could reach them. When serving chocolates or other holiday candies, either keep them covered or on tables above the reach of your dog. If possible, restrain the dog with a leash or put the dog in another room.

One Christmas, we thoughtlessly left a boxed chocolate cake on the kitchen table and left the house for Christmas visitations. It never occurred to us that our dog could smell the chocolate cake nor that the chairs were left in positions that made the cake accessible to the dog. When we returned home, the cake was missing and the box, positioned at the edge of the table, was empty. A trail of chocolate frosting and crumbs on the floor led us to the next room where we found our dog's face covered in chocolate, looking innocent. Two hours later, she emptied her stomach on the kitchen floor several times and was quite miserable. We were lucky that she was not dead.

Fatty Foods: All the goodies of the holidays are as irresistible for our pets as they are for us. Christmas dinners are often complete with rich and fatty foods. Some people enjoy feeding bits of food to their family dog. This is fine unless the shared food contains lots of fat like turkey skin or chicken skin. While Fido might enjoy it immensely, it isn't healthy for the animal in the long run. Foods high in fat can cause severe pancreatic inflammation.

Onions and Garlic: Many Christmas dinners include an old favorite: The green bean and fried onion casserole. Green beans are perfectly fine for your pet. However, onions and garlic are toxic for the dog. Garlic. though less toxic, can cause health problems if given in large amounts.

Poisonous Christmas Plants: Some of the most beautiful decorative plants used in Christmas decorations can be fatal if eaten by the dog. Both the leaf and stem of Poinsettia plants are extremely toxic. The berries and leaves of the mistletoe plant are also poisonous. Artificial plants are the better choice.

Tree Water: Live Christmas trees need to be watered often and many people use chemicals in the water to keep the trees vibrant. This chemicals may be toxic for your pet. Aspirin is often used for this purpose. While aspirin could be given on the advice of your vet, the amounts of aspirin used for Christmas tree preservation are not safe for your dog.

Dressing Dog for Outdoors: Many of our pets are mostly in door animals and, even if they are hardy outdoor weather resistant breeds, special care needs to be taken when sending the dog out in frigid temperatures. Small short haired breeds should have protective coats and spend no more time outdoors than is necessary. Even larger breeds should have warm places to retreat to.

Ice Melting Chemicals: Today, we tend to put down ice melting chemicals on walks and streets. These chemicals can burn and damage paws and can be toxic when licked. Although the dog is unlikely to lick the freshly spread ice melting chemical, that dog may be ingesting the diluted chemical when licking the snow off cold paws. The solution is to bring your dog out on a leash and rinse the dog's paws when the dog is brought in doors. You can also buy the safe ice melting chemicals that are now on the market. Pet supply companies also sell dog booties to protect your pet's paws.

Frozen Water: Frozen water in dog bowls are undrinkable. If your dog is an outdoor dog, you might consider a heated bowl or replacing the water often. Heated bowls are the best option.

Trips and Visitors: The holidays are full of activities that include many trips out of the house and many visitors unfamiliar to our pets. No matter how pleasant these trips and visits are for the human family members, it may spells upsets for the dog. Time away from home can lead to boredom and forgotten meals for our dogs. A hungry bored young puppy is a potential problem for household furnishings: Especially if there are no children around. Older dogs present less of a problem although the possibility still exists. The solution is, of course, not to forget our furry friends. Leave ample food and water accessible to the dog. You may want to purchase toys for your dog at the local pet shop. Some of these toys have hidden places for bits of food or treat. The dog will have to work to get the food or treat out of the toys. This can alleviate much of the boredom and even some of the food problem.

When expecting guests, keep the dog restrained until the dog becomes familiar with the visitors. This will allow both your dog and the visitors to become acquainted with each other. It will lead to a much more pleasant visit for all.

Have a safe, merry Christmas and a happy New Year!