Lara Walker is the owner of Two Tails DC, a local pet care service. She shares holiday tips about pet care. We are sharing with permission.
Photo via TwoTails on Instagram.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families. Wishing you and yours a warm, relaxing, and peaceful holiday.
Please keep the following tips in mind as you and your family celebrate the holiday. The winter holidays can be fun for the whole family, but can be a dangerous time for your pets, dogs and cats alike. Following are tips to protect them and avoid a visit to the vet or worse:
DOOR SAFETY
Guests can easily leave a door open. Whether you’re hosting guests or traveling, make sure your pets are wearing a collar and ID tags with current information in case they get loose.
Make sure you remind your guests to be careful with doors and not let pets out.
If your pets are dashers, keep them on a leash or in another room while guests are coming in and out.
GIVE YOUR PETS A SAFE GETAWAY SPACE
A full house can stress pets out. Make sure they have a safe and quiet space to get away.
Keep toys and treats at hand when hosting guests to distract pets and reward good behavior.
Supervise ALL interactions between pets and children, for everyone’s safety. This is especially important if your dog is a resource guarder and gets food aggressive, do not let children feed your dog or go near your dog when he is eating. Never let a child reach for the dog’s food bowl or mouth when food is present.
FOOD SAFETY
Rich Thanksgiving foods can cause stomach upset or worse, pancreatitis. If you’re hosting Thanksgiving dinner, remind guests not to feed your pets table scraps. Keep authorized treats at hand instead and control what your pets eat. Family and friends often think it’s cute to sneak food scraps to pets; to protect your pets, it’s best to make sure you’re the one controlling what they’re eating.
Don’t leave your pets unattended with any food.
Don’t leave alcoholic drinks or open alcoholic containers within pets’ reach.
The following Thanksgiving foods are DANGEROUS for your pets:
- Turkey bones
- Corn on the cob
- Onions
- Garlic
- Mushrooms
- Raisins, grapes
- Sage and other herbs – Contain essential oils and resins that can cause gastrointestinal upset and central nervous system depression if eaten in large quantities.
- Fat trimmings & fatty foods
- Bread dough – An animal’s body heat can cause raw dough to rise in his stomach. As it expands, the pet may experience severe vomiting, abdominal pain, or bloating.
- Chocolate
- Alcohol
If you insist on treating your pets to a taste of the holiday meal, please make sure you stick to small bites of lean poultry or unsalted/unbuttered vegetables.
GUARD THE TRASH
Do not leave pets with unattended trash that they can reach. Make sure you take out the trash if it’s in a can that can be tipped over. Pets will be tempted to tip it over to reach leftovers or food scraps.