As Christmas is just over a week away, you may have considered buying your dog something special for the big day and a delicious alternative for their Christmas dinner. Families all over the world really look forward to Christmas and what better way to make it extra special, is to involve your furry-legged friend. However, any vet will tell you that Christmas can be hazardous for dogs, if you’re not vigilant over your dog and have precautions in place should they be needed. With this, here are a few tips to help keep your pooch safe and happy during the festive season.
Christmas Household Hazards
Like most of us, you’ve probably gone over-board on the decorations for your Christmas tree, with tinsel and baubles array. Your dog will most likely be excited to get involved with the decorating, but please be aware that introducing your dog to the sparkly ornaments and chocolate gifts can be potentially hazardous to your dog. Keep your decorations, festive plants and chocolate treats out of reach of your dog. It's worthy to be over precautions to prevent an emergency trip to the vets.
Keep your dog's routine normal during the festive season
With various festive meals at irregular times, visitors coming and going and many presents to be opened, its very easy for your normal household routine to become out of sync. Routine is important for your dog and offers them comfort and stability. Try to ensure your dog's routine is not disrupted and that they are fed their meals during usual times and their daily walks are not neglected. Their training needs are just as important, sloppy training, or missed training days will confuse your dog and make training them harder later on.
Feeding your dog this Christmas
Christmas comes with a large variety of delicious foods that we all enjoy and can be just as appealing to our furry-legged friends. It's ok to feed your dog a small piece of your Christmas turkey or other meat, but that should be all they have. Most of the food types we consume during the festive period can potentially be very poisonous for dogs. Foods such as nuts, chocolate, garlic, berries and many more are not designed for canines and can be toxic if consumed. It's not just the potential risk of poisoning, you must also be cautious to not feed your dog too much, so they put on weight and causes them to be sick. It's important that you stick to their normal complete meals and their set times. Remember your dog is unable to make informed decisions about what's healthy for them to eat, this is the owner's responsibility.
It's your dogs Christmas too
As the owner of two beautiful doggies myself, I can't help but spoil my fur babies over Christmas. This is totally an option, but it can be a nice touch to buy them a little gift, such as a new ball and perhaps something delicious for their Christmas dinner. It's important to keep a watchful eye on your dog as you unwrap your own presents, making sure they don't run off with something that doesn't belong to them, or eating packaging that is unsuitable.
If you're looking for inspiration for what to buy your pet this Christmas, please click on the following link Top Gifts For Pets This Christmas
Happy Holidays.
