A Dogs Imperilment Over The Festive Season
Christmas tree baubles and glass ornamentation
Anti freeze on the ground
Pine needles fallen from the tree
Surplus food
Chocolate
The following companies carried out a survey which resulted in revealing this time of year to be the most dangerous for our pets and their owners, Dog Rehoming, Churchill Pet Insurance and Dogsblog.com.
81% percent of dog owners surveyed claimed their dog had destroyed at least one Christmas present and just under a third of participants pets had been injured in some way or other as a direct result of Christmas festivities.
Houses become hectic at Christmas with lots of extra visitors coming and going, extra chairs are crammed into the kitchen and living room to accommodate all the extra bottoms and this can only lead to the odd push and shove which results in things being knocked over, including ornaments and baubles. Once on the floor these get trodden on and break……not good with 4 little paws running around!
Antifreeze – people think they are doing good by putting the stuff on the floor in order avoid to prevent freezing which can cause nasty slips and accidents resulting in broken bones. However, we have to stop and think about our four legged friends, they do not have shoes to wear to protect their paws, so they walk on it, this then burns their feet and causes extreme pain to the animal. The dog will then lick its paws to ease its pain and then ingests the antifreeze too. My advice, stick to sand and salt to stop freezing!
Pine Needles, not much to say here, they fall off trees, lie on the floor and our poor pooches walk on them and get them stuck in their paws. 79% of those surveyed avoid real Christmas tree’s due to the falling needles and almost 50% of pets of those that did favour a real Christmas tree had experienced pine needles becoming embedded in the dog's paw.
Many dogs are over fed during Christmas time what with all the extra food us humans consume there is bound to be additional left over’s available for our beloved pets. Whilst the odd tit bit here and there is acceptable without keeping an eye on what we are feeding our dog those odd tit bits soon become an over indulgence for our canine friends and that’s not including what those rascals have already helped themselves to. Whilst on the subject of food, can you imagine what a hazard it is simply having the dog in the kitchen whilst you are cooking, all those extra people and plates easily leads to overcrowding and one keen hungry pooch could just get under the wrong persons feet and well, I will leave it to your imagination as to what dangers that can lead to.
We are all tempted to share our chocolate with our best friends aren’t we, and how could we not when those big brown eyes are staring back at you. Well, before you do please stop and think. In human chocolate there is a substance called Alkaloid Theobromine. The amount in chocolate is small enough to be safe for human consumption but is extremely dangerous in dogs as they digest the theobromine a lot slower than we do and this can result in poisoning. Symptoms are nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and increased urination. These can lead to heart attacks, epileptic seizures, internal bleeding and death.
Christmas Safety Tips for Dog Owners
1) Keep chocolate away from your dog and out of their reach then they are not tempted to help themselves.
2) Do not use crackers and party poppers around your dog if they have a nervous disposition.
3) Empty your rubbish daily, this can avoid many of the above from happening when a nosey hungry dog goes rummaging.
4) In this case, fake is definitely better than real
5) Keep your dogs out of the kitchen to avoid any nasty trips
6) If you are having a busy house over the Christmas period, spare a thought for your dog and find a nice little quiet place for them, then they are not getting under peoples feet, they are not in any danger, they are not tempted to be naughty and your not tempted to share with them, somewhere where they can be safe.
