Keeping Your Pets Safe This Holiday Season
I love the Holidays, they are such a fun time and often quite busy. There is a lot to do and take care of and since I want to help out my readers I am trying my best to come up with solutions to common problems and stresses around the holidays. Today’s post will share how to care for your pets during the holiday’s.
In my home growing up and in my home now pets have always been part of the family. That means you have to plan for them and try and anticipate any potential issues that may come up. Having lots of pets in my house and being a pet owner for many years. I know that there can be some issues with your pets during the Holiday season.
I want to help you out and make this season one of your best Holidays yet. So I have come up with A guide on how to care for your pets during the Holidays.
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1. Keep them on schedule
I completely understand the holidays get super busy and you are rushing around doing a million things and going a million places. Just like being off of your schedule and routine can make your family cranky and tired it can do the same for your pets.
To avoid them acting out and misbehaving you need to try and minimize the disruptions to their days. Those puppies and dogs still need to get those walks, those litter boxes need to not be forgotten about or put off. Also, don’t be late their food and water. I don’t know about your pets but mine become very naughty when hungry, just like me.
For my pets, the dogs need their Beneful dog food and my cats need their Fancy Feast. Making sure they get their meals on time will prevent the animals from getting into things and misbehaving.
2. Avoid danger zones when decorating
Decorating your home for Christmas can be a lot of fun and also a lot of work. I love having our tree up and it’s exciting when we get to set it up. Apparently, my cats and dogs also think it’s a lot of fun but not to play with but to try and destroy or at least knock ornaments off.
In the past, because of our cats, we kept the nicer ornaments towards the top of the tree. This kept them from being knocked off the tree and lost or ruined. Then last year we had a puppy and he wanted to chew anything on the bottom 25% of the tree. So we just decorated the top 75%. Yes, it’s frustrating to not have my tree look as nice but I don’t want to have to monitor the tree every second of the day. So for the pet’s sake and mine, I decorate with them in mind.
Also, it’s best to secure your tree to the wall to avoid it being knocked down. Keep cords from lights tucked away or covered so that pets can’t chew them. If you plan to light any candles be extremely careful that your pets can’t get to them or knock them over. My cats always seem very interested in candles. Your holidays will be less stressful if your animals are safe.
3. Be very careful with food and sweets
Since holidays are notorious for sweets and desserts you need to watch out for pets. Chocolate might be a favorite for us humans but it’s not good for our dogs. So make sure to keep cookies, candies, and other chocolaty sweets high up in cupboards or safe on counters. That way your puppy pals won’t end up sick this season.
In general be careful with what foods you have around during the holidays that your pets may try to get into. Not all foods that are safe for us are good for them. So while tempting to spoil them with a bit of your Christmas dinner you don’t want to make them ill. So how about a busy bone for your dog and some cat treats for your kitty instead?
4. Be careful with your wrappings
Pets can be very curious when it comes to wrapped presents. So be very careful. Especially when it comes to using ribbon. I try to not use ribbon or tinsel on my presents because my cats try to eat it and it can make them very sick. I will add a big bow on top and that doesn’t seem to attract them. If you have gifts wrapped to take and they have ribbons on them just store them where pets can’t reach.
Also after opening presents make sure you clean up all gift wrappings quickly so that your pets don’t chew or swallow it. While the presents are wrapped under the tree before opening just make sure to keep an eye on them.
5. Reward them and keep them busy
Since we already went over not giving them people food to keep them healthy. It is still important for me to treat my pets to a little of the fun of the holidays. I went to Ralphs earlier this week and got some treats for them that they can have now and through the holiday. I’m sure I will be picking up more. I love and spoil my pets.
For my cats, I got more of their favorites which are the Friskies Party Mix. Both of my cats love their little treats. Plus it’s a great way to get them to come out when they are hiding and I need to find them. Just shake the treats and they come running.
For my two dogs, they like a variety of treats and toys. For the holidays I have found that especially for the puppy keeping him entertained while we are eating or opening gifts is much easier when he has a Busy bone. So both dogs get a Busy bone to keep them happy and entertained.
So here are a few of my favorite tips on how to care for your pets during the Holidays. To make sure that you remember and can keep track of these helpful pet care tips I have created an infographic that you can pin to reference during the Holidays.
