With the stress of making the holiday season wonderful for all of those coming to enjoy it with you and yours, the dangers that are incorporated with this jolly time of year may have not even crossed your mind with the thoughts of tinsel, presents and Santa running through your mind so here are a few things to keep an eye out for this season.

Poisonous Plants

Poinsettias, while colorful and joyful, are toxic to your pet.  Within minutes of ingestion, the sap will cause blisters to occur in your dog’s mouth and will cause other problems like stomach upset or worse.

Holly, both the berries and leaves, can cause stomach upset or worse.  In some cases, ingestion of this plant has been fatal for some animals.

Mistletoe can cause stomach irritation in mild cases or cause the heart to collapse in severe cases.

If you want to have these plants around for the holiday season, it is recommended that they be placed well out of your pet’s reach so that they do not gain access to them or utilize the artificial plants available in most craft stores.

Decorations and Present Wrapping Materials

When you’re wrapping up the gifts for the family, please make sure to keep all string, adhesives, string and yarn out of range of your pet.   Most glues are very toxic to pets while the string, ribbon and wrapping paper may be linked to blockages.

The Christmas Tree

Some dogs will urinate on the tree – especially if you use a real tree.  This could lead to electrical shock or worse.

These same dogs may see ornaments as toys and remove them from the tree – sometimes rather forcefully.

This may lead to the tree collapsing on the pet or worse.  Wires from the lights are also a big concern with puppies that enjoy chewing.

The water used in keeping real Christmas trees alive for the season may contain sugars or aspirin and this is very toxic to dogs.  To combat this, make sure there is water available at all times to your dog.

There are many other concerns to be had but these are some of the main ones that we have found to keep an eye out for with our crew.  We put a puppy pen around the tree unless there are people there to supervise the naughty pack and their romping to keep everyone safe.

We hope that you and yours have a wonderful and safe holiday season with your pets and family.