Your Guide To Dog-Safe Holiday Decorations

Holidays are incomplete without decorations. Even though these ornaments create the right environment and increase the fun, they can be hazardous to your dog’s health if not properly supervised. These are the 7 Tips For Dog-Safe Holiday Decorations:

#1 Electricity

Sparkling lights make everything look better, don’t they? Your dog might also find them interesting, and try to chew the wires, or play with the extension cord. To prevent a harmful electric shock, ensure that all the wires, bulbs, and junctions are out of Fido’s reach.

#2 Candles

The big wax candles can enhance and give the decorations an ancient look. But, at the same time, they are an easy target for your dog. The hot wax, if spilled on Fido, can cause painful burns. Moreover, fallen candles can start a fire. Switch to battery-powered candles because they are not as harmful as wax ones. However, if that’s not possible, keep the wax candles in places unreachable by Fido or his tail.

#3 Ornaments

Ornaments are the heart of Christmas trees and are also highly attractive to our pets. Your dog can eat small decorative pieces or shatter valuables, turning the fun into stress with a snap. If you don’t want to stand in such situations, avoid using ornaments with food, keep the breakables and hooks out of reach, and look out for small pieces that Fido can ingest.

#4 Plants

Plants are a great way to induce nature into your decorations. However, we all know certain plants are harmful to dogs. Live mistletoe and Holly are poisonous, whereas Poinsettias can cause stomach upsets if ingested. Therefore, it’s better to keep these toxic plants out of Fido’s reach or introduce some dog-safe plants in the décor.

#5 Christmas Tree

If you have an energetic dog that likes to sniff and explore new things, she will want to find what this new tree in your home is all about. You can stabilize the Christmas tree by attaching it to the ceiling or wall using guide wires. Make sure you don’t keep the tree in front of your dog’s favorite window to look out because then you’ll be inviting her to roam around the tree. Also, if you have planted a real Christmas tree, avoid adding preservatives to the water because they are toxic to dogs.

#6 Surprise Stockings

If you want to surprise your dog with treat-filled stockings don’t hang them on metal hooks. Instead, you can place them under the Christmas tree in the morning, or hang them from doorknobs or plastic hooks.

#7 Prepare for Emergency

The holiday season can be a hard time finding a working vet clinic in case of an emergency. Check for your vet’s holiday availability, and if they’re not working on holiday, find another clinic where you can take Fido quickly. Holidays are unusual times for dogs, and therefore you should get more watchful about everything related to him. Throwing a party or attending one where you can’t take Fido? Or going on a vacation? In any case, if you need someone kind and caring enough to look after your pup, Cuddlytails is always here. Hurry up and find dog sitters for the holidays before they get booked!

Visit www.cuddlytails.com or download our Android or iOS app to learn more.

Thank you,
The Cuddlytails Team