Doggy Christmas Hazards That You Should Know

Christmas is a great time to celebrate and have fun – and as part of the family, our doggys will normally be enjoying some of the action together with us.

But the festive season also presents some dangers to our four-legged babies, from toxic foods to dangerous seasonal plants. As you gear up for the holidays, it is important to keep our doggy’s eating and exercise habits as close to their normal routine as possible.

Here is a list of hazards all owners need to be aware of, to help you avoid any doggy-related accidents this Christmas season:

Watch out for Cocktails: If your celebration includes adult holiday beverages, be sure to place your unattended alcoholic drinks where doggys cannot reach them. If ingested, your doggy could become weak, ill and may even go into a coma, possibly resulting in death.

No to Sweets: We all know that chocolate and anything sweetened with xylitol are not good for our doggys. Make sure to keep your doggys away from the table and unattended plates of food.
Guard the Leftovers: Fatty, spicy and no-no human foods, as well as bones, should not be fed to your furry friends.

Choose Special Treats: Looking to stuff your doggy’s stockings? Stick with chew toys that are basically indestructible. Kongs that can be stuffed with healthy foods or chew treats that are designed to be safely digestible.

Grapes and dried vine fruits. Grapes and their dried products are toxic to doggys. Ingestion of even a small quantity can cause severe kidney failure. Don’t forget this will include food items that contain dried fruits such as Christmas pudding and mince pies.

Which Christmas leftovers can I give my doggy?

These are safe to give them a titbit of at Christmas:

Turkey meat (no skin or bones)
Salmon (fillets or cooked in spring water are preferable to smoked salmon)
Lamb meat (no bones)
Scrambled egg
Green beans
Brussel sprouts
Parsnips
Carrot
Peas
Swede
Mash potato (best without additional butter)
New potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Yogurt (but check the ingredients and don’t feed if xylitol is listed as this is toxic to dogs)

Careful with Seasonal Plants and Decorations

Christmas Tree: Securely anchor your Christmas tree so it doesn’t tip and fall, causing possible injury to your doggy.

Holiday Candles: Don’t leave lighted candles unattended. Doggy may burn themselves or cause a fire if they knock candles over.

All Wired Up: Keep wires, batteries and glass ornaments out of your doggy’s paws. A wire can deliver a potentially lethal electrical shock and a punctured battery can cause burns to the mouth and esophagus.
Poinsettia: It can cause irritation to the mouth and stomach with overproduction of saliva and sometimes vomiting.

Cigarettes: Nicotine is toxic to doggys, and cigarette butts are especially dangerous – so it’s important not to leave any ashtrays in reach of doggys over Christmas, or dropped on the floor where they may eat them.