Dog Safety Holiday Tips, Holiday Pet Hazards

Dog Safety Holiday Tips

Follow these Dog Safety Holiday Tips throughout the whole year.

Let's Party!

Throughout the year most, of spend our holidays with family and friends, eating all kinds of delicious foods, decorating, shopping, etc... But it's exactly those things that could put your Miniature Schnauzer in danger. And the last thing you want to do during the holidays is make an emergency visit to the vet.

Whether it's Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July, or Halloween - take these precautions to help keep your Miniature Schnauzer safe:

Dog Safety Holiday Tips

Holiday Foods - Never feed your Miniature Schnauzer holiday foods. Most foods prepared for the holidays (especially Thanksgiving and Christmas) include high fat, rich foods which could cause many an upset stomach, not to mention pancreatitis .
Sweets - All candies and especially chocolate should never be given to your dog. Please make sure all your children and visiting guests understand this as well. You don't want Aunt Martha slipping a piece of chocolate to your Schnauzer. Also discard candy wrappers right away to prevent choking.
Plants & Flowers should all be kept up high enough that your Miniature Schnauzer cannot access them. Many of the holiday plants including lilies, holly, mistletoe, and poinsettias are toxic to dogs!
Drinks - Alcoholic beverages and/or caffeine are also toxic to dogs! So don't leave any unattended glasses of spiked eggnog, hot chocolate, or any drink on an easily accessible coffee table.
Decorations - Decorations and presents can lead to choking or if ingested can cause intestinal obstruction requiring your Miniature Schnauzer to undergo surgery.
Holiday Decorations That Pose a Threat to Your Schnauzer:
- Christmas presents - decorated with embellishments and bows.
- Christmas trees - are loaded with dangers including the pine needles themselves to all the decorations, tinsel, ornaments, electrical wiring, and tainted tree water. Also, be sure your Christmas tree is securely fastened down so it does not topple over onto your pet. And finally, never keep any edible presents under the tree.
- Easter baskets - filled with plastic grass and chocolate bunnies.
- Halloween bags filled with candy & prizes and lit candles inside of jack-o-lanterns. hint: Use no-flame candles for decorating.

Stress - Holidays also cause stress on our dogs. During Christmas and Easter most families have an onset of visitors coming and going. If your Miniature Schnauzer is not used to strangers or with children running around, playing, crying, etc... he may have difficulty with all the activities and goings on in your home.
Some dogs may go find a hiding place while others may exhibit aggression. If this is the case with your Miniature Schnauzer, it's better to crate him or secure your Miniature Schnauzer in a room for a few hours away from everyone then leave it to chance.
If however, your Miniature Schnauzer is allowed to 'mingle with the guests' - make sure to always supervise the activities or any interactions your Miniature Schnauzer dog has with visitors and especially the visiting children.
hint: You can help reduce your Schnauzers holiday stress just by keeping him on his regular exercise schedule.
Noises - Another holiday stress on our dogs is noise. The sound of fireworks, in particular during New Years and the Fourth of July, can increase fear and anxiety in your Miniature Schnauzer dog. The best thing during these times is to keep your Miniature Schnauzer inside away from as much of the noise as possible.

The holidays should be a great time for everyone - including your Miniature Schnauzer. This year, be sure to follow these dog safety holiday tips, so it can also be a fun and safe time for your Miniature Schnauzer.

Dog Safety Holiday Tips

dog safety holiday tip: Familiarize yourself with the bad food for dogs as well as, the common yet poisonous household plants to dogs which could also pose a major threat to your Miniature Schnauzer, if ingested.

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