Without precaution, Christmas time can cause problems at home for you and your pets. In the UK 5.5 million pet owners unknowingly feed their beloved pets toxic food at Christmas time alone. Luckily, there are a variety of ways to go about being festive during Christmas time while keeping your pet’s safety and comfort in mind. Using pet-friendly Christmas products, while avoiding dangerous ones like tinsel, is also key in ensuring your pet’s safety and happiness. And taking precautions for New Years fireworks is also key in having a happy Christmas and New Year season.
What Not To Deck The Halls With
Tinsel, as mentioned above, can be dangerous for curious pets who aren’t afraid to try new additions to the home taste-buds first and are prone to eating foreign objects like your Christmas decorations. It isn’t poisonous but the tinsel itself harms and destroys your pet’s intestinal tract. Also, take note to avoid foods like chocolate, uncooked meats, and alcoholic drinks being in reach of your pet. Fires toasting up the house in your fireplace are festive, but one must be careful about dangerous fireplace features and keeping candles out of reach for your pets.
Alternative Decorations For Pet-Friendly Festivity
The right kind of candle can also help keep your pets healthy by maintaining a higher level of air quality for your pets and yourselves. Soy candles, as opposed to traditional paraffin ones, are far more eco-friendly and better to keep around your pets. This is because with non-traditional candles they don’t breathe in paraffin fumes and the soy wax candles exude less smoke. These modern candles can also create an aromatherapy like experience. Other ways to keep your pets as well as the environment in mind while decorating your home include the ornaments you use. The Blue Cross for Pets mentions fragile glass or foil ornaments as a festive period hazard to pets. Using eco-friendly non-toxic decorations such as wooden ornaments or those made of other natural products are a great way to keep potential glass or plastic shards from non-organic ornaments away from your pet.
Festive Fireworks and Four-Legged Friends
While the fireworks on New Years are an eye-catching delight for humans, for pets they can be a nightmare reports the RSPCA. Keep your pet in a confined space where they won’t run around too much and hurt themselves, and prevent them from getting outside. Lighting some of those soy candles mentioned above could be a soothing olfactory distraction for you and your pet. Play with your pet all day leading up to the event to tire them out, so they can perhaps sleep through the fireworks display. And just providing physical and emotional comfort to your pet may be what your pet needs to feel happy at home for the beginning of the new year.
De-Stress With Your Pets For Christmas
The holidays are a hectic time for everyone, albeit a time of good cheer for most. But for some these multitudes of changes in routine can be more stressful than jolly–and we’re not solely talking about people here. Consider our four-legged friends for whom routine is comforting and new objects can be dangerous. Using pet-safe Christmas decorations, avoiding toxic food, and prioritising your pet during fireworks are all key ways to have a happy Christmas and New Year season.