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Holiday Pet Safety

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Winter holidays can be happy events but they can be disastrous and even downright deadly for pets.

Some of the holiday risks to animals can include seasonal decorations, ornamental lighting, ingestion of inappropriate or toxic items, excessive consumption of rich foods or harmful food, candle flames, and many other hazards.

During this time of year we want to include our pets in celebrations, but holiday dangers and seasonal threats really exist.

Fortunately, anyone can take a few pet precautions and make the season’s festivities into safe and humane holiday celebrations.

For instance, during gatherings make sure that animals are occupied with their own treats and activities.

Good holiday etiquette means that pet owners take steps to make sure pets are mannerly and that your guests and family are alert to the need for restraint of food treats.

Rich foods and inappropriate feeding can create health complications for household critters. Dangerous food items include holiday favorites such as chocolate, coffee, onions, fatty foods, alcoholic beverages, and cooked bones.

Pet safety can be as simple as making sure you have appropriate treats on hand for the pets and make sure to monitor the quantity being dispensed.

Alert guests to the household pet rules and make sure your pets behave. Many guests will not appreciate your drooling darling or fur additions to their good clothing.

Plan ahead to avoid problems or fine-tune your guest list to pet people. In some cases, baby gates or play pens can keep animals from getting underfoot while still allowing them to be part of the celebration. Pets need to be part of the family activities, but safely.

Sometimes it might be advisable to place pets in an adjacent room or yard so they can have their own “pet party.” Since most kids love animals you might want to combine the two, and ask young visitors to occupy pets away from the main festivities.

Now even though there are some holiday pet adoption drives, giving pets as presents is NOT a good idea. If you are thinking of getting someone a pet for a holiday gift, use the clever humane alternative instead.

For instance, you can gather the pet necessities for the new critter and wrap each gift separately and then be sure to conclude the gift opening party with a picture of the ideal pet and/or a pet adoption certificate from an animal agency or similar entity.

Your actions will be fun and conscientious-and will build up the excitement and anticipation of the new arrival.

Need some other ideas?

You can get pet breed and training books, pet beds or housing, dishes, brushes, accessories, toys, and certificates for grooming and other services like training and veterinary care.

I like to see people make the effort to get a new pet a family affair–where they search for the pet together. Families grow closer through the researching and planning for a new household member. Those efforts will also keep the pet in the home and make the adaptation easier for everyone-not just the new pet. The big perk is that your humane actions sets a good example for kids and others within your influence.

If you already have a pet, make charitable contributions to animal related charities in their honor. Families can research and select the agency together and both wild and domestic animal rescue agencies could use the help.

  • A variety of plants (holly, mistletoe, poinsettia, lilies, Christmas rose, etc,) can be toxic to to pets.
  • Pine needles can create problems if ingested.
  • Unsecured Christmas trees pose hazards to climbing critters as they can topple or be knocked over.
  • Don’t forget to prevent the ingestion of Christmas tree water since stagnant water or preservatives can be toxic.
  • Other holiday hazards include menorahs, candles and liquid potpourri pots.
  • Fire and burns are not the only threats to pets and the household. Scented items can also be harmful–especially to birds.
  • The ingestion of inappropriate foods, tinsel, ribbons or garlands can cause sickness or obstruction.
  • Breakable items such as glass and other ornaments pose a threat.
  • Electrical cords, heated decorative bulbs, hooks, and a wide variety of other adornment items create temptations. Use topical pet deterrents and barriers for protection.
  • Keep décor items out of reach of your pet or in places your animals cannot get to them.
  • Nicotine poses a threat. Keep it out of reach.
  • Keep trash lids on tight. Chewed aluminum foil and e-coili are risks to pets.
  • Store food in secure containers out of reach to prevent ingestion or poisoning.

Taking a few steps to plan your holidays and the arrival of new pets can protect and save the life of many critters-but it will also save your sanity!

Photo Credit: Gatto Mimmo

Blog Posted December 7, 2010 at 10:28 pm

Senior Pet Questions Part 2 of 2

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senior dog book

Ark Animals is happily part of the Golden Moments Senior Pet Blog Tour which is helping Amy Shojai to promote her books, Complete Care for Your Aging Cat and Complete Care for your Aging Dog.

As part of the tour my subscribers were offered the opportunity to send Amy Shojai some of their questions.

In fact, Amy went wild in answering them and so we had to split this initial post into two parts! This is part two of Senior Pet Questions & Answers.

Many of the questions are explored in more detail in Complete Care for Your Aging Cat and Complete Care for your Aging Dog and the works also include advice directly from veterinarians and other experts.

Please note ©Amy Shojai, 2010. Amy Shojai is NOT a veterinarian and is here to share share her experience, along with recommendations gleaned from other experts.

We hope you will find this series of interest and will be motivated to purchase her works about aging pets and senior pets which have recently been made available in ebook format.

Does Proin® work as well on males as females?  Does twice a day work better?
Proin® is a supplement that contains phenylpropanolamine (PPA) and is prescribed to help manage urinary incontinence (dribbling) in dogs. I’m not aware that it has any extra benefit for females over males. That said, the old spayed girls have a much higher incidence of urinary incontinence than the old fogie boy dogs. As the dog ages, estrogen (or testosterone for boys) levels drop and they lose bladder tone. It’s similar to what happens with menopausal women. Proin is designed to help tighten the bladder sphincter to control dribbling. It can take several days of treatment before you’ll see results, and stopping treatment can cause a relapse. You’ll need to follow the veterinarian’s advice regarding dosage and timing.

How do I strengthen my cat’s immune system? I want to know what supplements my 16-year-old cat should be taking, especially now that we are going into cold weather. Also, do you have any diet suggestions?
How well your cat’s immune system works is dictated by genetics, but also influenced throughout life by nutrition, stress, and exposure to pathogens. By age seven, the cat’s immune system changes. The thymus gland helps new immune cells mature, but creation of these new cells slows down with age. Production declines of the chemicals such as interferon and interleukins that help control the immune system’s response. As a result old cats get sick quicker and have more trouble recovering.

Honestly, I don’t know of any supplements or magic bullets that specifically benefit the immune system, although there are issues that negatively affect immunity. Holistic veterinarians believe massage has a positive influence on immunity, and certain acupuncture points impact function of various organs. Highly processed commercial diets create byproducts said to negatively impact the immune system over time, while “natural” foods offer less strain.

Probably the best way to boost or strengthen your cat’s immune system—or at least take off some of the burden—is to keep stress to a minimum. It’s vital that old cats eat a very high quality, very digestible diet with the right amount of protein. Old cats lose muscle mass unless they get enough protein, and muscles help keep them healthy. A commercial food designed for “senior” cats can be a good choice. If you home cook for your cat, confer with your vet and/or a vet nutritionist (PetDiets.Com is a great resource) to offer a good formula.

Are there things to consider when you are playing with an older dog? For example, is it possible to train its mind and body without overestimating him, especially considering his joints?
That’s a fantastic question! Yes, you can still play with older dogs without over-reaching his abilities and causing injury. This depends on the size of the dog and his likes/dislikes. Find something that he’s always enjoyed—maybe that’s “fetch” or “catch” for example. Rather than throwing the Frisbee overhead for him to leap upwards, keep it low to the ground. Roll the ball along the grass instead of lobbing it across the field. Lower the height of hurdles for the agility champ so he still can go through the exercise. A fantastic exercise for dogs with achy joints (if you have the facility) is swimming. The water supports the dog’s weight and takes the strain off the joints, while allowing him to exercise. Of course, swimming appeals more to some dogs than others so you’ll need to fit the game to your dog.

Remember, too, that exercising the mind is just as important and can help prevent or at least slow the onset of cognitive dysfunction (doggy/kitty Alzheimer’s). Practicing tricks and obedience commands works great, or giving your pet puzzle toys to figure out.

Any steps I should be taking now to ensure long-term health for my two-year-old dog that will help when he is senior dog?
Keeping your dog (or cat) at a healthy weight, or even slightly underweight, will extend his life by as much as two years, according to several studies. Preventing injuries and illness, feeding the best nutrition you can, and offering preventive care and prompt medical intervention when needed over his lifetime is the best health care you can provide. Oh, and love him every day, like it’s the last day—you’ll thank me later for that one.

How do you know when it is time to euthanize a senior pet?
Oh my dear, there is no good answer to this question. It is different for every pet and owner. Remember that your cat/dog loves you and trusts you to make this most awful and loving choice for him. Ask yourself—is today a good day, or a bad day? Can I reasonably expect tomorrow to be the same, better or worse? Does he still eat and enjoy meals? Does my cat still groom herself? Is medical treatment interfering with the bond you share (cat hides from you/dog reluctant to interact because of pilling). When a longer life isn’t necessarily a better life, when the bad days outweigh the good ones—talk with your veterinarian about euthanization. And then trust your decision. Any decision you make with love in your heart cannot be wrong.

amy shojaiAbout the Guest Blogger: Amy Shojai (CABC) is a certified animal behavior consultant and author of 23 pet care books. She’s a spokesperson to the pet products industry, a columnist at About.com and CatChow.com, and appears as an expert on Animal Planet’s Cats 101 and Dogs101. She is also the host of Pet Peeves radio show on PetLifeRadio.com. You can learn more about her at the Amy Shojai website.

Blog Posted November 20, 2010 at 5:01 am
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