Holiday Pet Decorations Safety Tips

While you’re decorating for the holiday season, make sure your home remains safe for your pets. Glass ornaments, tinsel, garland, ribbons, and artificial snow products all can be harmful if swallowed.  Choking and toxins are also potential problems.  Don’t forget about poinsettia plants.  These highly toxic plants could seriously harm your pets if they chew on the leaves. Consider safe, silk plants instead.

Top Ten Winter Skin & Paw Care Tips

Exposure to winter’s dry, cold air and chilly rain, sleet and snow can cause chapped paws and itchy, flaking skin, but these aren’t the only discomforts pets can suffer. Winter walks can become
downright dangerous if chemicals from ice-melting agents are licked off of bare paws.

Says Dr. Louise Murray, Vice President of the ASPCA Animal Hospital, “During the winter, products used as de-icers on sidewalks and other areas can lead to trouble for our animal companions, potentially causing problems ranging from sore feet to internal toxicity. Pet parents should take precautions to minimize their furry friends' exposure to such agents.” To help prevent cold weather dangers from affecting your pet’s paws and skin, please heed the following advice from our experts:

• Repeatedly coming out of the cold into the dry heat can cause itchy, flaking skin. Keep your home humidified and towel dry your pet as soon as he comes inside, paying special attention to his feet and in between the toes. • Trim long-haired dogs to minimize the clinging of ice balls, salt crystals and de-icing chemicals that can dry on the skin. (Don’t neglect the hair between the toes!)

• Bring a towel on long walks to clean off stinging, irritated paws. After each walk, wash and dry your pet’s feet to remove ice, salt and chemicals—and check for cracks in paw pads or redness between the toes.

• Bathe your pets as little as possible during cold spells. Washing too often can remove essential oils and increase the chance of developing dry, flaky skin. If your pooch must be bathed, ask your vet to recommend a moisturizing shampoo and/or rinse.

 • Dressing your pet in a sweater or coat will help to retain body heat and prevent skin from getting dry. • Booties help minimize contact with painful salt crystals, poisonous anti-freeze and chemical ice-melting agents. They can also help prevent sand and salt from getting lodged in between bare toes, causing irritation. Use pet-friendly ice melts whenever possible. • Massaging petroleum jelly into paw pads before going outside helps to protect from salt and chemical agents. And moisturizing after a good toweling off helps to heal chapped paws.

• Brushing your pet regularly not only gets rid of dead hair, but also stimulates blood circulation, improving the skin’s overall condition.

• Pets burn extra energy by trying to stay warm in wintertime, sometimes causing dehydration. Feeding your pet a little bit more during the cold weather and making sure she has plenty of water to drink will help to keep her well-hydrated, and her skin less dry.

• Remember, if the weather’s too cold for you, it’s probably too cold for your pet. Animal companions should remain indoors as much as possible during the winter months and never be left alone in vehicles when the mercury drops.

 SOURCE: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/top-ten-winter-skin-paw-care-tips

Halloween Costume Safety

Halloween can be a fun time for children, adults, and pets. We recommend taking some extra precautionary measures for Halloween to keep your pet safe. Keep your pet safe this Halloween with reliable leashes and safe Halloween treats for your pet. It can also be easy to forget about what our pets may be feeling. Fear, anxiety and household dangers can all pose as threats to our pets during Halloween. Below are some helpful tips to keep your pet safe and happy.

1. Be highly visible: Make sure the costume is very reflective so that your pet can be easily seen by drivers. You can buy reflective tape and add strips to the costume.

2. Check for loose ends and parts of the costume: Make sure there are no loose parts on the costume that your pet can eat. Objects such as loose fabric or buttons can become lodged in the intestines causing an obstruction. Loose parts can also cause your pet to trip or become tangled in the costume, resulting in fear, anxiety and a future dislike of this holiday.

3. Make sure the costume is not too tight: You should be able to get two or three fingers between your pet and any fabric or tie that goes around your pet, especially around the neck. Costumes that are too tight can restrict movement and breathing.

4. Do not pick a costume that is too heavy: Your pet could overheat if the costume is too heavy. A heavy costume will exhaust your pet as well as cause them to overheat. Take special care to check his level of comfort several times during the evening. Excessive panting or falling behind should signal you to remove the costume.

5. Use a leash: Your pet may become frightened or spooked by loud or unusual sounds and may try to run away from out of your reach and into ongoing traffic.

6. No tricks, no treats: Candy is for tick-or-treaters, not for your pet. Pets may often be tempted to taste treats that are not intended for them. Candy can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Chocolate in all forms is toxic to dogs and cats. Give your pet a Halloween Crunch Card or take some pet treats with you so he can get his own kind of goodies.

7. Strangers can be scary: Pets should be kept away from the front door during peak trick-or-treating hours. Too many strangers can be scary and stressful for pets.

8. Make sure your pet has their ID tag: Should your pet should get spooked and run loose an ID tag will help with your pet’s return.

9. Listen to your pet: If your pet doesn’t like their costume they will let you know by trying to take the costume off and by barking. Costumes may be cute, but they can also be irritating to a pet that does not want to be in one.

10. Practice: Get your pet used to the costume you have selected. Have him wear it several times before the actual day. He will be so busy watching all the Halloween activities that he should not have to worry about some strange new piece of clothing.

Source: http://www.entirelypets.com/costumesafety.html 

Labor Day Safety Tips for Pets

1. Do not apply any sunscreen or insect repellent product to your pet that is not labeled specifically for use on animals.

 2. Always assign a dog guardian. No matter where you're celebrating, be sure to assign a friend or member of the family to keep an eye on your pooch-especially if you're not in a fenced-in yard or other secure area.

 3. Made in the shade. Pets can get dehydrated quickly, so give them plenty of fresh, clean water, and make sure they have a shady place to escape the sun.

 4. Always keep matches and lighter fluid out of paws' reach. Certain types of matches contain chlorates, which could potentially damage blood cells and result in difficulty breathing-or even kidney disease in severe cases.

 5. Keep your pet on his normal diet. Any change, even for one meal, can give your pet severe indigestion and diarrhea.

 6. Keep citronella candles, insect coils and oil products out of reach. Ingesting any of these items can produce stomach irritation and possibly even central nervous system depression in your pets, and if inhaled, the oils could cause aspiration pneumonia.

 7. Never leave your dog alone in the car. Traveling with your dog means occasionally you'll make stops in places where he's not permitted. Be sure to rotate dog walking duties between family members, and never leave your animals alone in a parked vehicle.

 8. Make a safe splash. Don't leave pets unsupervised around a pool-not all dogs are good swimmers.

 Source: http://www.dogster.com/the-scoop/labor-day-pet-safety-tips

Car Sickness In Pets

Does your dog throw up in the car when you go for rides? He may be experiencing typical motion sickness, just like some people do. Motion sickness usually begins very shortly after starting the car ride. The dog will begin to drool and then vomit. It’s not serious, but certainly not something that we like to clean up! To solve the problem, first try acclimating the dog to car rides. Do this by simply putting him in the car for a few minutes each day without going anywhere. Then try just going down the driveway and back, and the next day going around the block. Gradually build up the distance and time the dog rides in the car. 

 Sometimes this will help to decrease the dog’s anxiety over riding in the car and may help to decrease vomiting. If that doesn't work, there are some over-the-counter medications you can try. The medication will need to be given about an hour before the car ride. Ask your veterinarian for a recommendation as to what drug to try and the dosage for your pet.

(Never give any medications to your pet without your veterinarian’s advice!) These drugs are safe, with drowsiness usually the only major side effect. But since your dog isn’t driving the car, that shouldn't be a problem! If over-the-counter drugs don’t work, your veterinarian may be able to suggest another method for curing the car sickness.

Source: http://www.aaha.org/pet_owner/pet_health_library/dog_care/general_health/car_sickness.aspx