In just a few days, this house will be a wreck: wrapping paper everywhere, new presents laying all over the place, and food (glorious food!) all over the counters.
Sounds fabulous.
Unless you have a dog.
Emergency vets are super busy over the Christmas holiday because in all of the chaos, we tend to forget to keep a keen eye on our dogs.
Look up opportunist in the dictionary and you'll find a picture of a dog. They LIVE for opportunity. They LOVE opportunity. And all it takes is one quick moment for all the Christmas fun to turn into Christmas disaster when your dog steals the tin of oatmeal-raisin cookies, or the package of chocolate fudge, or eats the tinsel off the tree, or eats the earrings, or swallows the pieces to the new board game, or simply eats too much fatty food.
Have I scared you yet?
There's a fine line between information and fear. Fear isn't my intent. I want you to enjoy Christmas! But I also want to save you and your dog a visit to the emergency vet.
So keep these things in the cabinet. (Not on the counter. Not on the table) Anything that has these ingredients:
- raisins
- grapes
- macadamia nuts
- chocolate (dark chocolate is the worst, but all is dangerous)
- fatty foods (dips, finger foods, etc)
- anything with bones
Other ways to keep your dogs out of trouble:
- Don't leave your dogs unattended. Even if they're usually good, keep an eye on them as temptation lurks.
- Don't put small gifts under the tree.
- Use a baby gate to keep the dog away from the tree and presents when you're not around.
- Don't let your dog drink the water out of the Christmas tree stand.
- Put breakable ornaments high on the tree.
- After all the presents are opened, keep the dog away from the packages. Even if your dog's not a chewer, do you really want dog drool all over your new XBox game or Droid phone?
- Keep your dog's diet regular. A little too much fat can spell trouble!
- Keep your emergency vet's telephone number handy.
- Keep this number by your phone: (888) 426-4435. It's ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center.
“Don’t leave your dogs unattended. Even if they’re usually good, keep an eye on them as temptation lurks.”
Ahh, yes.
Ginger is 4 now, and we’ve grown pretty lax about a lot of the rules she had to follow as a puppy (including which parts of the house she is and isn’t allowed in).
She chewed up a stuffed snowman decoration this past week and also got into a bowl of candy kisses in the living room (ate at least several of them, wrapper and all).
So, the baby gate is back up until the holidays are over and she is banished to the kitchen and the long hallway (and the backyard). Not quite as pleasant for her, but it’s the best management solution for everyone.
Mary
Mary, so glad Ginger is alive and well after the snowman and the chocolates! It’s pretty startling how quickly the dogs can get into things, isn’t it? 🙂 While Ginger may not have been happy with your management, at least she’ll stay alive! Good work. Happy New Year!