Sunday, December 14, 2008

Top Ten HOWLiday Safety Tips: Day 2

TIP #2: Ornaments & Decorations
Bright and shiny holiday decorations are quite intriguing to pets and, therefore, bring their own set of considerations.

Tinsel is not considered toxic, however it can cause potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal blockage or strangulation, internal cuts and abrasions if swallowed.

Because hanging ornaments have a tendency to pique canine and kitty curiosity, cur”tail” temptation by hanging them as high up on the tree as possible, using ribbon or yarn instead of metal hooks. This is especially important for those made of glass because in addition to paw pad injuries, your pet’s internal organs can be severely damaged if the remnants of a broken ornament are ingested.

Other seemingly innocent but potentially dangerous holiday decorations include:
- Bubbling lights, which contain methylene chloride that can be dangerous if inhaled or ingested.
- Snow sprays and snow flock, which can cause respiratory reactions when inhaled.
- Water in snow scenes, which may contain toxic organisms such as Salmonella.

- Candles are another major safety hazard (especially for cats since they don't have much instinctive fear of fire). Make sure to place your Christmas and Hanukkah candles in places where your pets can't overturn them, possibly burning themselves and causing damage to your home. And of course, never leave lighted candles unattended.

3 comments:

Beth Terry said...

Hey Eileen - great idea for blog topics. Thanks! My little Chihuahuas are getting to be geezers, but they still want to find out why we are getting the outdoors INDOORS! Wahooooooooo! I finally had to get a fake tree. My little guy thought his job was to do the watering on the REAL tree!

When we met him, it was almost Christmas, so of course, there was a tree in the corner when he first came home. On New years day, while the girls took him for a walk, we took down the tree. When they got home, he ran to where the tree had been and starting barking like a maniac. Guess he was saying, "We've been robbed! It's gone! It's gone! My indoor tree is GONE!"

And actually, when we took it down, we discovered why he was so upset. Suffice it to say that we took a cutter and cut a huge section out of the carpet. Lesson learned!

Unknown said...

Hey, Top Dog!

Congratulations! Nice time to launch your new blog. I'll post a link on my travel site for you. Even people traveling with their pets could use your holiday tips.

You'll be able to view the post at:

http://www.thephoenixtraveler.com

Welcome to the blogosphere!
Jackie

Anonymous said...

Eileen, Thanks for starting this blog. You are the "Top Dog" in your field and when you "bark" everyone listens. Great advise for the holidays and I will be forwarding this blog to all the pet lovers I know.

Betsy Ingram (aka Roxy's Mom)