How To Keep Your Dog Safe During The Holidays
With all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we can sometimes put our guards down and forget to take steps towards keeping our furry best friends safe, especially during those big holiday parties. Make sure that your dog is taken care of during the holiday season and has a season full of joy as well. Here are some things to keep in mind this season in order to keep your dog safe: 
Be cautious of all the holiday plants
If you have a live tree, make sure that it is secure so it doesn’t trip or fall. You don’t want to have to clean up a mess that your dog may make if they’re alone with it. There’s no need for unnecessary drama during the holiday season. If you can keep your tree in a place that your dog doesn’t have access to, that’s even better. Also, if you have a live tree keep your dog away from the tree water. This tree water can be full of bacteria or chemicals that can upset your dog’s stomach if they drink it. Try to avoid decorating with mistletoe and holly. These plants can cause your dog to have an upset stomach and maybe even vomit if they are ingested. 
Keep the food away
There’s always an excess amount of food during the holiday season, but stay away from feeding your dog special treats. Stay away from feeding your dog human food, especially food that is poisonous to them: chocolate, raisins, corn, and xylitol (can be found in most candies). If you’re giving your dog a special treat for the holiday, try to give it something indestructible or a toy that can be stuffed with its favorite healthy dog food. 
When wrapping gifts
If possible, try to keep your pets away when you’re wrapping up all of your gifts. If they ingest any wrapping paper, ribbon, or string when you’re not looking, it can cause intestinal blockage in their stomach. Once your gifts are wrapped, try to place them in an area that your dog can’t reach. You don’t want them to eat anything or destroy anything. 
Safety during parties
During large family events, we can forget about our beloved pets until they become a problem (or until other people become bothersome towards them). If you have certain rules that your dog has to abide to in the house (like not going on the couch), make sure your guests know that so they’re not encouraging any behaviors you don’t want to encourage. Please encourage your guests to also not feed your dog at the party. Although those puppy-dog eyes are tempting, some people may not know what is safe and what isn’t safe for your dog to eat. If you have a lot of guests over, that may become too overwhelming for your dog. Make sure your dog always has a quiet place that they can escape to when they need to. If they have a favorite toy that brings them comfort, make sure they have it before the party begins. 
Written by Kaitlyn Luckow