3 Big Hazards For Your Pets During The Upcoming Holiday Season

Are you the owner of one or more pets? Do you find yourself excited by the end of summer because it means that the holiday season is just around the corner? The holiday season is a great time for friends and family to get together and celebrate another year going by. Unfortunately, the holiday season can also be extremely hazardous for your pets. In order to ensure that your pets remain happy and healthy, it's important to know what dangers that you should be watching out for this holiday season. You may want to discuss this with your vet, but some of the most common hazards include:

1. Candy: Cats can't taste sweet things, so they are unlikely to get into any holiday candy and help themselves to a snack. Dogs, on the other hand, will often eat just about anything and everything. Since dogs can't unwrap candy and will eat it whole if given the chance, candy wrappers have the potential to create a blockage in your dog's stomach and intestines that could require surgery to remove. But one of the biggest hazards is chocolate.

To dogs, chocolate is a poison. Although a single small piece of chocolate may not kill most dogs outright, there's no "safe dose" for chocolate candies. If you suspect that your dog has consumed chocolate, it's a good idea to take him or her to your local animal hospital as a precautionary measure.

2. Bones: Many people allow both cats and dogs to gnaw on bones that are left over from dinner, but this is a serious mistake. If you don't want to have to rush your pet to an animal hospital in the middle of the night, don't give your cat or dog leftover bones. While raw bones may be safe to gnaw on when okayed by your vet, cooked bones can shatter into needle-sharp pieces when consumed by a cat or a dog. These pieces of bone can puncture your pet's internal organs, causing bleeding and possibly even death within a relatively short time frame.

3. Electrical cords: As the holidays approach, you're probably going to be plugging in more and more things as you start to decorate. From holiday lights to inflatable figures, many modern decorations require electricity. Even if your furry friend doesn't normally chew on electrical cords, the addition of so many new ones with different shapes, sizes, and textures may prove to be an irresistible temptation for some.

Chewing on a cord that is plugged in can result in electrocution and internal electrical burns. Even if your pet seems unharmed after gnawing on a cord, he or she should still get checked out by a vet at the nearest animal hospital to confirm that everything is still fine.

For more information, contact a vet office like Kenmore Veterinary Hospital.


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