HOLIDAY HAZARDS FOR YOUR DOGS

ORNAMENTS

So what do you do if that puppy in your home (or a naughty older dog) gets into your holiday decorations and eats some of the glass ornaments? This possibly fatal accident could ruin your holidays.

PREPARATION
BEFORE: Add some necessary tools to your arsenal to handle this accident. Go to your local drugstore and buy a bag of cotton balls, not cosmetic puffs, THEY MUST BE COTTON not synthetic. Pick up a quart of half and half and put it in the freezer.

TREATMENT
If you dog eats a glass ornament you can quickly defrost the half and half under hot water, pour a portion into a bowl and dip the cotton balls in the half and half and feed them to your dog. Dogs under 10 lbs should get 2 balls total. You should tear them into smaller pieces for feeding, you don’t want your dog to choke in the process of trying to save it. Dogs 10-50 lbs should eat 3-5 balls and larger dogs should eat 5-7. You can feed larger dogs the entire cotton ball at once. The funny thing is that most dogs actually seem to like these.

The cotton will naturally work its way through the digestive tract and as it does will meet up with the glass and naturally wrap the glass pieces inside the cotton fibers. Even the smallest shards of glass will be caught and the cotton will protect the intestines from the damage the glass would otherwise have caused. Don’t worry about the look of your dogs stools following this treatment. They will look very strange for a few days but do check for fresh blood in or a tarry look to the stool. If this occurs you should get the dog into the vet for a checkup ASAP. In most cases, the dog will be just fine.

POINSETTIAS, HOLLY and MISTLETOE

All three of these plants are poisonous to pets and if you do have a pet who can be naughty you may want to refrain from having any of these in your home during the holidays. At the very minimum they will have to be kept out of reach.

TURKEY

Turkey is fine for dogs, in moderation. Do not feed turkey skin, fat or bones. Cooked bones are deadly and turkey fat and skin can cause a pancreatic attack due to their richness.