The holidays are such a wonderful time of year. There is so much to do and so much fun to be had. Having people gather at your home that you may not have seen in months or longer can even be exciting for your dogs. I know that both of my dogs get really excited when my aunt, Mary, comes over, especially Puppy Mister. With all of the cooking and guests, we still need to take care of our furry friends. So, here are some tips to help you do just that.
Holiday Dog Safety Tips
1. Make sure your dogs have adequate warmth. With the holidays comes cold weather. If you keep your dogs outside, please make sure that they have a warm place to retreat from the snow. You don’t want to be a frozen popsicle and neither does your dog.
2. Make sure your dogs have plenty of fresh food and water. It might be tempting to feed your dogs a lot of table scraps this time of year but try not to. There are many human foods that are bad for dogs. For example, I love tomatoes, onions and grapes, but these are not foods that are suitable for dogs. Though your dog may enjoy eating human foods, they can hurt or even kill your dog. So, sticking to a reputable dog food, and limiting treats, is your best bet.
3. Watch children around your dogs. This is for the safety of both your dogs and for the children. Many times dogs that are not used to kids {or vice versa} get introduced to each other over the holidays. This can end up in pulled tails and bites. So, be sure to have a responsible, supervising adult around when children and animals play together, especially when they are not use to each other.
4. Keep dogs away from heating sources. If you have heaters around your home for the holidays, make sure that your dogs are safe from them. I don’t want my dog burned. It would just break my heart. So, I am careful to keep my dogs away from our heating sources.
Let’s face it. Sometimes you just can’t be everywhere at once. When you are cooking a huge Thanksgiving feast, you can’t always keep your eyes on your dogs at the same time. When you have a heater in one room, you can’t necessarily watch your dog if you are entertaining guests. You need help. And that brings me to my final tip.
5. Invest in a good dog gate. Recently, we have been using the Premium Plus Freestanding Gate From Richell USA. If one of us is cooking in the kitchen, we don’t want our pets to eat an onion piece that we might have dropped on the floor by accident. Dogs can be fast as lightening and I just don’t trust my ability to stop my dogs before they grab something they shouldn’t have. With my new pet gate from Richell USA, I don’t have to worry about that as much. I can easily keep the dogs in the living room with their toys while I am in the kitchen.
-Gate stands at 32 inches high and the side panels adjust at 10° intervals to give you lots of sizing options.
-The gate includes a door that opens in both directions and has an upper/lower locking system.
-It’s eco-friendly and a gorgeous color to match beautifully and naturally with most home decor.
Every Richell product includes the same excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail that earned many of its product designs the “Editor’s Choice Award” for four consecutive years (2010-2014). Since its beginning in 2001, the team at Richell remains 100% committed to providing innovative products, non-compromising quality standards and excellent customer satisfaction.
Important Things To Consider: This particular gate that I reviewed is intended for small or medium dogs only and is not certified for babies or children. Also, be sure to keep the gate away from glass doors and stairs.
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What Are Some Holiday Dog Safety Tips You Can Offer?
I think dogs can be easily overwhelmed when people are over. Its nice to make sure they have a safe place away from the chaos to retreat to as well.
Great tips! That’s one awesome gate to keep those little pups safe. I want one like this for my little guy. Your little puppies are just too cute! Why do they have a look like they know they can get away with anything?- lol
Hahaha! You know that look! And yeah, they pretty much do. 😀
Great tips! Animals tend to get a little scared when huge gatherings take place. Our cat usually seeks comfort under our bed.
Those look like really great gates. I should probably get some for the holidays myself. Gotta keep those critters safe.
One tip I can offer is to keep your dog warm, even with a coat or something when you take them out for a walk in the cold. What a great gate!
Awesome tips. We treat our dog like one of our kids, so he is very well taken care of.
Those are great tips, my neighbour needs to read this, she;’s having a lot of problems with her puppy. Sending to her, thanks!
We have a Richell gate and love it – use it and it looks fab, too.
Isn’t it great how it looks great with the decor in your home, too?
Awww… Your little chihuahua! I’d have to just give him the run of the house. =D
He is such a mess! He definitely is the man of the house!
I am not a dog-owner, but love my brother’s dog as if it were my own. These are great tips for every pet owner and pet lover.
What a great list of tips to keep your pets safe during the holidays. I know my dogs go crazy when we have all that company over for a big meal.
I really like this gate. I have a little 4 pound Chihuahua and she does not like people in the house. I get worried she will get under someones feet or bite someone.
That gate is awesome! I need it for my toddler!
It’s actually not approved for kids, but it looks sturdy enough to food you, though, doesn’t it.
These are great tips. I’d like to add another one. Keep the chocolate away from them. It’s super bad for dogs.
These are great tips. Be sure to also keep the human food away and do not give them any chicken or turkey bones!
Yes poultry bones can be so bad for dogs. And so many people love to give them to them unfortunately.
These are really great tips! It is so important to think of them in the holiday craziness.
Great ideas for the holidays. Both dogs and humans have their boundaries.
These are great tips. You always want to keep an eye on kid/dog interaction. Kids really love pulling tails for some reason.
This is such a nice looking gate. We had a ugly plastic one that was very bulky to use.
That’s a really nice dog gate. It’s so sturdy!
What a great dog gate. I love that it’s free standing and that it can be adjusted so many different ways.
I love your Holiday dog safety tips! Super awesome especially the #5 tip “Invest in a good dog gate”?! YUP – a must!
My old dog just lays around now. But, I need that gate to keep the toddler put of the tree!
This is great! We do not have dogs but this would be great to use with my toddler and baby!
Be careful and sure to read the warning in the article – it’s actually not rated for toddlers or babies. It works great for small and medium pets though. 🙂
That is just awesome. We need one of those, to keep the dogs safe. Thanks for sharing
What a great idea to put up a perimiter for your diggies. With so many guests that come during the holidays it is great to have a place to keep the fur babies safe. Plus these sleek designs look really nice in any home!
I love the watch children one! More likely than not it is the kids who pester the pets!
Those dogs are giving you side-eye. On a side note, where have gates like this been my whole life? The ones I’ve always seen are, uhhh…unattractive at best.
That is nothing new. The little one is in a constant state of side-eye giving. Lol.
We use a similar style gate to keep our dogs out of harm’s way. Our dog is new to the family so we use a gate as a way to slowly introduce her to things. Great tips.
I think the most important thing is to keep your dog away from children, heat source, and any other danger things.