Looking After Your Pets at Christmas

A pug is for life, not just for Christmas (as are all pets) and over the festive period it’s especially important to make sure you take extra special care of them. Tacky reindeer suits on Sonny not included! Heck, it’s easy to get carried away with Christmas parties and having friends round, but we have to remember that although our pets might enjoy the company of visitors, there are a lot of things that can put them at risk when they are around new people, different types of food and decorations in their home.

So, I’ve popped together my top 3 tips for looking after your pet this Christmas!

1. Access to Out of Hours Vets

Over Christmas your usual vets might be closed, or open irregular hours. In case of any emergency, it’s super important to have access to an out of hours vets service that you can be in contact with if you’re worried about your pet at any point. I have a regular vet that I visit with Sonny for yearly check ups, but over the holidays I am going to be in touch with the newly opened Vets Now Manchester Hospital for peace of mind. Open from Monday 5th December, Vets Now in Bury Manchester will be there for you should your pet run into any danger – full details can be found on their page here. If you’re not in Manchester, then fear not! Vets Now have 54 out of hours clinics and 4 emergency and referral 24/7 hospitals across the country.

2. Keep Christmas Treats out of Reach

We all know that chocolate is seriously poisonous for cats and dogs, but during Christmas there’s so much of it around that it can be hard to remember to keep them all under wraps (or in their wrappers!). With advent calendars, chocolate santas and tins of chocs and sweets doing the rounds over the whole of December, please remember to make sure that they are stored in tins and up high out of the reach of pets. There are also a number of other food you should be clued up on to keep your pet safe this Christmas, so it is always worth doing your research before hosting a dinner party with your pet around; for instance, did you know that grapes are poisonous to dogs? No grapes on your cheeseboard this year please! If you are unsure if your pet has eaten something that might make them ill, then Vets Now are on hand 24/7 across the festive period to advise. For pets, they work just like a human out of hours accident and emergency service, taking calls from pet owners at their telephone triage centre.

3. Keep Christmas Decorations High Up

We all love Christmas decorations! Fairy lights? Check! Christmas tree? Check! Tinsel? Check! Part of enjoying Christmas is all about embracing those tacky festive decorations and I wouldn’t ever tell you to stop. But, let’s just keep in mind where we put them. If you are wrapping your window in fairy lights, keep electrical wires and extension lead plugs out of the way of curious teeth! Keep glass baubles up high so cheeky paws can’t smash them and steer away from real Christmas trees if you have curious pets. It’s not worth them chewing on any pine needles that might make them poorly. Vets Now see a 40% increase in calls to their triage centre (on average) over the festive period as it can be a dangerous time of year for pets, so make sure you keep yours out of harms way.

Hopefully my top 3 tips to looking after your pets this festive season. It doesn’t mean that you can’t embrace the holidays, but just make sure to look out for your pets during the holidays so you can both enjoy the Christmas season to your full ability!

For any further hints and tips for looking after your pet this Christmas, Vets Now have a whole host of great festive Pet Care Advice articles on their microsite, with hints and tips on how to keep pets happy and healthy this Christmas, avoiding common dangers which might result in a trip to the emergency vets. Find out more here.

Merry Christmas, to you and your pet!