Table Scraps, Jingling Bells, and Holiday Fails: Keeping Your Pets Safe This Season

Mark your calendars! Thanksgiving gatherings, holiday parties, New Year celebrations, and more are on the horizon; if you tend to play host, you’ll soon have guests galore to help warm your home in these colder months. Hopefully you’re excited about that, although we all know hosting can be stressful- and doubly so if you have pets in the house! Fortunately we’re here with the holiday cheer, as well as some advice for managing guests and gatherings in a way that’s safe and festive for all.
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​Read on to learn about toxic foods, managing pet stress around guests, safely decorating your home for the holidays, and more!

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Common Food Toxins
A tasty dinner or hearty spread is the key to any good party, but pet owners also know how chaotic mealtimes can get. Many holiday foods contain ingredients that are harmful or toxic to pets, such as turkey trimmings, garlic, raisins, and chocolate.

These dangers may be old news to pet owners themselves, but a lot of your guests won’t know the rules as well as you do. Make it explicit to all guests that they shouldn’t feed pets any human foods or table scraps, and consider leaving pet-safe treats or kibble out so your guests have an approved way to feed the animals. Note that doing so will probably mean your pet gets fed a lot more than usual during the party; while they’re sure to be thrilled, you might consider feeding a smaller breakfast or dinner before or after the party to balance this.

Human Guests
Hopefully you’re excited to see your guests, though we all know how family can be. One way or another, even the most sociable pets may be put off by all these strangers in their home. Consider setting up a safe room inside your house, filled with all your pet’s favorite toys, blankets, and their bed, and make this room off-limits to party guests. Your pet can hide here when they get overwhelmed, and you can also confine your pet here as guests arrive or leave, to prevent anxious pets from making a break for the open front door. If you want your dog to be a social butterfly at parties, you can start training them early to get them used to strangers in their home.

Additionally, be aware that even dogs who usually do well with strangers may be especially territorial or reactive when inside their own home - they have to keep you safe from these intruders, after all! Similarly, even dogs who usually love attention may become overwhelmed if they’re the center of it for too long, so keep a close eye on your pet to watch for signs of stress or discomfort. If they look like they need a break, take them to their safe room and let them have one!

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Animal Guests
If you’re hosting a party that will include any four-legged RSVPs, you’ll want to take extra steps to make sure your own pets get along with these newcomers.

If you’re trying to introduce two dogs, an ideal method involves walking the two dogs in neutral areas such as parks or streets, keeping them parallel and separated at a distance of about thirty feet; this process may need to be repeated multiple times to form a positive relationship. Similar to above, these introductions can be good preparation to do ahead of time, so your dogs are already eager and excited to see each other when the party rolls around!

If these early introductions aren’t possible, maybe because a friend or family member is traveling with their dog from out of town, you can also use a similar method to introduce two dogs outside on a lawn or driveway. Get them acquainted outside the house, then keep them on-leash when you bring them inside, and be ready to separate them if the need arises.

Doggy Décor
Any good party has to have the perfect atmosphere, and decorations go a long way towards this. But if you have pets in your home, or will around the holidays, all your favorite decorations can quickly turn into a messy, four-legged playground. A simple rule to prevent this is to keep decorations out of reach; hang all your leaves, garlands, lights, and other holiday trappings high enough that pets won’t be able to swat, pounce, or chew. Run wires along high up areas, or run them through PVC or fish tank tubing to protect them against nibbly teeth.
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When it comes to more natural decorations like garlands and Christmas trees, artificial versions can be preferable, as they lack that outdoorsy smell that can confuse or entice pets. Many plants commonly used to decorate, such as mistletoe, holly, and poinsettias, are harmful or poisonous to pets if ingested, making them equally great candidates for synthetic lookalikes.

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Pet Costumes
If you’ve decorated your whole house and all your guests are bringing their ugliest sweaters, you may want to dress your pet up for the occasion as well! Pet costumes can be a great way to make your pet the star of the show, but they can also be a source of stress or harm.

If you’re planning on dressing up your pet, simple is often better. The less bits and pieces, the less likely the costume is to restrict movement or breathing, cause overheating, or end up torn and chewed on. Always be sure your pet can move and breathe freely once in their costume, and watch carefully for signs of stress or discomfort. If your pet really isn’t having it, downgrade the ugly Christmas sweater to an equally-tacky festive collar.

Conclusion
The holidays are a stressful time of year, and doubly so if you’re playing host. You should enjoy your party, not spend the whole time worrying your pet got into this or that. Fortunately these precautions are designed to cut out as much of that seasonal stress as possible, so you can focus on your most important host responsibility: spending time with your guests! So give yourself the gift of peace of mind now by running through these steps and precautions ahead of any upcoming gatherings.

Of course, even the most perfectly planned parties still have mishaps. If you’re gearing up before a large gathering, you might also be interested in our friends at Concord Animal Hospital's blog on home remedies or our resources page for a list of nearby, 24-hour hospitals. In case your pet does get into something they shouldn’t, starts to act a little odd around a party, or if you just have questions we haven’t answered here, give us a call! And if you’re already calling anyway… Maybe you could invite us in?

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