8 Holiday Dog Dangers In My Home

As I was putting up holiday decorations the other day I found myself counting the things that could potentially cause harm to the dogs if they fell into the wrong paws.

1. Snow globes. A lot of people don’t know that snow globes, if broken can be toxic to pets. Imported snow globes may contain antifreeze. How do I know this? Cause Leroy ate one three years ago. It didn’t fall on the ground and break, he literally picked it off the end table and ate it. Lucky for me it was a snow globe made in the US and after speaking to the manufacturer I learned that their snow globes were pet friendly. All we had to do was make sure the sharp pieces of glass that Leroy ate came out and didn’t puncture any internal organs. As far as I know they did not.

2. Tinsel. I’m a huge tinsel fan and while  my dogs don’t walk up to the tree and grab a mouthful, tinsel can often be found dangling from their tails or laying on the floor. If it’s laying on the floor or dangling from a furry tail it’s fair came for the Beagle, so each year my tinsel gets less and less, out of the way of any happy Newf tails.

3. Lights and extension cords. Long extension cords are an accident waiting to happen. I keep mine tied up. One year Sherman walked behind our Christmas tree and came out with a whole strand of lights wrapped around his leg. The more steps he took the tighter the cord got around his leg. Luckily we were there to see it happen, but if we weren’t I could only imagine the things that could of happened: the tree could of fell on him, the cord could of cut off the circulation in his leg, or he could of tried to chew through the cord and got electrocuted.

4. Ornament hooks and ornaments. Ornament hooks can not only cause GI issues but can also easily puncture the pad of your dogs paw and if a pet tries to snack on a hook, not only can that cause some serious issues in the intestines but it can also find a way to get hooked in your pets mouth.  Seen it and I don’t want to see it again. Same goes for those beautiful glass ornaments, another accident waiting to happen,  which why in my house, they are contained to the upper part of the tree. The Newfs have been known to take out the whole front of the tree just with a simple walk by. We also try and stay away from edible ornaments also. No popcorn. No candy canes. The only edible ornament on my tree is my precious gingerbread man that I made when I was five. That ornament gets tucked away on one of the highest branches that the tree has.

So basically, there is nothing on the bottom of my tree, paper ornaments on the middle of the tree, and anything glass, edible or of any value is stuffed up on the top.

5. Pine needles. We always get a real tree. If you have real pine trees or wreaths, especially ones that have been treated to retain needles for a longer period of time, in your house, they can cause GI and oral irritation to your dog if eaten and again can easily get stuck in your dogs paw.  They can also clog your vacuum cleaner. (I just added that last one in for myself as a friendly reminder.)

6. Flowers. I don’t have any real flowers in my house because that would just be one more living thing that I am responsible for so all my holiday flowers are fake, but still, if eaten they can cause problems. For a list of real holiday flowers that can be toxic to your pets please visit here.

7. Candles. I’m a big fan of candles but my candles have to be set up high out of happy Newf tails reach. One false happy tail swing and poof! No more pretty, fluffy brown tail.

8. Fire. We have a wood burner fireplace that we will be spending many winter nights in front of. Leroy is oblivious to fires and always insists on standing right in front of it, despite me yelling and shooing him away, so we always have to have the fire properly covered and if he lies down in front of it we make him move. One hot spark and poof, no thick, pretty, brown coat for Leroy and I would rather not smell the everlasting aroma of burnt fur.

I live and I learn.

So how about you? Have you noticed any holiday dangers in your home?