From trees and decorations, to tinsel and food, here are a few things to know about keeping your animals safe for the next few days until the Big Festive Day on the 25^th of December.

Things to do 72-hours before the 25^th:

• Ensure that the tree is safely anchored and if not, fix it with fishing line to the ceiling so it does not topple over. If it is only in a stand, daily ensure that it is stable on a wide base or it can perhaps keel over on your pet when your dog’s tail happily wags.
• If you put your tree up early in December, once again, check that the fairy lights are not too low-lying as it can pose a risk to animals who might be inquisitive about the lights. Make sure to put the tree lights out when you go to sleep, as well as to blow out mood-setting candles. Candles are a fire hazard if you have pets, especially curious ones. You should always keep your candles out of the reach of pets.
• Do your gift wrapping behind closed doors – not only to keep it as a surprise for receivers of the gifts, but to prevent animals taking an enthusiastic interest in the wrapping paper, ribbons and getting tangled or pick up any small gift ornament that they can choke on.

 Things to do 24-hours before the 25^th:

• If you are putting last touches to the tree, don’t hang any edible tree decorations.
• Keep your pets out of the kitchen while preparing food to prevent them from picking up a harmful morsel or two that has fallen from your preparation area and keep the trash inaccessible when finished.
• Check your house for festive plants that might have slipped in as ornamental gifts or to give colour to rooms as some of these plants hold a real risk of plant poisoning in for animals when eaten. Be especially careful of two seasonal holidays favourites: Pointsettia and mistletoe, which are poisonous to animals. Some hosts enjoy brightening up their festive dinner table with a floral arrangement. Be very careful of using lilies as they are a real danger to cats.

 Things to do 12-hours before the 25^th:

• Wait until only a few hours before the opening of the festive time presents before you put them out under the tree, as this can lead to temptation for your dogs to tear the wrapping if they smell something tasty beneath all that paper.
• If you open presents the evening before the 25^th, make sure all wrappings, ribbons and cards are safely put away after the event to prevent animals from choking on it.
• Seasonal holidays are also fireworks season, and your pets can be frightened to the point of climbing out of yards or crashing through windows. Click here and please follow these tips to keep them safe.
• Did you know it takes as little as three minutes for a pet to suffocate in a snack bag or any other plastic bag? Make sure you pick up any gift and other bags after the opening of gifts as well as preparation of food.

ON the Big Day!

• Some animals need their space away from strangers and should be able to choose if they want to interact or not. If necessary, consider keeping your animals away from guests in a safe and comfortable space and make small visits to them during the celebrations. You might also want to go for a walk or give them some one-on-one playtime so they are tired out and can be calmer.
• Ask guests please not to feed animals scraps or anything from the table. No Bone appetit! Some food items are dangerous to dogs and should not be accessible like grapes, raisins, currants, chocolates, and blue cheese.
• You should also take care to watch the entrances and doors when guests are coming and going. Pets may try to make a break for it because they are overwhelmed.

Emergency plans to have a risk-free festive time:

• Have a vet on speed dial and find out which vets in your area are available during emergency hours over the seasonal holidays if your pet is prone to ailments during stressful times.
• Make sure your pets are microchipped and their ID tag is up to date with current contact information for in case they make an escape during the coming and going of guests.