How To Protect Your Pet Over Christmas

At Christmas, it's very tempting to get carried away with decorations and festive feasting, but it's also important to keep the furrier members of the family safe. Christmas presents a whole new host of potential dangers to pets, from fairy lights to food, and here at GiftPup we've created a quick guide to help you navigate them.

Christmas Decorations

Be careful with Christmas decorations, as they can cause stomach or airway obstructions if swallowed, and may be sharp if knocked and broken. Try and choose Christmas decorations that are labelled as non-toxic, and avoid any edible decorations, since these will soon be sniffed out. Similarly to Christmas decorations, whilst tinsel may not be toxic, it can cause dangerous blockages in your pets stomach if swallowed.

Fairy Lights

Our furry friends can get too curious and chew on the extra wires and cables that come with fairy lights, leading to burns or even electrocution. To keep them safe, either keep the cables out of reach, or use a tough cable guard or thick cable tidy to secure the cables safely. It is also important to remember to switch off your lights at the mains when you're not around to help keep your pets safe at all times.

Christmas Foods

Avoid giving your pets access to toxic food and drinks, from Chocolate and Christmas Pudding, to Alcohol and Mince Pies. Alcohol, and Mince Pies. There is a long list of foods that can be potentially lethal to pets, so always check before sneaky them a treat from the Christmas table. If you want to share some Christmas food with your pet, stick to plain cooked turkey (check for bones!) and some crunchy vegetables.

Festive Plants

Typical Christmas plants such as poinsettias, mistletoe and holly are all toxic to pets, and can cause a variety of reactions. The same can also be said for natural Christmas trees, as the oils can be toxic, and the needles can becomes stuck in your pets paws or throat. For those wanting to keep the Christmas cheer whilst also ensuring their pets safety, stick to using plastic versions of your festive fauna.

Presents

Keep an eye on pets around your presents. Any edible (or potentially edible) gifts should be kept away from the tree and in a safe cupboard or pet-free zone. This also applies to gifts such as bath-bombs that are likely to smell like sweet treats to your furry friends. As Christmas becomes more elaborate, you should also be aware of accessories that have been used in wrapping, as holly and mistletoe are both popular additions.

Toys

It is also important to watch out for pets whilst presents are being unwrapped, as they could get hold of silica gel sachets or batteries that may fall to the floor. Ensure that any gift ribbons have also been disposed of out of your pets reach. Even once presents have been unwrapped you should still remain vigilant, as many gifts can contain small parts which they could accidentally swallow.

Top Treats For Pets

Help share the Christmas spirit with your pets with some of these delicious pet-friendly treats;

Our delicious Bone Deluxe Hamper is packed full to the brim with a series of tasty treats and toys that your dog is bound to love. Each hamper is filled with a selection of biscuit bites (in the flavours peanut butter and jelly, mature cheddar, and duck and parsley), our Best in Show Popcorn and Crisps, a Rope Bone Toy, Rope Heart Toy, 3 Tennis Balls, Two Bow Ties, and a bottle of Woof Dog-Friendly Beer. This is the perfect way to treat your canine companion to their own holiday hamper.

Just like with our dog hamper, this Fish Deluxe Cat Hamper is filled with specially selected snacks and toys for your cat, all supplied in a handmade wicker basket shaped like a fish. Alongside a ceramic cat bowl, the hamper also includes two packs of treats (flavoured with chicken and fish), alongside 3 Mini Tennis Balls, a Woollen Cat Play Ball, a Jumbo Jazzle Sparkler, a Catnip Mouse, and even a 'Pur-fect' cat mug for you (or for your favourite cat parent).