Keep Your Dogs Safe at Christmas
10 top tips
- Some of our favourite Christmas foods are dangerous for dogs to eat such as chocolate, grapes and raisins. Turkey bones can become lodged in a dogs throat or intestines and onions can cause anaemia, so please don’t feed any of these to your dog.
- Poinsettias, Amaryllis and Mistletoe popular Christmas plants, but all of them are poisonous to dogs. Please keep them out of reach.
- Everyone loves getting presents at Christmas, including our dogs. Please only buy toys specifically designed for dogs, as small parts can break and get swallowed, causing injury.
- Please ensure that presents such as children’s toys are not left lying around, as they can look very appealing to a dog.
- If you are expecting lots of visitors at Christmas, please allow a quiet place for your dogs to escape to if the noise gets too much. A scared or sleeping dog can snap if startled.
- If the weather is cold or wet, please make sure that older or thin coated dogs are kept warm when outdoors.
- If going away on holiday at Christmas with your dog make sure you know where the local vets are and have their telephone number to hand.
- Christmas decorations are very often bright and sparkly and dogs will find them attractive. Make sure your dog doesn’t try to play with them and either injure himself or pull your Christmas tree over!
- Electrical Christmas lights and decorations are very popular, but be aware that your dog may not recognise the difference between a tree outside and one in the house covered in Christmas lights, should he want to go to the toilet. It could be a shocking experience.
- Take the time out of your busy Christmas schedule to walk the dog and play with him/her. It can help you walk off some of that gorgeous Christmas food and also stop your pet becoming bored and possibly destructive.
Please have a safe, happy and healthy Christmas.
Contact us
Public Health Team
Challenge Building
Hatherton Road
Walsall
WS1 1YG
Telephone 01922 652210
Email dogs@walsall.gov.uk
This page was last updated on 19 June 2009