Tips for a Safe Holiday and Winter Season

• While it is tempting to treat your pet with table scraps during the holidays, fatty foods can lead to pancreatitis so minimize the fatty treats. Also be sure that bones from the turkey, ham, etc. are properly disposed of immediately as they present a choking hazard to your pets.
• Avoid feeding your pets chocolate or raisins as they are toxic to pets
• Poinsettias and mistletoe can be irritating to pets when ingested so keep these plants out of reach.
• Antifreeze is toxic to pets so clean up any spilled spots in your garage.
• Keep pets indoors. If they do spend a lot of time outside, make sure that they have a warm place, free of drafts to lay down as well as fresh water (you may need to get a heated water dish).
• If you park outside, bang loudly on your car hood before starting it to scare away any cats that have found a warm place to sleep under your car hood.
• Do not leave your pet alone in the car during cold weather.
• Wipe off your dog's paws when they come in from outside. This will help reduce the irritation and cracking to the pads caused by snow, ice, and salt.
• You may need to adjust your dog's diet depending on its activity level. If the dog does not get as many walks or other excercise due the cold, consider reducing the caloric intake to prevent weight gain. If you maintain the same level of excercise for your dog and it includes outdoor excercise you may need to increase the caloric intake due to the colder temperatures.
• Maintain regular grooming appointments for your dog. Regular grooming will help keep your dog's coat free of matts, it can help remoisturize the coat, and trimming the hair between the pads and around the paws will help reduce the amount of snow clumping on the paws. Also, nails may grow longer faster during the winter because they aren't getting worn down by regular excercise outside. If you are concerned about your dog getting cold after having its hair cut, consider a longer trim or a sweater for the dog. Also, this typically is not a big issue unless your dog spends a significant amount of time outside.