Holiday And Winter Hazards
(NAPSA) — The winter holidays are fun times for the family but can be hazardous for pets. These tips from North Shore Animal League America will help keep them safe:
1. Christmas Trees — Christmas trees bring holiday cheer but potential hazards for pets. Tree water may contain fertilizer and bacteria that, if ingested, can upset a pet’s stomach.
2. Electrical Cords — A teething puppy will chew on electrical cords and can be shocked or electrocuted. Tape the wires to a wall and tuck the extra cord behind furniture.
Be careful of holiday and winter hazards like ribbons, batteries, mistletoe and ice melt.
3. Ribbons and Tinsel — Tinsel is very enticing to cats because of its sparkling reflection and the stringlike behavior. Unfortunately, it can get stuck on your cat’s tongue, become ingested and cause intestinal agony and life-threatening gastrointestinal (GI) blockages.
4. Batteries — Alkaline batteries contain corrosives and, if chewed or punctured, can result in the development of oral and gastrointestinal ulcers, or even perforation of the GI tract.
5. Mistletoe — There is a down side to this fun plant that brings people together for a kiss. Dogs who manage to eat mistletoe berries experience vomiting and abdominal pain. If ingested in large enough quantities, mistletoe berries have the potential to produce gastrointestinal irritation, excessive thirst and urination, a drop in blood pressure and heart rate and, in severe cases, difficulty breathing, seizures, coma and even death.
6. Ice Melt — Ice-melt salt and other chemicals used to melt ice from sidewalks can irritate your dog’s paws. They are also toxic if ingested.
7. Antifreeze — Antifreeze is an odorless fluid with a sweet taste that dogs in particular have a fondness for-it is a major danger to a dog exploring a garage or street where cars are parked. Poisoning is swift; around a tablespoon is deadly to an average-sized dog, and the mortality rate is about 88 percent. The dog’s liver actually turns against itself, breaking down the antifreeze and changing it into oxalic acid. A dog cannot metabolize this substance, and this is what leads to health problems and often death. Always mop up any spills the instant they happen and be aware of puddles near parked cars. Sprinkling the area with an absorbent material such as sand, cat litter, wood shavings or sawdust will prevent the dog from licking the spot where the spill or leak occurred.
8. Chocolate — Think twice before leaving a bowl of chocolates on the table for guests. Chocolate is poisonous to many animals and the temptation may be too hard for pets to resist. The less sweet the chocolate, the more toxic it could be due to the caffeine and theobromine it contains. Chocolate poisoning may cause vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, hyperactivity and increased thirst, urination and heart rate.
9. Mothballs — Naphthalene found in mothballs can cause muscle tremors and seizures. If you pack your stockings and decorations away with mothballs to keep them pest-free, be sure to keep your pets out of the area when you are unpacking. Naphthalene can cause serous illness, including vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, liver, kidney and blood cell damage, swelling of the brain tissues, seizures, coma and death if ingested-and respiratory track damage, if inhaled. Just one mothball can potentially produce significant illness.
10. Bones — Do not feed your dog leftover meat bones. You may think you are giving him a treat that he will enjoy, but the reality is they are dangerous. Meat bones are easily chewed into sharp splinters that can lodge in the GI tract and may cause esophageal or intestinal laceration, or partial or complete obstructions. Never induce vomiting if your pet has swallowed any bone that can splinter because it may cause an esophageal laceration.
For these and other pet care tips, visit North Shore Animal League America’s Web site at www.animal-league.org
Filed under: Animal Welfare • Dogs and Cats • Living With Pets
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This is a very good list of things to be on the lookout for. Don’t forget about toys as well, either children toys or even dog toys. Some of those can be toxic as well as choking hazards for dogs.
Omar Reyes