Keep your pets happy with these top tips from the DSPCA

By Hayden Moore 

Christmas is all about taking time to reflect and feel grateful for the ones who support and surround you year-round, and that includes our little furry friends.

Coming home after a tough day at college, who’s there for you? The dog. After a stressful day in work, guess who’s there? The cat. Or even when you are snuggled-up at home watching the telly, it’s always one of the animals who is there doing most of said snuggling.

Over the festive season, it can be easy for our pooches to get lost among all the festive chaos but you need not worry as the DSPCA are here to help bring you the top eight tips to prevent that from happening.

1. Keep all lit candles well away from fluffy tails and inquisitive noses.
2. Make sure you dispose of all food wastes carefully. Rich gravy, salty roast potatoes, Christmas pudding, brandy butter will make pets very sick. Cocktail sticks, cling film and tin foil can cause issues if swallowed.
3. Christmas decorations on the Christmas tree can be a tempting plaything, keep the room with the tree closed when there is no one there to supervise.
4. Chocolate and other tempting treats wrapped under the Christmas tree are fair game for any pets. Remember as well not to wrap your pets treats and put them under the tree, little noses can sniff them out.
5. Not all pets like to be dressed up in Santa or Elf clothing, think before you dress them up.
6. Do not give pets as presents! If you think a person would like to have a pet, then give them books on pet care and some of the things they need to keep the pet be safe and happy. After Christmas bring them to your local Rescue Centre and adopt a pet – Never Buy Online!
7. Don’t use Anti-Freeze on your cars, cats in particular are drawn to the taste and will lick it off the ground.
8. Have a safe and happy Christmas and remember pets don’t understand all the hype and fuss, try to make it as normal a time as possible to avoid stressing them out!

Tips from DSPCA with the help of Santa.