With Christmas just around the corner, it’s important to think about our pets and how to keep them happy and safe. As exciting as the festive season can be, for some animals the change in routine and increase in visitors can be a stressful time. Keeping meal times, play times and exercise times as close to their normal routines as possible will help you to keep them calm; there will probably be a lot else you can’t control! Ensuring they’re not overwhelmed with visitors is vital, so let them meet guests in their own time and provide somewhere for them to escape to that’s secure and suitable. Don’t force interaction between guests and pets; it should be done in a controlled, calm manner and at the pace of your pet. Let your pet make the first move and be there to support their decision.
If you have to leave your pets alone for longer periods of time than you ordinarily do, it’s worth remembering that Leading the Way specialise in comforting home visits to break up long periods of time - preventing any boredom and providing toilet breaks, feeding, and stimulating exercises to keep your pets happy and relaxed.
Decorating your house can be lots of fun and plays a big part in the festivities but please be aware of the risks to your pets. Don’t be tempted to put tinsel around cages, crates or tanks as someone may be tempted to have a nibble! Please make sure you keep electric cables and strings of lights away from inquisitive mouths and paws; the damage they could do to themselves, not to mention the potential fire hazard to your home, could be horrific. When decorating your tree, keep chocolate ornaments high up and out of the reach of dogs as they don’t realise chocolate is poisonous to them. Pine needles, poinsettia and mistletoe also need to be kept away from your beloved pets. Keeping certain foods and drinks away from pets is also crucial. Chocolates, Christmas cake, alcohol, mince pies and cooked turkey bones are just a few things our dogs shouldn’t eat. Teaching a strong ‘leave it’ is of huge benefit in life, but especially at Christmas with foods, gifts and greenery all around the home!
As the festive preparations gather pace, keeping your pets safely within your property can be challenging; unusual noises such as fireworks being set off and increased numbers of visitors coming and going can easily unsettle them. Ensuring their identification tag is up to date and on their collar (to enable a quick return) is essential if the worst happens and they do escape. It might be worth adding a second tag with the address of where you’re staying if you’re away from home.
There are outfits for pets available. If you’re going to purchase them, be sure to put them on your pet in a calm and positive way and remember some may not like wearing things at all. If your pet is happy to be in an outfit, regularly check they’re not too hot or uncomfortable and never leave them unsupervised in case they try and remove it, struggle and get stuck.
Here at Leading the Way, we offer a range of services that include (but aren’t limited to) dog walking, enrichment activities for cats and small animals and comforting home visits to spend precious time with your pets and to oversee their daily needs such as emptying litter trays, changing water bowls and feeding.
If you would like more information on any of the services that Leading the Way Pet Care provides, please contact us via please contact us via email or phone us on 0800 027 9846.