The holiday season can pose threats to the health and safety of our pets. Here are some tips to avoid an emergency trip to the vet.

Your house may hold all sorts of unexpected hazards to your dogs, cats, or exotic pets, from your table to your tree. Temperature changes could mess with your turtle, and you don’t want your dog getting drunk off dough (really).

Brenda Stevens, an associate clinical professor in North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine offers practical advice for avoiding those dangers in this podcast episode, as well as tips for travel with dogs and cats.

“The goal always is for everybody to have a great holiday, and that includes our pets,” says Stevens.

What kinds of holiday food safety tips does Stevens offer to pet owners? “Chocolate should be off-limits for dogs and cats, as well as alcohol. Some animals will go towards that holiday eggnog or beer that’s sitting around, so we need to be careful with those.

“And then finally, one thing that we don’t think about too much are grapes and raisins. Many people are not aware of the fact that grapes and raisins can be toxic to dogs, and it does not matter the amount.”

And it’s not just your spread that might catch a pet’s eye. “I would highly encourage you not to put any additives in that tree water, in case your pet dog or cat does wind up licking it,” Stevens warns.

For more tips on how to keep your pets safe at the holidays, listen below or download the transcript here:

Source: NC State

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