Christmas is almost here, are you and your dogs ready for Santa Paws? 🎅

Christmas is such a great time of year, and I hope you have a wonderful day. However, while being great, there are a few key safety aspects to be aware of so your dogs stay happy and safe. 

Here are some top tips: -

🎄There are a lot of dogs with Christmas collars. Please remember that it's a legal requirement to have a tag on your dog’s collar with your surname, address, including postcode when out in public. I'd also recommend your telephone number on there. Make sure if you've switched collars, you've changed tags.

🎅If you have visitors, they may not be as dog aware as you. They may leave doors open or leave food or drinks lying around. Depending upon your dog, you might need to put an extra safety gate up by the front door and make sure your visitors know not to leave food or drink in reach of your dog.

🎄Christmas trees can be a very confusing thing for our dogs. We bring something that's usually outside indoors and that we encourage our dogs too....well, you know what they love to do up or by trees, especially the boys!

🎅We cover the tree in sparkly squirrel tails, also known as tinsel, putting balls and food on it and then expecting our dogs not to go near it! How confusing must this be? Many of us have seen /experienced the reaction to a squirrel, balls we've encouraged them to play with, and the food speaks for itself.  I would entirely avoid food on the tree if your dog can access it. If your dog is the sort of dog that doesn't go near the tree that's great, but if they do please don't get cross. Either pop a pen around it, put it where your dog can't get to it or move the bubbles up or off the tree, depending on your dog's height/desire to play with them. 

🎄The all-important Christmas dinner. There are lots of dog-safe Christmas dinners out there but if you want to add a few tasty treats to their regular dinner, then remember your dog may not be used to these rich foods, so don’t give too much, or your Christmas night and Boxing Day could become very messy and smelly clean-up operations. 

🎅Christmas dinner leftovers such as turkey bones shouldn’t be given to your dog. Bones splinter easily once cooked and can cause damage to the intestine and can cause choking if they get stuck in your dog’s throat. Also, watch out for the Christmas stuffing, which often contains onions and garlic. Both these ingredients contain the toxic ingredient thiosulphate. Some other poisonous foods include Chocolate, raisins, grapes, nuts, mince pies, Christmas cake and panettone.

🎄Poisonous plants.

Mistletoe, holly berries, poinsettias, ivy and lilies are plants that we tend to have in the house at this time of year, but they are all very toxic.

Here is a great article from the Blue Cross, well worth a 5min read.

🎅Sleep.

We know how much Greyhounds love to sleep, and we know how tiring the fun of Christmas can be.  Your Greyhounds will still need their sleep, so make sure they've got a safe, quiet place to go off to and relax if the festivities get too much, you might even want to sneak off there yourself.