Dangers at Christmas time

The Christmas season is full of warmth and joy. There's lots of cuddling, baking cookies and other treats, and when darkness falls, beautifully decorated windows light up everywhere. As wonderful as this heartwarming time may be for us, some dangers also lurk for our four-legged friends. As responsible dog parents, we are committed to making the Advent season and holidays as pleasant as possible for our pets.

In this blog post, we'll give you tips on how to get through the Christmas season safely with your four-legged friend.

• Set up your Christmas tree in a quiet corner and make sure it's stable and won't tip over.
• Make sure you choose your Christmas decorations carefully. With Christmas decorations made of natural materials, such as wood or straw, the risk of injury is significantly lower than with fragile glass objects.
• You should avoid popular Christmas plants, such as poinsettias, hellebores, or mistletoe. They contain toxins harmful to your dog's health. The same applies to nuts, spray snow, glitter dust, and tinsel.
• All sweets and cookie plates should be placed out of your dog's reach.
• Open flames should be largely avoided during the Christmas season. Candles on the Advent wreath or Christmas tree can easily be replaced by electric candles. If you don't want to do without real candles, you should never leave your dog unattended with them.

For our dogs, the Christmas season is also often associated with some stress factors: loud music, lights suddenly appearing everywhere, spicier smells than usual, and more visitors than usual.

It is all the more important that you take measures to make the unfamiliar circumstances easier for your dog.

• Establish rest zones. It's best to place the dog bed or your dog crate in a quiet spot so your dog can relax better. Depending on how well your dog can settle down, the spot can be in the same room or in a different, quieter room.
• Maintain your daily routines and schedules (e.g., feeding times, walking times, and bedtime).
• Take your dog to the city regularly and train in short stages – this way, they can slowly get used to the Christmas hustle and bustle. However, it's better to avoid taking your dog to the Christmas market. The stress factor for your dog is too high.
• Let your four-legged family member participate in Christmas traditions. Just as we humans enjoy gifts, our four-legged friends do too. Our tip: Prepare an Advent calendar for your four-legged friend – this way, you can give them a small joy every day. You can find various ideas for filling the individual doors here.

The entire PALOPA team wishes you and your furry friend a wonderful Christmas season!