Over the Thanksgiving holiday I was in a house with 5 dogs. It was wonderful. With everyone coming together and often bringing their pets with them I thought I’d go over some holiday safety tips for you and your dog. Let’s get through the holidays safe and sound.

1. You should remain calm and cool. Travel is stressful for humans and dogs, but if you’re stressed, your dog will pick up on that and feel the anxiety that you are feeling.

2. Don’t use toothpicks in your hors doeurves. They get dropped on the floor and your dog could get a hold of one and choke on it, get it stuck in his throat or puncture internal organs.

3. Watch the candy. They are often trays of chocolates set out for guests and it’s really important to make sure that your dog doesn’t get a hold of the chocolate. Same goes for turkey bones and plants.

4. Keep an eye on your dog at all times.

5. When decorating your Christmas tree it’s a good idea to put the ornaments on higher branches so that poochie won’t knock them on the floor.

6. Unplug the lights when you leave the house. Put a taste deterrent such as Bitter Apple or Tabasco sauce on the wires so your dog won’t be tempted to chew them. Also, encase the cords in some sort of a covering or behind heavy furniture.

7. Take it easy on the treats. Seems like everyone hands the dog a piece of turkey and before you know it they’ve overeaten like everyone else. Make sure to monitor what other people are feeding your pets at holiday parties.

8. Make sure to throw away bows and wrapping paper. If it’s left on the floor dogs may chew on it or eat it.

9. Monitor children closely when they play with your dog. You never know what can happen when a child and a dog are unsupervised. It’s better for the kids and the dogs to have an adult keeping an eye on the funtime play action.

10. Give your pup lots of love this holiday season. Make sure that any toys and treats are dog safe and appropriate for your dog and the other dogs in the home.