Daily Paws

Pet news, tips, entertainment and opinions from VetLocator.com

Posts Tagged ‘pet safety tips’

Pet Safety Tips for Halloween!

Wednesday, October 30th, 2013

Halloween is almost here, and while it can be fun for all, there are a few things that should be keep in mind if our furry friends are involved. To happy-holloweenmake sure your pet stays safe on October 31st, remember these pet safety tips. Happy Halloween!

1.  Make sure you have your pet either safely tucked away in a kennel or spare room with music or TV playing in the background, so they are not too disturbed by trick or treaters.  A dog on the loose, barking and getting agitated is no fun for the dog, the trick or treaters or for you.  Sometimes your dog or cat can escape when you open the door to give candy, so secure them safely and enjoy the night.

2. Keep an eye on candy and party food around your pet. Chocolate can be toxic to dogs and so can the sweetener xylitol. Raisins and grapes also pose serious health hazards and are common to find in treats kids bring home.  Candy and food wrappers smell good and can present a choking hazard. And anything I didn’t mention when consumed by a pet can make them sick.  Keep pets away from this stuff.

3.  If you are having a party, keep an eye on alcoholic beverages.  We’ve all seen or heard stories of different animals who like to drink.  How sad that their owners allow it, not to mention that sometimes this can lead to a pet’s death.

4.  Decorations, candles, cords, dangerous hazards.  Halloween, like Christmas, has lots of opportunities for problems to pets and humans.  Keep your house and yard kid and pet safe when you decorate.

5. Keep your emergency numbers at hand for your pets in case you do have a problem that night.

Have a happy and safe Halloween from all of us at VetLocator.com Daily Paws!

Valentine’s Day Pet Safety Tips

Thursday, February 7th, 2013

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and love is definitely in the air, but so is potential danger for your pets.  Make it a Valentines-day-pet-tipssweet and safe day by keeping these safety tips in mind:

  • Don’t let pets near roses or lilies. Roses and lilies are the most common Valentine day gifts and can be extremely hazardous to pets. Lilies are toxic and fatal to cats. Thorns can cause internal damage if ingested.
  • Keep an eye on candy and other sweet treats around your pet. Chocolate can be toxic to dogs and so can the sweetener xylitol. Candy and food wrappers smell good and can present a choking hazard. And anything I didn’t mention when consumed by a pet can make them sick.  Keep pets away from this stuff.
  • If you are having a party, keep an eye on alcoholic beverages.  We’ve all seen or heard stories of different animals who like to drink.  How sad that their owners allow it, not to mention that sometimes this can lead to a pet’s death.  It’s not cute.  It’s not funny.  It’s sad.
  • Decorations, candles, cords = dangerous hazards.  The warm glow of candlelight is romantic and flattering, but open flames present obvious dangers if your pet has access to them. Keep your pets and children in mind when you celebrate.
  • And in the event something should happen, keep your emergency numbers at hand.

Have a safe and Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at VetLocator.com!

Children and Pets – Safety Tips

Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

Work of a therapy dog: Stella visited her fost...

Children learn wonderful life lessons from pets.  Most parents know this and most experts agree.  So your job is to pick those pets that are right for your children, your household and your life.

When picking a pet,  choose one he can help nurture, feed, and care for.  This helps develop good habits and attitudes in children.

The pet’s safety is also important so consider that too when choosing.

Young children shouldn’t be left alone with a pet because they could unintentionally hurt the animal. A child under five doesn’t have the ability to control his temper and should always be monitored while around the pet.

The best pets for children less than six are fish, gerbils, hamsters, budgies, and Guinea pigs. Rabbits don’t make good pets for smaller children because they are sometimes temperamental. Reptiles aren’t good for children under school age because these kids are more prone to contract salmonella.

The tasks your small child does to help take care of his pet should be appropriate to his age. When younger, he could help you clean the animals bowls or help clean the cage. When your child is older, the responsibility of brushing a cat or brushing and bathing, a dog is more appropriate. When older, he could apply the ear mite medicine to the pet’s ears.

Birds need more daily maintenance like cage cleaning and fresh water and food. They are easy to feed needing seeds and pellets and sometimes fruit.

Fish are also a good choice.  The majority of fish are cheap and easy to maintain and most of them are easy to feed and a simple aquarium will do. Parents will need to be sure that the water temperature, nitrogen level, and the pH balance are correct, when the fish belong to small children and older children can learn to check these things on their own.

Rodent pets such as mice, rats, hamsters and gerbils are basically inexpensive, simple to house, and are low maintenance. Be aware some rodents bite, chew on stuff, and some are escape artists. They are fun to watch and some like human attention.

Have fun choosing a pet, and enjoy it as your children learn the lessons pets help teach.

 

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Fire safety for your pets. What you should know to create an effective plan

Sunday, August 15th, 2010
Fire extinguisher
Image by Mr Wabu via Flickr

Recently I ran across a somewhat startling statistic about pets and fires.  According to a recent ZooToo article, pets are responsible for starting more than 1,000 accidental fires every year.

I don’t know if you’d ever given that any thought but that got me thinking about our house and any fire dangers that were there for our pets.

Although I don’t have any little one’s living at home I recall a time when I did and how I’d walk through the house with ‘different eyes’ looking at what was there from the viewpoint of a child.  There were many dangers that I’d never considered.

Now I was doing this same thing again, only this time it was for pet safety and fire prevention.  I’m happy to say that I had very little to correct to keep things safe for my family and pets.

Here are some guidelines from the American Kennel Club and ADT that you might want to review for your pet’s fire safety and a link to information for a free window decal to let firefighters know you have pets inside at the end of the list:

AKC® and ADT offer the following tips to educate pet owners on how to prevent your beloved pet from starting a fire, as well as how to keep your pets safe:

Prevent Your Pet From Starting Fires

Extinguish open flames — Pets are generally curious and will investigate cooking appliances, candles, or even a fire in your fireplace. Ensure your pet is not left unattended around an open flame and make sure to thoroughly extinguish any open flame before leaving your home.

Remove stove knobs — Be sure to remove stove knobs or protect them with covers before leaving the house. According to the National Fire Protection Association, a stove or cook top is the number one piece of equipment involved in your pet starting a fire.

Invest in flameless candles — These candles contain a light bulb rather than an open flame, and take the danger out of your pet knocking over a candle. Cats are notorious for starting fires when their tails turn over lit candles.

Beware of water bowls on wooden decks — Do not leave a glass water bowl for your pet outside on a wooden deck. The sun’s rays when filtered through the glass and water can actually heat up and ignite the wooden deck beneath it. Choose stainless steel or ceramic bowls instead.

Keep Your Pets Safe

Keep pets near entrances when away from home — Keep collars on pets and leashes at the ready in case firefighters need to rescue your pet. When leaving pets home alone, keep them in areas or rooms near entrances where firefighters can easily find them.

Secure young pets — Especially with young puppies, keep them confined away from potential fire-starting hazards when you are away from home such as in crates or behind baby gates in secure areas.

Since pets left alone can’t escape a burning home — Consider using monitored smoke detectors which are connected to a monitoring center so emergency responders can be contacted when you’re not home. These systems provide an added layer of protection beyond battery-operated smoke alarms.

Affix a pet alert window cling — Write down the number of pets inside your house and attach the static cling to a front window. This critical information saves rescuers time when locating your pets. Make sure to update the number of pets listed.

Pet owners can obtain a free Pet Fire Safety Window Cling online at www.adt.com and clings will be available this September at your local AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Day. This year’s flagship event will be held in Raleigh, North Carolina on September 25th, 2010. Visit www.akc.org for more information on an event near you.

Be safe!

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