In order to keep your pet’s stress levels to a minimum over the Christmas Holidays, just take some time to read the following ideas:

If you are expecting guests at Christmas confine your dog in a safe place to prevent him from escaping and possibly getting into trouble. Try and set aside a room for your dog to go in during parties because too much excitement or stress can cause him to suffer from stomach upset. Place his dog cage or his favourite dog bed in there and leave him quietly for a while. Once he is calm, you can then release him into the party room and introduce him to your guests.

Alternatively, if you have a dog kennel outside, then provided he has a warm dog bed in there, why not leave him there until the party is finished – that way, he will not be stressed by the noise or the music and will not be trodden on by unsuspecting guests.

If there are medicines in the house, don’t leave them lying around on tables or chairs. Tell any guests who have to take medication at a certain times to make sure their medicine is safely on their person or in their handbag out of the reach of curious pets.

Try and maintain your dog’s regular feeding and exercise routine. If you can’t take your dog on long walks then at least let him out in his dog run or in the garden so that he can have some fresh air.

Make sure you place any surprise presents out of reach because dogs who smell food in a parcel are known to rip it open to find out what‘s inside. Don’t forget that food is the No. 1 holiday hazard for dogs – the greasy, fatty and sweet foods that we humans tend to indulge in at holiday time can cause big trouble for your pet’s intestines.

Advise your guests not to give your dog any scraps from the dinner table, however much he might beg or look at them with soulful eyes !! Turkey skin, fat trimmings, gravies and rich sauces can cause severe vomiting, diarrhoea and possibly a life threatening inflammation of the pancreas.

It’s certainly not fun to allow your pet to drink alcohol as only one ounce of alcohol can put a small dog into a coma – keep him well away from half-finished glasses of beer, wine or spirits !!

Keep chocolate well out of your pet’s reach as chocolate is the most common poisoning during the Christmas period. Even small amounts of chocolate can cause vomiting and diarrhoea and if your dog eats larger amounts, it can cause him above normal heart rhythms, malfunctions of his nervous system or even death.

Make sure your kitchen bin is well secured because a dog can chew up any waste from the Christmas indulgences which could result in intestinal perforation and/or obstruction of the intestine. And this can be left-over food, Christmas wrapping paper or ribbons.

When putting up your Christmas decorations, try to purchase those that are labelled non-toxic. This is also a good idea if you have young children in the house.

If you do have young children in the house, put away their Christmas toys after the children have gone to bed. Apart from having a very unhappy child on Boxing Day if your dog breaks her toys, ingested toys can cause your dog to choke or have a blocked intestine and if this happens, unless it is too late, your dog would have to have surgery.

If you love to have a large Christmas tree in the house, make sure it will not tip over and hurt either your pet or your children.

Fasten all your tree decorations to the tree securely, and place any fragile ones towards the top. Dogs who are able to chew fragile Christmas tree trimmings can suffer nasty cuts to their tongue and their mouth.

Put Christmas paper and other gift wrapping materials away when you have finished wrapping your Christmas presents. Some dogs love to play with and chew paper but again, this can cause choking or blocked intestines.

Place Christmas plants out of reach and vacuum your carpets regularly if you have a real Christmas tree. Poinsettias can cause drooling, mouth pain and vomiting. Mistletoe causes vomiting, laboured breathing, shock, and also death from cardiovascular collapse. If your dog ate Christmas tree needles from real or fake trees, they can also suffer from blockage of the intestine.

If you have candles, then display them on high shelves to avoid any painful burns or singed whiskers.

If you have Christmas tree lights, then make sure that electric cables are tucked out of reach of your pet. Better still, try and keep all electric cables covered by a chew-proof guard. Puppies and kittens will chew on anything and can electrocute themselves.