“Helping Pet owners of Mersea Island and surroundings to maintain the wellbeing of their beloved family pet, through provision of veterinary care and education on responsible ownership.”
Christmas is a time when most of us look forward to rest and recuperation as well as celebrating with loved ones.
Our pets are included as part of the family and whilst we look forward to including them in the celebrations, it is important to put yourselves in their paws and consider how the Christmas celebrations can have a negative impact on pet wellbeing.
We talk about wellbeing a lot at Blackwater Vets and feel that physical and emotional health are inextricably linked. We work hard at the practice to keep up to date with understanding pet behaviour and putting things in place to ensure that pet visits are as relaxed and stress free as possible. Likewise, we want your pets to enjoy Christmas as much as you do, so here are some of our top tips for ensuring your pets have positive wellbeing and enjoy the Christmas period.
Fireworks– Check with neighbours as to where and when fireworks may be let off during the Christmas period so you can ensure pets are safely indoors, curtains drawn, and the TV or music playing to drown out the sound. Also ensure small animal hutches are moved indoors and covered with blankets to muffle sounds. Create a “safe place” where dogs can hide if they want to.
See https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/pets/wellbeing-and-care/fireworks-and-pets for more advice.
Christmas Trees and Decorations– Our pet family can find these just as attractive as we do, and this can mean them getting tangled in lighting or ingesting things that they shouldn’t. Think carefully about where trees and decorations are placed and if necessary, ensure that pets are not given access to that room unless they are supervised.
Christmas Foods– Keep meat bones, chocolate, grapes, and anything with raisins [Christmas pudding, mince pies] safely out of reach of cheeky paws. Many foods are toxic to pets and could lead to them needing hospitalisation if ingested. Also think about whether there could be chocolates wrapped in presents around the tree and whether presents need to be stored safely away from pets.
Visitors– Whilst we may be excited at welcoming visitors and having fun over Christmas, noise and strangers can be overwhelming or even frightening for pets. Never force a pet to interact with guests and ask friends to give them space and not interact with them unless the pet chooses to come to them for attention. If necessary, use stair gates, especially if you have children visiting and you have pets that aren’t used to them. Always ensure pets have resting/safe areas where they can go and where everyone knows not to disturb them.
Exercise– The holiday period often means having more time for extended walks with your dog, but you do need to consider whether your dog is capable of longer walks than they are used to. Older dogs may find too much exercise painful and could possibly be arthritic. The practice is passionate about pain management and are always happy to offer advice and support on both environmental management for older pets as well as medical support and therapies such as physiotherapy and laser.
Sleep– None of us feel good if we aren’t getting enough sleep and pets are the same. If your pets are used to sleeping all day whilst you are at work, they may find Christmas tiring. This can lead to pets feeling irritable in the same way that we do when we are tired. Try to set your home up so that pets can still get to their beds in a quiet area and relax when they want to.
Routine– Pets love routine but sometimes this isn’t possible during the holiday period. Do try to stick to feeding and exercise times wherever possible.
We wish all our clients and the pet loving community of West Mersea a very happy, healthy and peaceful Christmas.
