Nothing makes a cuter holiday picture than your dog posed in front of the Christmas tree. But dogs and Christmas trees aren’t always the perfect mix. Trees decorated with breakable ornaments and electric lights pose hazards to dogs, and curious dogs can be severely injured if they knock over the tree (not to mention your poor tree)!Don’t worry: you can still have a Christmas tree! You just need to take some precautions. Read on to learn how to keep your dog safe around the Christmas tree (and vice versa).
All members of the onion family are toxic to dogs—onions, garlic, shallots, scallions and chives.
All parts of the plant are toxic to dogs and cats, the leaves, juice and bulbs. All forms are toxic—raw cooked, dried or powdered. Dried and powdered onion and garlic appear in many prepared human foods. Read labels carefully before offering prepared human foods to dogs and cats as powdered onions are even more toxic than fresh.
Even if a food only contains a very small amount, toxicity can occur if eaten over a long period of time. Onions and their relatives are more toxic to cats than to dogs, so use these ingredients with care around cats and be especially careful when offering table foods to cats.
Plants in the onion family contain a toxin called N-propyl disulfide, which causes a breakdown of red blood cells, which leads to anemia. The toxin can damage red blood cells to the point where the body believes that they are invaders, causing the body to destroy its own red blood cells, which is a serious condition known as hemolytic anemia.
Signs of onion toxicity include weakness, decreased appetite, pale gums, fainting, reddish urine, vomiting, panting and an elevated heart rate.
Foods containing onion and garlic are often very attractive to pets. If you know your pet has consumed onions, they should be seen immediately.
Enjoy your onion rings on National Onion Day—just don’t share them with your pets!
Here are some safety precautions to keep in mind if you take your Pom in the car with you on a hot day:
Each time you take your Pom in the car, first start the engine and then turn on the air conditioning (AC) to start cooling it down. Cars get extremely hot when parked in the hot sun. Open the windows as well because then the hot air will be pushed out. Then shut them so the cooler air can circulate.
Touch your Pom’s car seat and ensure it’s not too hot. (For example, the steering wheel gets too hot to touch in Summer).
While you may love the cold air vent blowing directly on you, toy breeds are very sensitive to changes in the temperature so his vent can’t blow directly on him.
If your Pomeranian gets car sick, open his window a small amount in addition to the AC running as it tends to settle that nauseous feeling. (This works equally well for people).
Depending on how high his seat is, you may need car shades so his eyes aren’t being subjected to direct bright sunlight. That can cause discomfort and increase car sickness.