Keep your pets away from the mistletoe
Choosing
your Christmas decorations carefully is one of the 3 tips for pet safety this
Christmas. Mistletoe and holly are toxic
if ingested by your pet as is tinsel.
This feature on petbusiness.com also reminds us to keep rich festive
food out of reach of pets – some of it is toxic for them and it’s generally
just not suitable for them. Also ensure
to advise any guests not to give in to the pleading eyes and feed them titbits! Finally, it is recommended that, no matter
how sociable your pet is, to create a safe space for them away from guests, in
a busy home which can be full of people over the festive period.
(photo: CollegeTimes.com)
What to do if your dog runs away
I love
the really practical articles on ThatMutt.com and this one gives 8 great tips
on what to do if your dog runs away:
If you
see your dog heading off, try and capture his attention including making an
unusual sound or you running in the opposite direction; Leave something of
yours e.g. a jacket where you last saw your dog; If you’re with a group of
people, spread out and search; Wait where you are; Ensure the dog has id on his
collar and is microchipped; Trust your dog; If he/she is missing for a while,
contact all local shelters and pounds and finally, ensure you have an up to
date photo.
Dogs much better at reading moods than we are!
Dogs are
good at reading our moods but we’re terrible at reading theirs according to
research! They have proved that dogs
have better social skills than their human owners and also they have a much
greater emotional intelligence than we give them credit for.
An
example of how bad we are at mood reading was the reaction to a recent study earlier
this year which revealed that dogs hate being cuddled and show signs of
distress. Yet many dog owners responded
by saying, “oh, that doesn’t apply to my dog, (s)he loves a hug!”
The findings
form part of the upcoming Royal Institute Christmas Lectures being given by
Sophie Scott, a professor of neuroscience at University College London which will
be shown on BBC 4 on 26th, 27th and 28th
December at 8pm. Worth checking out!
