How Can We Keep Our Pets Safe During the Holidays?

Veterinarian Reveals Hidden Dangers to Avoid to Prevent Potentially Disastrous Pet Problems

As the pages of the calendar flip and we move closer to the holiday season, pet owners should be aware of common – but hidden – dangers to their pets as we transform our homes for the celebrations to come.

“The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy for our families, but in preparing for the season, many pet owners run the risk of exposing their pets to household dangers that could present potential life-threatening hazards to their pets,” said veterinarian Lori Pasternak, of Helping Hands Affordable Veterinary Surgery and Dental Care (www.helpinghandsvetva.com). “These latent hazards could derail a family’s holiday season if their pets become ill as a result of these hidden perils.”

Pasternak’s list of prospective risks include:

• Decorations – While holiday decorations can make a home feel more festive, they can be tantalizing traps for pets. Pet owners should keep decorations and ornaments higher up on trees so they are not consumed by pets. If a pet decides the colorful garland or tree trim might make a tasty snack, they can and will get stuck in your pet’ intestines, necessitating immediate surgical removal. Moreover, exposed cords from electric lights can cause electrocution or oral burns if chewed.

• Gift Wrap – When it’s time to pull all the gifts out of hiding to be wrapped, take care that your pet isn’t in the room as you spread out all the wrapping paper, bows and ribbons. If a cat should starting gnawing on the ribbon, it will literally “stitch” the cat’s intestines together as it is being passed through the gut. Surgery is one holiday gift you don’t want to give your family pet.

• Holiday Feast – While turkey and ham make up the majority of traditional holiday meals, turkey and ham bones can become lodged in the intestines if swallowed in large pieces. Be careful that your guests don’t give in to the holiday spirit too much and choose this time to offer table scraps to your pets. Your pet could become seriously ill or even choke to death.

• Flowers – The poinsettias many choose to use as holiday centerpieces are also toxic to most household pets if they are chewed and swallowed in large enough quantities. The level of toxicity is completely proportionate to the size and weight of your pet, but instead of doing the math on that equation, it’s better to choose other types of floral arrangements that don’t endanger your pets.

“The holidays should be a time for fun, not an unscheduled trip to the animal hospital,” Pasternak added. “If something does happen, don’t hesitate to take your pet to the nearest animal hospital, and know that if you come to ours, we work with our pet owners on affordable payment structures in emergency cases. But we’d rather not see you this season. The best holiday gift you could give your pet is a hazard-free household so they can enjoy the warmth and joy of your celebrations safely and soundly.”

About Lori Pasternak

Lori Pasternak, DVM, graduated from Virginia – Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 1998. She worked in a full-service practice in Richmond, VA, for 13 years prior to opening Helping Hands Affordable Veterinary Surgery and Dental Care.

Electric fences for animals aren’t completed until the animals have been properly trained. Here are some tips on exactly how to go about doing that.

Cattle

You need to create a small training area. By keeping it small, it takes less time for the animals to figure out where they will be shocked. It also requires less time to fix the broken fencing. Plus, with a small area, it’s takes less time to get them in and out for training.

When you put your stock in the training area, keep your distance. They should discover the fence on their own. As the curious stock inspects the electric fence wire, they’ll learn what it can do. Sometimes the animal will back up when first shocked. Others may instinctively try to run through it (which leads to wire breakage). If the stock gets out, gather them up and put them back in the training area.

Typically, it takes just two encounters with the electric fence for the animal to leave it alone. Training, depending on the size of the stock, can take as little as a day.

You can try laying hay or grain across the fence to give them incentive to touch it. This may speed up the training time, but isn’t necessary. Cows are instinctively curious and will approach the new fence on their own.

Sheep

Sheep are difficult to train because their wool acts as an insulator. To effectively and quickly train them, shear them first.

To get sheep to approach the fence, you can try attaching aluminum cans that contain molasses to the fence. When they come to lick the treat, they’ll get the shock. If you decide to try this method, ensure the cans don’t touch the ground wires.

Dogs

Dogs can be trained easily to respect an electric fence. Training is essential in the success of your fence. Every dog is different in regards to the speed of training. Don’t move onto the next step until it has been proven he or she has mastered the current one.

You first want to utilize the flags to teach your dog the boundary. Leash your dog and whenever he or she comes near the flags, and the collar starts beeping, correct him or her with “no” in an animated, full-of-urgency manner.

Then, once he or she understands the boundary, you can activate the correction on the electric fence.

After your dog understands the need to stay away, you can introduce distractions, like another dog, tennis ball or a favorite toy.

If your dog successfully stays away from the boundary, you can then take him or her off the leash for play. Only after your dog has had time to get used to the system do you remove the flags, which should be at least 2 months.

After reading about electric fences for animals and the different methods you can use to train them, you’re probably interested in learning about electric fence energizers.

In honor of National Dog Bite Prevention Week which takes place from May 15-21, State Farm has released a report regarding dog bites and insurance claims in the year 2010. The basic facts are this: in 2010, 3,500 dog bite claims were made and State Farm shelled out more than $90 million. State Farm also released a chart listing the top ten states that filed for State Farm dog bite claims in 2010. From highest to lowest number of claims, the states are California, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, Minnesota, New York and Indiana.

California State Farm received 369 dog bite claims in 2010, resulting in over $11 million being paid out. Thirty-three people died from dog bites in 2010, and seven of those people were from California. It’s not like the minute you cross the California border a wild rabid dog will run at you and attack, but 369 is quite a few claims – most of the other states on the top ten list only had one hundred to two hundred claims in 2010.

In terms of dog bites, California is rather strict. The state has strict liability, which means that no matter what, a dog owner is responsible for injuries caused by his dog. The difference between strict liability and looser liability is that the latter liability only comes into play if the dog owner was negligent or knew that the dog was potentially aggressive and had bitten others in the past. With strict liability however, it doesn’t matter if the owner was not negligent or that the dog had never bitten anyone before or given any indication that it was going to do so in the future.

If you would like to avoid becoming one of the 3,500 people who filed dog bite claims with State Farm in 2010, there are several things you can do. More than 60% of all dog bite victims are children, so start teaching your children early on to be careful around dogs and other pets. Children should never approach or touch a dog they do not know – always ask permission from a dog owner before your kid gets close. Sometimes the owner may tell you to keep your child away as the dog has a bad history with kids. Even with your own dog you should take precautions and never leave babies or little kids alone with dogs.

If you are a dog owner who would like to avoid a dog bite fiasco, you too can act to try to prevent your dog from ever biting anyone. Factors that are in your control include obedience training, socialization and health. In most cases, the breed of your dog is not the primary issue behind the biting – although the state of Ohio begs to differ, as it has legally designated pit bulls and American Staffordshire terrier mixes as “vicious dogs”. In every state except Ohio, State Farm will not refuse to provide insurance based on the type of dog you have, but it will require you to detail your dog’s history while applying for homeowner’s insurance.

Larry Hathers is a writer for the life insurance website LifeCover. For more information about various types of life policies visit LifeCover today.