Think about your pet for a moment. From now until New Year’s Eve, they’ll be dodging everything from wrapping paper to Champagne corks. With all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it’s easy to overlook our four-legged friends. That’s why the ASPCA asked us to share these tips for keeping pets safe this season:

• Stick with pet food. Diana Guerrero is an animal behaviorist who writes about animal training and etiquette. She says that many Yuletide treats like coffee, raisins, grapes, and candy are dangerous for your dog. Instead of giving them table scraps, get your dog or cat a few pet-friendly treats.
• Keep your pet away from the Christmas tree. Aside from obvious dangers like your puppy chewing cords, you also have to make sure your pet doesn’t drink water from the tree stand. Bryan Slinker is the dean of The Washington State University Veterinary College. He says that even if you don’t add extra chemicals to keep the tree fresh, fertilizers can leach from the trunk and poison the water.
• Watch the decorations. According to the experts at Petsmart, things like tinsel can lacerate your pet’s intestines, a broken snow globe can give your dog or cat a lethal dose of anti-freeze, and scented candles can cause acute respiratory distress in birds.

Don’t give pets as gifts. Dr. Phil Bushby is a professor of Animal Welfare at Mississippi State University. He says that a large percentage of animals given as gifts end up in shelters. Plus, the craziness of the holiday season makes it hard for a pet to adjust. If you have your heart set on giving a loved one a new puppy or kitten, many animal shelters have gift certificates that you can put under the tree. Then, the whole family can go and pick one out when things calm down.

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