Christmas & New Year pet safety tips: keep your pets safe this festive season

The festive season is a wonderful time to relax, celebrate and spend extra time with family and friends, including the four-legged kind. But Christmas decorations, rich foods, visitors, parties, summer heat and New Year’s Eve fireworks can all create hidden dangers for our pets.

With a little planning, you can keep your dog or cat safe, comfortable and included in the fun. Below are some simple, practical tips to help you manage Christmas trees and decorations, avoid risky festive foods, prepare for visitors and noisy celebrations, and keep your pet calm and secure when the fireworks start.

Quick festive pet safety checklist

• Keep trees, decorations, presents and cords out of reach
• No chocolate, fatty leftovers, cooked bones, grapes, macadamias, onions, garlic or alcohol for pets
• Give your pet a quiet, comfy “safe space” away from visitors and parties
• On New Year’s Eve, keep pets indoors, close curtains and play TV or music to help mask fireworks noise
• If your pet eats something worrying, call your vet or the Animal Poisons Helpline on 1300 869 738

Your Christmas tree

• Anchor your Christmas tree securely so it doesn’t tip or fall over if your pet decides to investigate. The picture above and this video may make you giggle… as long as it’s not your Christmas tree and your pet getting in trouble! Putting the Christmas tree in a corner may help.
• If you have a real tree, ensure you clean up the tree needles regularly. They can be sharp and easily get stuck in your pet’s paws or throat.
• Cover the tree water so your pet can’t spill it or drink from it. This water can contain fertiliser and bacteria that can cause your pet to become nauseous or get diarrhoea if ingested.
• Hang your Christmas tree decorations up high so your pet can’t reach them. Pets love to play with baubles but they can harm your pet’s digestive system if swallowed. Baubles can also break and hurt your pet.
• If possible, choose non-breakable and non-toxic ornaments to minimise the risks. Avoid snow globes as they may contain antifreeze which is highly toxic to pets if the liquid is ingested when they break.
• Keep edible decorations out of reach, including chocolate coins, candy canes and salt-dough ornaments, which can cause serious salt poisoning if eaten. See The most dangerous things cats ingest.
• Avoid using tinsel, especially if you have cats, as it can be a serious choking hazard if eaten.

Top tip:

Erect a little playpen or fence around your Christmas tree to to keep your pets  away from the tree and presents.

Decorations, presents and wrapping

Place Christmas decorations, presents and wrapping items out of reach of your pet. Many cats and dogs love to investigate and play with ribbons and wrapped Christmas presents. Eating ribbons and paper, small items and kids’ toys can cause serious harm to your pet’s intestinal tract.

• Batteries/button batteries found in many kids’ toys and decorations are a hazard if chewed or swallowed (chemical burns, perforations).
• Lit candles can be easily knocked over by pets and cause a fire or burn themselves. Use an appropriate candleholder and make sure candles are placed on a stable surface. Put the candles out if you leave the room, even if it’s only for a short time. A safer option is to use flameless LED candles.
• Avoid mistletoe and holly. Mistletoe can cause gastrointestinal upset and cardiovascular problems. When ingesting holly, your pet can suffer from nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
• Most lilies are poisonous to pets too. Rather than fresh flowers, opt for artificial plants made of silk and plastic, or choose a pet-safe bouquet.
• Protect electric cords and flashing tree lights so your pet can’t chew them. Spraying citronella on cords and the plastic parts of lights may help to keep your pet away.

 Festive food, treats & rubbish

• No festive foods: Avoid macadamia nuts, grapes and sultanas/raisins (including Christmas pudding and fruit mince pies), onion and garlic, fatty ham or roast trimmings, corn cobs, avocado, cooked bones and alcohol, all of which can make pets seriously ill. See Emergency dog food: Safe foods for dogs to eat and/or Emergency cat food: The human foods cats can eat.
• No alcohol:  Keep alcoholic drinks out of your pet’s reach. Alcohol can make your pet weak and it could even cause them to go into a coma, possibly resulting in death.
• No chocolate and sweets: Chocolate and the sweetener Xylitol (found in many candies and gums) are highly poisonous to pets and can lead to death. Store them in a snap lock container that your pet won’t be able to open. Please keep all plates with Christmas sweets and chocolates away from your pet.
• Leave the leftovers: Human food is often too spicy and fatty for our four-legged friends and can cause problems ranging from an upset stomach to pancreatitis. Any cooked bones are a no-no as they can splinter, and even small bones can cause tearing of the intestinal tract.
• Pet-proof your garbage: Garbage can smell very yummy to your pet and can contains all sorts of hazards, so make sure you put garbage away immediately and that your pet can’t access it.

Top tip:

If you want them to share in the fun, use pet-safe treats or a small amount of their normal food in a puzzle feeder, rather than offering human food.

Visitors, routines & kids

• Give your pet some space of their own. A busy house full of guests and people who are strangers can be a bit overwhelming for your pet, and for some pets even scary. Your pet may try to hide or may be a bit over-stimulated, like young children get if there is too much going on. If so, it’s a good idea to give your pet a chance to rest and chill out by putting them in a room by themselves with something nice to chew on or to play with, some water and their bed. Sometimes a boarding kennel or using a pet sitter may be the better alternative for your pet’s, and your own, peace of mind.
• If your guests and their children want to interact with your pet, make sure your pet is comfortable with it. Ask your guests to be gentle with your pet. Dogs often don’t feel comfortable with being stared at, hugged or patted on the head, but may appreciate a scratch under their chin or a belly rub.
• Brushing up on your pet’s obedience training a few days before the visitors arrive can be very helpful to make sure your pet is on its best behaviour for the festivities.
• Share your pet’s house rules with your guests. This includes rules like if your pet is allowed on the couch, if certain rooms are off limits, to stay away when your pet eats its food, and so on.
• Keep your pet away from confetti and crackers. You don’t want them to ingest confetti or small items from crackers. Tell the kids not to scare your pet by throwing crackers at it.

Top tips:

• Try to keep your pet’s routine as normal as possible during the festive season, particularly when it comes to time for feeding, walks and bed. Consistency helps to reduce stress.
• Many cats and some dogs prefer to watch from a distance. Let them choose whether to interact, and make sure they always have access to a quiet hidey-hole away from guests.

Fireworks, noise & New Year’s Eve

Dogs, cats and fireworks are often a dangerous mix as they can be very scary for pets and possibly damage their sensitive ears. To protect your frightened fur baby as best you can:

• Make sure they are confined in a secure area that they can’t escape from. Most pet escapes happen during thunderstorms or on New Year’s Eve.
• Check that their  ID is up to date beforehand. Make sure your pet is microchipped, your contact details are current on the microchip register, and they’re wearing a collar and ID tag. Up-to-date details make it much easier to get them back if they manage to escape.
• On fireworks night, keep pets indoors, close curtains and blinds, and play TV, radio or calming music to help mask loud bangs. Give them a cosy den with their bed and some long-lasting chews or puzzle feeders.
• Provide hiding spots for cats such as igloo beds, boxes with blankets, and under-bed dens in quiet rooms. Crate-trained dogs may find security in their familiar crate.
• Never tether your pet during fireworks or storms, as panicking dogs can injure or choke themselves trying to escape.

Top tips:

• Desensitise your pet to fireworks before New Year’s. Find some firework sounds on YouTube or use the Soundproof Puppy Training app (iOS, Android) (not only for puppies) to play firework sounds while your pet eats its breakfast and dinner, as well as around 10 times per day just in the background. Keep the volume low until your pet is totally relaxed and almost ignores the sound, and then increase the volume slightly each day.
• Pheromone diffusers, calming supplements or snug-fitting anxiety wraps may be helpful for some anxious pets. It’s always a good idea to talk to your vet if anxiety is severe.
• Bow Wow Meow policy holders are entitled to a free pet ID tag when you sign up³ and a new tag each policy year if you change your contact details or your pet’s tag is lost.

Summer heat & holiday outings

• Avoid exercising pets in the middle of the day; walk dogs in the cooler early morning or evening, especially on very hot days.

• Check paths and sand with the back of your hand before walking – if it’s too hot for you to hold your hand there, it’s too hot for their paws.

• Never leave pets in a parked car, even for a few minutes. Temperatures can rise dangerously quickly and cause heatstroke.

• At the beach or by the pool, always provide shade and fresh drinking water, rinse salt and sand from coats afterwards, and watch that dogs don’t drink too much seawater.

• See Pets that suffer in summer: how to keep them cool.

When to call the vet

Contact your vet immediately or the Animal Poisons Helpline (1300 869 738 in Australia) if your pet:

• has eaten chocolate, grapes/raisins, xylitol, medicines, cleaning products, plants or decorations

• is repeatedly vomiting or has severe diarrhoea

• seems very drowsy, wobbly, collapses or has a seizure

• is having trouble breathing

• may have escaped and come back injured

It’s always better to call for advice early – prompt treatment can prevent a minor issue becoming an emergency.

Unsure how serious it is?

Bow Wow Meow policyholders can get access to trusted vet care anytime, anywhere, at no additional cost. Connect to an experienced Australian registered vet via video call, 24/7. Whether it’s providing vet advice, setting up at-home treatment plans, or confirming if you need to visit a vet in person, you can get help when you need it.

Find out more about our pet insurance cover options.

We hope these tips will help you to have a wonderful and safe holiday season with your pet. Please share them with your friends and family if you found them useful.

Remember, it only takes a little time and effort to ensure your pet will be safe and happy – the last thing you want is having to spend your holidays with your pet at the vet.

Enjoy the festive season and have a great time together.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!