Keep in mind these Thanksgiving safety tips for pets during the holidays. Let’s make sure it’s not a dangerous time for your furry friend! Enjoy time with your family and avoid a visit to your veterinarian by following this guide:

 Cut the fat:

Fatty or rich foods like beef fat, poultry skin, and gravy can cause severe gastrointestinal issues in pets, including:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Excessive gas
• Serious diseases like pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is a severe inflammation of the pancreas, an organ that produces digestive enzymes. On the mild side, pancreatitis can cause vomiting and a decrease in appetite, but can potentially be fatal.

If you want to treat your pet, it’s best to stick to a pet treat or a couple of small bites of lean poultry or unsalted/unbuttered vegetables.

Bones are bad:

Although bones from our holiday birds look good to pets, they are dangerous and can cause intestinal upset and may even splinter once digested.

Watch the packaging:

Make sure you dispose of any turkey or other food packaging quickly and appropriately.

All strings, plastic holders and bags that have a meat smell to them can be very attractive to a pet. Once ingested, these items can cause damage or blockage of the intestines.

Chocolate is particularly toxic:

Consider all the cookie and desserts offered during the holidays, many of which contain chocolate.

Chocolate is dangerous for dogs in particular because it contains theobromine, a caffeine-like ingredient that can be toxic to your pet. Dogs are not able to metabolize theobromine as quickly as humans. Complications include:

• Digestive issues
• Dehydration
• Excitability
• Slow heart rate

Later stages of theobromine poisoning include epileptic-like seizures and death. Keep your pet away from dark, semi-sweet and baker’s chocolate because they contain higher levels of theobromine.

We hope these Thanksgiving safety tips for pets were helpful!

Source: Banfield

Who needs tips on prepping your hunting dog? We’ve gotten through these long, hot summer months in anticipation for the fall. With hunting season right around the corner now is the time to begin rigorous training. Get your retrievers ready for waterfowl action the right way! Whether you’re a first time owner or seasoned hunter, it’s always a good idea to refresh those skills. Here’s a brief look into the most important tips brought to you by Duck Unlimited below.

1. Obedience With a Twist: obedience in any situation.

2. Steadying to Shot: creating steadiness.

3. Marking: teaching in different environments.

4. Lining: no scalloping.

5. Handling: clean retrieval.

6. Get Birdy: re-introduce the birds before season.

7. Be Cool: take precautions when training.

8. Land-Water-Land: using different bodies of water to train.

9. Go Boating: teaching entry and exit.

10. Meeting Mr. Decoy: taking time to expose them.

Now that you’ve seen the basics, anything you need to work on? Retrieving birds can be stressful but it doesn’t have to be. Prepping your hunting dog is important to the safety of yourself and those around you. By diving deeper into the information provided in the article, you’ll have a better understanding of what it takes to properly provide training and enforce obedience. To see the entire entry, see here.