Keeping Your Pet Safe This Labor Day

We all agree that keeping a pet safe is a year-round responsibility. A special effort should be made to protect cats and dogs during busy holidays, though. As we bring summer to a close this Labor Day, pay close attention to your fur-ever buddies by following the pet safety tips we’ve gathered for you below.

Keep Pets Away From Dangerous Foods

It can be very tempting to give into hungry eyes as they beg for a morsel of your world-famous barbecue, baked beans and corn on the cob. Don’t let your heart overrule your effort to keep your pet safe. Avoid feeding cats and dogs from your plate or even allowing them to nibble on your random leftovers. Many of the seasonings, spices and herbs that we love to savor during backyard barbecues are the exact ingredients that can make your pet sick, even deathly so. Small bones may also prevent a serious choking hazard. If you’re entertaining guests this Labor Day, be sure to remind them of your pet safety tips and ask them to avoid feeding human food to furry residents.

Keep Pets Away From Hot Grills

One of the more overlooked pet safety tips involves burn dangers. Be aware that the temptation of sizzling meats and savory sauces can seem overwhelming to a nearby pooch. If you’re celebrating Labor Day with a cookout, keep a close eye on the grill and your pets– especially dogs– at all times. A hot grill, coals or even hot meats can cause severe injuries, which may also lead to serious infection and pet fatalities.

Limit Pet Guests

While understanding that we are all pretty attached to our pets and that we want to hang out with them as much as possible, you may want to limit pet guests in your home this holiday. With a mind on keeping your pet safe, only allow other animals to tag along with the humans you’ve invited to your home if your cat or dog already has a rapport with the guest pet. Our animals can be very territorial at times and bringing a new animal into the home along with other guests, more noise than usual and a change in your daily routine may be overwhelmingly stressful for your beloved companion.

Of course, safety tips like this one also apply to visiting others during the holiday. Be a considerate guest and only allow Rover to tag along if you’re absolutely sure it’s a pet safe environment. That is, safe for your dog and the pets at the home you’ll be visiting!

Keep an Eye On Children and Pets

Whether you’re taking your fur-baby to a Labor Day shindig or hosting your own get together at home, avoid leaving young children and pets unattended. While both may get on fabulously with one another under ordinary circumstances, any number of events on a busy holiday may lead to a scratch, a nip or even stealing dangerous foods from a distracted child’s plate. For pet safety– and children’s safety– it’s a good idea to keep both under an extra watchful eye this Labor Day.

Create a Quiet Space For Your Pets

Even the most sociable animals need to retreat from the party now and then. Some animals may even prefer to skip the festivities altogether. Regardless of your animal’s usual temperament, keep your pet safe by having a quiet space prepared for her to eat and sleep in peace, as needed. Whether it’s a spare bedroom, bathroom or even a garage, be sure to fill it with toys, bedding and other scent-familiar items that will enhance your fur buddy’s comfort levels. Do not forget other safety tips like locking cabinets and keeping dangerous chemicals, medications and other toxic items far out of the animal’s reach. And never ever leave your cat or dog unattended for too long, but periodically check on her well-being throughout the time she spends in her quiet space.

Target Comfortable Temperatures

If your cats or dogs are going to spend time alone, be sure that the temperature is just right for them at all times. Remember that as the sun changes position throughout the day, certain areas of your home may become warmer than others, so keep this in mind while you’re planning to keep your pet safe on Labor Day. Also, be sure that there is enough water and ventilation for your pet to remain comfortable at all times and do check on him often throughout the holiday just to ensure safety.

Prevent Escape

As we gather to say goodbye to summer, some people enjoy a few fireworks on Labor Day along with music that may be a little louder than usual. There may also be an increase in traffic at your home or throughout your neighborhood. Our pets don’t understand that we’re just enjoying one of our last days off from work before temperatures drop and the season changes. To them, crowds and additional noise can be stressful and even terrifying. Animals in this state often escape from backyards or through doors carelessly left open amid festivities. In an effort to keep your pet safe this Labor Day, shore up any potential escape routes before the holiday arrives.

Update I.D. Information

If you’ve recently moved or changed telephone numbers, help keep your pet safe by updating your animal’s identification records accordingly. Ditto for any friends or family members listed as emergency contacts on your faithful companion’s I.D. record. Of course, if your cat or dog has not been microchipped, do plan on doing so asap and especially before Labor Day arrives. A relatively painless procedure, it only takes a few minutes of your time and can help reunite you and your fur baby if an escape happens during the holiday or if your animal is lost at any time in the future.

Keep Pets Away From Garbage

What we view as waste may translate into a free-for-all buffet for your cat or dog. Delicious scents and curious treats will cause him to dumpster dive if you’re not careful about securing your garbage to keep your pet safe. Not only might a failure to do so result in a serious mess for you to clean, but the contents of your garbage may cause your animal to choke or become seriously ill.

How Do You Keep Your Pet Safe on Holidays?

In our never-ending duty to keep our furry family members healthy and protected, we love sharing tips for keeping a pet safe as much as we enjoy reading safety tips from other sources. Which important pet safe Labor Day tips did we leave out? What do you have to add to the ones we’ve shared? This post isn’t complete until we hear from you, so please feel free to chime in with your thoughts on pet safety below.

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