Rockstar Puppy Site Has Thanksgiving Tips, Custom Dog Houses

 In addition to custom dog houses, and designer dog clothes, Rockstar Puppy’s online pet boutique suggests helpful tips to pet owners on how to keep pets safe during the holidays best family pets.

CLARKS SUMMIT, PENNSYLVANIA – While holidays can be hectic for many, pet owners have an added responsibility of keeping their beloved animals safe and out of danger.

 "We have to take special precautions to keep our pets safe, especially during the holiday season," said Jessica Clark, Rockstar Puppy owner, who specializes in custom dog houses.

Her online pet boutique not only is a site for owners to buy their pampered pets custom dog tags for dogs, dog clothing, and motorcycle carriers for dogs, but Rockstar Puppy gives tips for humans on how to keep their canines and felines safe on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Potential hazards resulting in diarrhea, vomiting, injuries, and even sudden death can be avoided by doing the following:

Don't Share Your Thanksgiving Dinner

Pets should not have what's on the Thanksgiving menu since a lot of the foods we eat can be dangerous to them  like ingredients including onions, macadamia nuts, grapes and raisins which are all hazardous to dogs' health, can cause organ failure, and even death.  

Other toxic and possibly fatal ingredients to pets are avocados, alcohol, and chocolate. Baked goods, candy, gum, and mints with the "sweetener" ingredient Xylitol or Sorbitol can cause hypoglycemia and liver failure in dogs. Pets can have seizures, an increased heart rate, organ failure, etc., if they eat the wrong food. Turkey leftovers can be harmful if there are bones fragments to cause an interior obstruction or splinter if swallowed.

Give Family and Friends the House Rules with Pets

Part of having a safe holiday season is remembering to keep the furry family members safe while entertaining a large group of family, friends and eating food. This means going out of the way to keep pets out of the way when there's house guests, or getting a pet gate if necessary.

Children and adults who are unfamiliar with your pets can pose unintentional dangers during the holiday.  Tell guests to close the doors when they arrive or leave so pets aren't escaping without notice while people are coming and going from the house.

"It may be better to put your pets in another room when everyone is there if you don't have a gate to confine them to an area of their own," Clark said.

Limit or restrict children's contact with the family pets so they aren't hurting them or getting hurt if the dog or cat scratches or bites out of fear. Make sure the visitors know not to feed the pets their table scraps because of the pets' risks of getting pancreatitis.

Clark said politely give the rules to parents with their children when they arrive so everyone understands that you expect them to be careful around your pets.

"Giving house guests rules to abide by, like not feeding them table scraps, will save you from having to take your pet to the family vet or emergency room," she said.

Reduce Excitement and Stress

Increased foot traffic, the doorbell ringing, and people coming and going all day can cause your pooch to be stressed and very excited. If possible, arrange small, intimate gatherings so as not to disrupt pets' comfort in their homes.

"Understand that your pet will exhibit uncommon or even bad behavior with visitors around that day if they are frightened or overstimulated," said Clark, adding to give your pets their favorite toys to put them at ease.

So as not to ruin the day for spoiled pets, she suggested allowing a little turkey since it can be used as a calming food for excited dogs because of the natural sleep aid, tryptophan.