Keep Your Dog Safe At Home

Now that you have adopted or rescued a dog, you should become savvy as to the potential safety hazards that are present in almost every home. 

Dogs are naturally inquisitive. They sniff, the look, they hunt for food and toys, they explore. If your home is  safe for your dog, there is generally nothing to worry about.

If safety hazards lurk in your bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, garage and elsewhere, you dog could get into trouble, life threatening trouble. Rid your living environment of these hazards and you will keep your dog safe at home.

Some of the most common, household dangers which are potentially deadly to dogs are :

• Antifreeze
• De-icing salts
• Insecticides- found in many flea and tick preparations
• Pesticides
• Cedar and wood shavings
• String
• Bait
• Medications
• Batteries
• Household cleaners
• Nicotine
• Pool chemicals

Food items such as

• Chocolate
• Potato
• Yeast dough
• Grapes and raisins
• Coffee
• Salt
• Macadamia nuts
• Chicken bones
• Onions
• Alcoholic beverages
• Many commercial dog food brands

Plants such as:

• Azalea,
• Geraniums
• Lilies
• Mistletoe
• Philodendron

• Toys- if parts are easy to remove
• Rawhide chews- if tainted with salmonella. Dogs can also choke on these

The ASPCA has a wonderful interactive site that you can use free of charge to determine if your house is poison and hazard free so that you can keep your dog safe at: http://www.aspca.org/ideum/petsafe.html

As in the case of human safety, studies show that the highest number of accidents and injuries occur at or near home. In the busy day to day world that we all live in it’s easy to overlook that open bottle of ibuprofen, half empty container of motor oil in the garage or the new lilies that look so pretty  sitting in a planter near the front door.

Correcting the problems in your home will keep you and your children safe and keep your dog safe as well.

Your visit to the ASPCA site will only take a few minutes of your time but that small investment may someday save the life of your dog. Please do this today.

 Once you complete  your visit to the ASPCA site, here’s a few things you should do to keep your dog safe.

• Correct any hazards that were discovered at he ASPCA site. This may include, throwing away dangerous hazards, securing cabinets and dog proofing your home in accord with what you discovered

•  Find out what’s in your dog’s food  to determine if the brand you are using provides a health hazard for your dog by visiting : http://www.dogs-4life.com/dog-food-that-kills.html

• Make sure that everyone in the home knows about your project. Type up a list of hazards that can harm your family and your dog and post the list in a conspicuous place as a reminder.  By doing this you will  be on the way to protecting your family and keeping your dog safe

My small 8 year old dog suddenly became ill and no vet could determine the cause. She died after 2 weeks of suffering on Mother’s Day morning. Don’t let anything happen to your best friend.  Learn how to keep your dog healthy and safe at  http://www.dogs-4life.com/veterinary-secrets.html

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