Processing ....
Fall Safety For Pets
It
is starting to feel like fall with the kids back to school and the crisp, cool
morning air. Good planning and organization can keep our fur people from
hazards during the autumn months. So, here are a few safety tips to consider:
1. Rodent Watch! Rodents are
out and about in the fall trying to seek and build shelters from the cooler
temperatures. They will try to move indoors as well. Therefore, be careful when
using rodenticides around the yard and house. Rodenticides are highly toxic to
pets causing anticoagulant bleeding disorders that can be fatal. An alternative
to rodenticides is using live traps. In addition to rodenticide poisoning, your
pet may also get worms and intestinal parasites by eating rodents. Make sure
you keep your pet on year round preventative and have your pets stool tested at
least once a year.
2. Mushroom Danger! The fall
season can produce mushrooms that are beautiful, edible, and poisonous. The
poisonous mushrooms can make you or your pet very ill. Poisonous mushrooms can
cause a range of clinical signs from mild gastrointestinal upset to severe
hallucinations and even death. The most poisonous mushroom around is the Amanita
spp., this mushroom contains a very strong toxin call amanitin which can be
fatal to both humans and pets. Other mushrooms that also need to be identified
and removed from your yard are LBMs (little brown mushrooms) which are common
in suburban lawns, Jack-O-Lantern mushrooms, and Green-Spored Lepiota.
All of these toxic mushrooms grow in the fall and spring months.
3. Snakes! Autumn is the
season when snakes who are preparing for hibernation may be particularly
“grumpy,” increasing the possibility of severe bites to those unlucky pets who
find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pet owners should know
what kinds of snakes, venomous or not, may be in their environment. Know where
these snakes are most likely to be found and keep pets out of those areas.
4. Car Coolant! Many people choose
fall as the time to change their car’s engine coolant. Ethylene glycol-based
coolants are highly toxic, so spills should be cleaned up immediately. Consider
switching to propylene glycol-based coolants. Even though they aren’t
completely nontoxic, they are much less toxic than other engine coolants.
5. Trick or Treat: No
chocolate for dogs! There are
several foods that you should never feed your dog. Number one on that list is
chocolate, which is toxic and can lead to severe illness and sometimes death.
Instruct your kids and any visitors that they are not to give chocolate to your
dog. Keep the candy and goody bags out of reach of the dog.
6. A Feast! While
the humans are chowing down their Thanksgiving Day dinner, give your cat and
dog their own little feast. Offer them Nylabones or made-for-pet chew bones. Or
stuff their usual dinner, perhaps with a few added vegetables (try sweet potato
or green beans, without and butter or toppings) inside a Kong toy. They’ll be
happily occupied for awhile, working hard to extract their dinner from the toy.
7. Bad to the Bone! Never give your pets any bones from your
Thanksgiving Day dinner. Bones can splinter when chewed. This can cause broken
teeth, gastrointestinal upset, lacerations, or death. Also avoid hoofs and pig
ears.
Some
information in this article was found at:
|
Bay Animal Hospital
