b'When you host family, friends, or neighbours for lunch orpotentially dangerous, or particularly valuable to you, out dinner, you want to make sure they enjoy a safe and com- of the dogs reach. Youll also need to keep rubbish in fortable environment. The same concern should extenda lidded bin or other pet-proof container. Chicken, pork to your pets. Putting in a bit of effort can help them feeland chop bones in the rubbish are a particular danger, protected and happy around the house, but exactly whatas they break into small fragments that can be fatal if needs doing depends on the pet you choose. swallowed. Lets start with a few tips relating to safety for mansKeep the lid down on the toilet, too, especially if you use best friend. Tracy Dunn, customer services manager fora clip-on automatic cleaner. And what if, despite bestUse a waterborne the Auckland SPCA Animal Village, says that one of theefforts, your dog does swallow something he shouldnt? enamel in high pet-use areas for worst dangers for puppies is chewing on electrical cords.Get to the vet or an after-hours vet clinic immediately,maximum durability Wherever possible, fasten down or tuck away any long,and ease of cleaning. Tracyadvises.ThisisespeciallycrucialifpoisonisChoose from Resene fun-to-play-with stretches ofReplace frayed cordsEnamacryl (gloss),ex.ingested, as treatment needs to be administered within a and, if you do actually see your dog chewing a cord,Resene Lustacryl very speci c timeframe.(semi-gloss) or Resene stop him, discourage the behaviour, and offer a toy asSpaceCote Low Sheen an alternative. If a puppys mouth is not getting him in danger, the next(low sheen). likely culprit is his energy level. An energetic puppy and a OtherchewingdangersforcuriouscaninesincludeTwo things to think poisons, especially rat or snail bait, and small items that ight of stairs can be a particularly bad combination. about in a pet-friendly can cause damage if swallowed. Tracy suggests that dog- Apuppysbonestructureisnotfullydeveloped,home: make sure your owners keep indigestible temptations, such as golf ballsespecially with large-breed dogs, Tracy explains. Theypets arent going to set your burglar alarm orshing sinkers, out of reach of their pups. Apply theneed to be stopped from running up and down stairs atgoingchoose a same principle to your favourite ornaments, batteries, orspeed. They can miss steps quite easily, and fall and breakmodel that operates above a given height anything else small that could be swallowed. Even thatlegs or damage joints when theyre little.or has a speci c body yellow, fuzzy dog fave, the tennis ball, can be a danger ifmass tolerance. Also, You may need to consider child-gates for the stairs, ormake sure your pet Fido is left alone with it.discourage your puppy from running up and down if heis safe at night. Has your cat got a cat Dogs can tear tennis balls to pieces, and swallow themust use the stairs.door sensor on its netting that covers the outside and the rubber inside,collar, and is the For cats, many of the same concerns apply. They, too,property well fenced Tracy says.getthemselvesintotroublebyswallowingdangerousfor the dog?To prevent your dog from eating what he shouldnt, haveor indigestible items left lying around the home. They a crawl around your home at pet level. Move anythingmay be particularly skilled at slicing open bin bags and 44 |'