While the holidays can definitely be stressful for the humans, it can be worse for your pets. Please keep them safe and healthy during this busy time of year.

• Don't over do it on the treats, especially chocolate, which can make your animals very sick. Keep those sweet treats up and out of their reach!

• Be careful of sharp or breakable ornaments and decorations. These are almost too much for a curious greyhound to resist, and can be dangerous if ingested or broken and stepped on.

• My greyhounds have been known to unwrap the gifts under the tree if left unsupervised too long, so take extra precautions to keep them out of reach.

• It has cooled down fast, and your greyhounds will get cold very quickly if left outside too long. If you will be spending time outside consider a coat for your greyhound to keep him or her warm, and never leave them out for long unsupervised.

• Take extra precautions to keep your greyhounds safe at home during parties or when guests visit. Many greyhounds get out this time of year during the excitement of the season. Doors and gates are more likely to be left open, so be careful not to lose your pet. There is nothing worse than missing your beloved greyhound during the holidays, and it seems to happen every year.

A Quick trick to induce vomiting:

In case your dog ingests chocolate, or any other Christmas treats, a quick way to get them up is to use salt to induce vomiting. It works faster than hydrogen peroxide, is always available and has no after effects like gas from the bubbles.

For an average greyhound, mix a tablespoon of salt with enough water to make a moderately think solution, just pour or use a syringe, to get it into the side of their mouth.

This usually works in less than a minute.

What if they eat the ornaments?

First don't induce vomiting.

Before the holiday go to a pharmacy and buy a box of cotton balls. Be sure that you get cotton balls...not the "cosmetic puffs" that are made from man-made fibers. Also, buy a quart of half-and-half coffee cream [also called light cream] and put it in the freezer.

Should your dog eat glass ornaments, defrost the half-and-half and pour some in a bowl. Dip cotton balls into the cream and feed them to your dog.

Dogs under 10 lbs. should eat 2 balls which you have first torn into smaller pieces. Dogs 10-50 lbs should eat 3-5 balls and larger dogs should eat 5-7.

You may feed larger dogs an entire cotton ball at once. Dogs seem to really like these strange "treats" and eat them readily.

As the cotton works its way through the digestive tract it will find all the glass pieces and wrap itself around them. Even the teeniest shards of glass will be caught and wrapped in the cotton fibers and the cotton will protect the intestines from damage by the glass. Your dog's stools will be really weird for a few days and you will have to be careful to check for fresh blood or a tarry appearance to the stool. If either of the latter symptoms appear you should rush your dog to the vet for a checkup but, in most cases, the dogs will be just fine.

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