Phillipa Nefri Clark

Christmas is a time of family gatherings, lots of food, presents, decorations and activities. Humans show love through food, lavishing goodies onto our friends and family.

For our pets, particularly dogs and cats, Christmas is also exciting with lots of coming and going, delicious smells, and interesting additions to the house such as baubles, gifts, and a tree. With a bit of care and planning, your pet will enjoy a safe and stress free day as well.

This time of year puts makes us generous, and sharing our lovely Christmas food and nibbles with our pet seems harmless. A few berries (some dogs and cats adore blueberries!) and raw vegetables such as carrots, green beans and zucchini are generally a safe option. Whilst cooked meat is not very beneficial to dogs and cats (their gut works best with raw), a snippet of turkey or lean piece of pork might satisfy our need to spoil them.

Because our pets are so important, it is worth knowing what to avoid and keeping an eye on guests so that this special day doesn’t turn into an emergency dash to the vet. My list is not exhaustive, so google is your friend to get a full rundown, but foods to forbid include: cooked bones, highly salted/processed or fatty meats, chocolate (any amount may be toxic), grapes/sultanas, seeds from stone fruit, avocados, onion, cheese/dairy (most dogs are lactose intolerant), alcohol, caffeine, corn cobs, any product containing Xylitol, pretzels/chips, pudding/cake, cherries, nutmeg.

Christmas trees are delightful for cats, in particular, but I remember two of our dogs removing every bauble they could reach one year whilst we were out. As cute as it is to see them play around a tree, lights and decorations do pose some risk, so keep an eye on them.

 

Some pets love the added excitement of visitors and the displacement of normal events, but for others, stress can become a real problem. If your pet is one of these, find them a part of the house they can retreat to without intrusion, somewhere quiet and with their favourite bed and toy. New pets – often kittens and puppies – may be overwhelmed by the double whammy of leaving their birth home and being part of a new, highly stimulating environment. Ensure they have plenty of ‘quiet time’, a secure place to be, and not too much handling by people they don’t know.

What makes a great Christmas present for a pet? Our Labrador, Maverick, would say ‘everything’! This year he is getting a new Kong, an interactive toy, a Christmas soft penguin, and one packet of air dried treats. He loves unwrapping his gifts, so we ensure no paper or sticky tape makes it into his tummy.

When selecting gifts, either for your pet or someone else’s, look for well-made, branded toys such as Kong, Chuck-it, Tuffy, Rogz, and Aussie Dog. Cats love the Catit and Kong Cat range. Avoid generic tennis balls (can be toxic) and cheap plastic/rubber toys.

Deer antlers, cow’s hooves, and goat horns make wonderful long lasting chews that suit most dogs and are a safer option if given unsupervised.

I’d love to hear what you have planned for  Christmas with your pet! Leave your comments below to go into the running to win an e-copy of The Stationmaster’s Cottage and its sequel, Jasmine Sea. In these books, you’ll meet Randall, the golden retriever, who also loves Christmas time.

 

Enter the draw for the Rafflecopter prizes and you could be in for lots of shopping fun at Amazon, plus loads of fabulous books! Did you visit Leesa Bow’s blog yesterday? And remember to check in with Darcy Delaney tomorrow.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The members of this coastal romance group are authors and readers who love reading romance by the water, whether it be the ocean, a lake, a tropical island or any other body of water where our heroes and heroines fall in love and live happily ever after!

Some of our authors have combined their resources and planned this Christmas blog hop. Once the blog begins you have the opportunity of winning by going to their blog post for the day (Each author will post until Christmas Eve) and commenting on their post to go in the draw to win a book. Then by clicking on the raffle copter link above, you will be entered in the grand prize draw for a $150 Amazon gift card.

Prizes Drawn on Christmas Eve.

First prize: $150 Amazon gift card

Second prize: 30 ebooks

Each comment on each author’s blog will go in the draw for an e-book from that author.

So what are you waiting for? Come visit, get clicking, commenting and enter EVERY day.

You will discover some wonderful new authors and some awesome books too!
It’s like an advent calendar so bookmark this page and open a blog every day on the calendar below until Christmas! The more blogs you read, the more entries you have, and the more chances of winning the fabulous prize!

Annie Seaton	Ann  B Harrison
Bronwyn Stuart	Shirley Wine
Suzanne Cass	Clare Connelly
E.E. Carter	Jenn J McLeod
Hilary Grossman	Sasha Cottman
Monique McDonnell	Karan Eleni
Susanne Bellamy	Bronwen Evans
Kris Pearson	Carla Caruso
Bree Verity	Rich Amooi
Sheanne Moore	Fiona McArthur
Fiona Marsden	Tea Cooper
Renee Conoulty	Kate O’Keeffe
Nikki LeClair	Tracey Alvarez
Leesa Bow	Darcy Delaney

Thirty amazing romance writers have got together to give you the chance to win an incredible Christmas gift!

Each day until Christmas Eve, a different author will post a Christmas or coastal blog on their website. Leave a comment for the chance to win one of their own fabulous books.

 

Then, click on the Rafflecopter link below, go into the draw for the grand prize of a $150 Amazon gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the participating authors and remember, leave a comment, share and tweet for multiple chances to win this stunning prize.

Annie Seaton 
Ann  B Harrison 
Bronwyn Stuart
Shirley Wine
Suzanne Cass
Fiona Marsden
Clare Connelly
Jenn J Mcleod
Hilary Grossman
Sasha Cottman
Monique McDonnell
Karan Eleni
Susanne Bellamy
Bronwen Evans
Kris Pearson
Carla Caruso
Bree Verity
Rich Amooi
Sheanne Moore
Fiona McArthur
E.E.Carter
Tea Cooper
Renee Conoulty
Kate O’Keeffe
Nikki LeClair
Tracey Alvarez
Leesa Bow
Phillipa Nefri Clark
Darcy Delany

Join our Coastal Romance Facebook group to meet authors and readers who simply love the water, romance, and a good read.

Get sharing, commenting and reading!