Whelp, it’s December so that means we can talk about Christmas without guilt!
I wanted to get this blog out early so that you have plenty of time to prepare yourselves and your dogs for the festive season. Christmas can be a strange and stressful time for both dogs and humans, so having a plan in place to make it run as smooth as possible means you only really have to worry about things like that creepy distant Uncle or passive aggressive in-laws.
Studies have shown that vet visits increase at this time of year and 40% of owners notice a change in their dog's behaviour. The majority of dog bites sustained to children have been shown to be from a familiar dog to them but not one that they reside with, such as a relative's dog.
Rescues also see an increase in dogs either being returned to them or abandoned at this time of year. These tips are for all dogs to benefit from, be it a new puppy or rescue, or a dog you’ve had for years. When looking to stop problem behaviour, the key is to be proactive and have a plan in place.
So, let’s get started:
Living in each other’s pockets
This time of year is going to see you home more; especially if you have kids off school. Also with the weather not the warmest, that's potentially a lot of time with all of you cooped up inside.
Don’t underestimate how much that might affect your tolerance levels. Add in visiting releatives and the postman dropping off parcel after parcel, you're looking at a potential powder keg ready to go off.
This is also true for your dog’s stress levels that also need to be taken into account. Especially if they are used to having the house to themselves during the day for some serious snooze time. With a suddenly busy household, your dog might be less tolerant and want time to themselves. You might also be prone to reacting to behaviours from your dog that you usually ignore. How to help? Make sure your dog has a safe space away from the busy parts of the house for them to retreat to or for you to pop them in to help them decompress or if you need to manage them. These could be a crate, or baby gate, a play pen, or a room in the house like a bedroom.
It is vital to put this into place before you need it and create positive associations around the space to encourage your dog to use it. Provide plenty of enrichment for them to relax and give their brain a workout. Puzzle feeders, Kongs, Licki or Snuffle mats, chews are all great ways to help.
All that Christmas Swag
The tree… the decorations… presents… lots of opportunities for your dog to do something less than ideal.
Your dog is going to be looking at you weird for bringing a tree into a house and dressing it with shiny things and storing even more interesting boxes underneath. The novelty of it can be enough to attract dogs to chewing and destroying presents, decorations, and trees.
Puppies in particular, are prone to exploring with their mouths! Pine needles are also not good for dogs so keeping on top of hoovering them up if you have a real tree, is a must. How to help? Protect your gifts while maintaining the aesthetic by keeping the real ones stored away and safe and wrapping some empty boxes with Christmas paper and keep them under the tree. Use a puppy pen to fence in your tree and stop your dogs going near it or ensure you are not decorating the tree within their reach. You could place the tree up on a stand or elevated surface so they cannot get to it.
Cover all cables for Christmas lights or cover them so your dog cannot get to them. Brush up on your 'leave it!' cue and be willing to adapt and adjust your set up depending on how your dog responds.
Family and Friends Revolving Door
Christmas is the time of coming together for friends and family and that means a higher volume of guests in your home. This can be a stressful time for your dog, especially if you have relatives with children. Not everyone is dog savvy and might not see the signs your dog is giving of that might prevent a reacting or worse, a bite.
The constant build-up of visiting people without a chance to have a break can also make your dog less tolerant in general and prone to reacting where previously they would not. How to help? Ensure that children are fully supervised around the dog, or kept away from the dog when this isn't possible. Not all children or dog savvy and your dog might not like to hang out with strange mini-humans. Equally, young and exciteable dogs might scare children who are not used to dogs in a home. Having the safe space for your dog is going to also come in handy here.
Have a set plan for how you are going to deal with guests visiting such as popping the dog away until the guests are settled then bringing your dog in to greet on a lead. Tell your guests the ground rules for your dog so there is consistency. Consider, if you are going to visit family, is it in your dog's best interest to come with you? Or would it just stress them out?
Let your dog have lots of decompression time, even if it means popping them away to chill out mid visit.
Festive Foods
Let’s face it, Christmas is a great feasting of things we shouldn’t really have but ‘go on, it’s Christmas’ and you indulge in them all. But many of these festive treats are not good for your dogs. This is one of the busiest times of year for vets dealing with dogs who have eaten something they shouldn’t have. Many of these incidents either happen from presents left under the tree, or decorative bowls of treats left out for people (and canine) to help themselves.
Another not often concidered hazard are the plants that we commonly see around Christmas time. Things like lillies, pine needles, ivy and poinsettia are toxic if ingested. How to help? Start practise your dog’s defult leave it cue - where they leanr that food on counter and table are not for them. Teach your dog to settle on a station while you eat your dinner or have them on a lead or behind a barrier. Get into the habit of not leaving food out in the open and lying around. Things that need to be left out should be in an airtight container.
Keep toxic plants away from wheredogs might access them and keep up with housekeeping for things like dropped pine needles.
If you would like more cupport in helping your dog this Christmas, I have a self paced mini-course going into greater detail how you can help as well as training video for skills that will help you and your dog. You can find out more or join this online course with lifetime access by clicking the button below.