The festive season is well and truly here, the tree is up, decorations have been hung, the sparkly lights have been switched on and the house is filled with an abundance of visitors and the smell of delicious food. It’s important to remember that the festive season can be a stressful and an unsettling time for your dog so check out our top tips to help keep the festive season stress free for your dog
Plan ahead
It is not always possible to take your dog to visit friends and family, always plan ahead and book your dog walker/sitter well ahead of time. It’s not fair to leave your dog with just anyone so chose carefully and make sure that your dog is happy and comfortable around whoever you choose to leave them with.
Try to keep your routine
Dogs thrive on routine so it is important to keep their routine as normal as possible over the festive season. It can be tricky to stick to your normal routine, even when you’re full of pigs n blankets your dog should still get their evening walk. Maintaining their feeding and exercise routine will help to keep them calm and happy.
Extra post and deliveries
During Christmas we often get more deliveries than usual, If you know that your dog normally reacts to the doorbell by barking then it may be a good idea to get your parcels delivered to another location such as work or put some training management in place prior to the festive season to help keep your dog calm when the doorbell rings.
Visitors
As fun as it is to have a house full of visitors, this can be an overwhelming time for your dog. If your only alternative is shutting the dog off in a different part of the house make sure you provide them with water, a comfy place to sleep and something to do such as a stuffed KONG or a snuffle mat filled with yummy treats. If your guests bring their dog with them, always supervise the dogs together and use your judgement on how the dogs are getting along.
Presents under the tree
It’s a good idea to check that a present does not contain anything remotely edible before placing it under the tree, leave presents that include chocolate, sweets or mince pies out of reach of your pup, as we all know that chocolate is toxic to dogs. This goes for chocolate tree hanging decorations, nobody wants a sick puppy on Christmas Eve. Feeding your tasty leftovers to your dog It’s always nice to offer your dog an extra tasty treat over Christmas but be careful what you choose to give them. Turkey and other meats can contain bones that are dangerous and can get stuck or cause blockages
to their digestive systems. Our human food can be so rich and salty that it may upset their sensitive tummies so a good idea is to create your own dog friendly Christmas dinner and stuff it in a Kong® to give to your dog while you tuck into your Christmas dinner.
Feeding your tasty leftovers to your dog It’s always nice to offer your dog an extra tasty treat over Christmas but be careful what you choose to give them. Turkey and other meats can contain bones that are dangerous and can get stuck or cause blockages to their digestive systems. Our human food can be so rich and salty that it may upset their sensitive tummies so a good idea is to create your own dog friendly Christmas dinner and stuff it in a Kong® to give to your dog while you tuck into your Christmas dinner.
Christmas decorations & festive foliage
It can be worth dog proofing your decorations, avoid hanging breakable decorations on lower branches of the tree, this goes for tinsel and Christmas lights too, we don’t want to tempt our dogs to play with them. If you have a real tree clean up the dropped needles regularly, they are sharp and can get stuck in your dogs paw. Some Christmas plants such as ivy, holly and poinsettias can be toxic to your dog, so keeping these out of reach up high on a unit or shelf is a good idea. Fireworks Although we’re way past Firework Night, many people let off fireworks over the holiday season. If you have a dog that is sensitive to the noise of fireworks, consider not leaving them on their own when you go off for your NYE celebrations!
Don’t forget to buy a present for your dog
We don’t need an excuse to spoil our dogs and especially at Christmas. Wrap up their gifts or make them their own stocking, allow them to enjoy the present madness in the morning.
Have a very Merry Christmas!