Are you prepared for visitors and your dog during the holiday season?

Holidays are hard for everyone. Between excitement, being social with family members for long periods of time, and delicious food that makes you sleepy – many people can have a bit of a harder time acting socially appropriate during the holiday season. It’s only fair to give our canine companions the same considerations.

During the holidays walks & activities are cut short, there is a lot more excitement in general and a lot less patience. This doesn’t bode well for even the best behaved dogs.

Things to think about:

Eating –

It might be all well and good that your dog drools under the table while you eat a regular meal with your housemates. But, this doesn’t usually transfer well while hosting a holiday dinner party. Usually the in-laws are not so keen on the drool that pools on their feet while they eat their turkey. Kids are notorious for handing out the less desired food to the dog, while sitting at a super low table and more or less unattended from the adults. Revisiting your ‘place’ cue before the holidays can really come in handy here. Giving your dog a safe place that is away from the action (but maybe in your line of view) can help negate all of these little issues & make them the ‘good dog’ at the party. If your dog does not know this cue yet – that’s ok. Focus on making them comfortable behind a baby gate or in their kennel ahead of time. You can prepare Kongs or Toppl’s with their food frozen beforehand to also give them something to do.

Doorways –

In our house there is a lot of coming and going when people arrive. Typically, on the way in arms are full of gifts precariously balanced on top of each other. The last thing you want is your dog to jump all over them, rip wrapping paper – or heaven forbid break someones gift. You’ll also want to decrease your dogs ability to sneak out the door and follow their favorite visitors back to their cars. Teaching your dog to move away from the door & wait to be released can be a god send during the holiday gatherings. *You can check out our Youtube video on door greetings here*

Gift Opening –

The vision of your dog calmly sitting or laying down while the family sits around the tree will not be a reality if they never have practice holding their positions under distracting environments. Take this time as a refresher, practice things like cuing a down at a distance, with the dog behind you, while your sitting on the floor. Remember that the day of Christmas will be exciting for everyone – higher arousal means a harder time to perform known cues. Help yourself out by having an additional game plan if your pooch proves to find this environment too hard to listen and stay calm in.

The more prep your dog has for the planned activities during this season the more everyone will find things enjoyable. Focus on achievable goals with realistic expectations. If your dog is really struggling with a behaviour that is vital to everyone’s enjoyment, make sure you have a plan B to relieve some tension. Help yourself out by being smart about the ways you exercise your dog during your limited time during the holiday prep. Our post next week will give you some tips about this so be sure to check back in.