It’s the most wonderful time of the year and lots of us get to share that with our friends, family and our beloved dogs!
The season is filled with presents, Christmas food, chocolates, family greetings, alcohol and lots of outings to festive parties. How then, do we make sure we can celebrate the season safely with our dogs?
Can I give my dog a Christmas present?
First things first, provided your dog does not have any resource guarding issues – YES, of course you can give your dog presents under the tree! There is a lot of scaremongering these days when it comes to activities we allow our dogs to take part in. The general rule of thumb here would be, supervise your dog. Don’t leave your dogs unattended in a room where there are presents AT ALL.
Those incredible noses will be very intrigued by new smells and will go to extreme lengths to find out what’s inside. If temptation does become too much to bear – move the presents to somewhere more suitable, well out of reach.
You can even alleviate any worries about wrapper chewing by using edible dog paper and cards. As a side note, giving your dog their own edible present to open in a quiet space can even help them to decompress at a very overstimulating time. While the rest of the family open their gifts, your dog can be in a quiet space using their brain to unwrap the gift to reveal a nice long-lasting chew.
Toxic foods
This is a widely discussed topic so I will keep this one brief – Christmas cake, alcohol, mince pies….. all no go’s! Although Grandmas dog once ate a chocolate digestive and lived to be 100, it doesn’t mean your dog has the same tolerance. These foods are on the toxicity list because when dogs have had a reaction to them, they have been severe and on occasion devastating. Don’t take the risk.
Friends and family
There’s often lots of people coming in and out of the house at Christmas who your dog might not know. Dogs that are in a heightened, excited state can be unpredictable at times.
With this in mind, make sure you have doors shut, stair gates or barriers in place and anyone coming in and out is aware of your four-legged friend to avoid accidental escapes.
Sadly, some dogs are going to feel incredibly over whelmed at this time of year with all the changes and excitement. Remember to be empathetic. We can’t explain to our dogs what this magical and busy time is all about, but we can reassure them and put measures in place to make them feel more comfortable.
One final point
Christmas is a time to spend with the ones you love. Make sure this extends to your dogs. Include them in your Christmas movie marathons, take them for a wintery walk, give them their own Christmas dinner. They might not understand the concept of Christmas, but they certainly understand love, peace and time with their family.
Happy Christmas dog lovers!
Laura Varney is the Head of Training at Hunter’s Dog Holidays. The Burnham-based company is looking for new members to join its network of trusted, vetted, licensed dog boarders providing homes-from-home to dogs on holiday. Find out more about becoming a member here.
