Christmas season is well and truly upon us! While we all love to include our dogs in as much as possible during the festive period, we also need to be mindful of their comfort zones and be sure to keep them happy. Here’s our top tips to help keep them calm even with a house full of visitors and fun
- Give him breaks. Make sure your dog has his own safe space to relax in. A chew in a crate in another room or something else to keep him occupied like an activity toy or a lickimat (see our posts on canine enrichment) can be enough to avoid wearing out your pup. Especially when you’re having people over or even Christmas morning itself when excitement levels are at their highest.
- Monitor his stress levels. Keep social times limited and be sure he has lots of down time. The change in routine and all the extra people, lights and smells can be enough to higher your dog’s anxiety levels or cause over excitement.
- Don’t force him potentially stressful situations. If he doesn’t like being dressed up or wearing antlers or going to a bustley Christmas Market, dont make him. Keep an eye on his calming signals to ensure he is not getting stressed in certain situations. Calming signals are stressors dogs exhibit in their body language to let other dogs and us know they are uncomfortable in a situation. Calming signals can be exhibited in stiff or rigid body posture, showing the whites of their eyes (whale eye), excessive lip licking, staring/fixed eye contact, moving or walking away to avoid a particular stressor. Keep an eye on your dog and remove him from a situation if he starts to get stressed. He needs down time and it’s upto us to keep our dogs content and comfortable.
- Be aware of festive foods that are toxic to our dogs. Christmas cake, mince pies and puddings all contact currents and raisens that are poisonous poisonous our dogs. While mistletoe, Christmas tree pine needles and poinsettias are also toxic if ingested. Be aware of biscuit tins left open or your dog drinking from the Xmas tree water bucket too. Your dog can enjoy some festive foodstuffs, however, like carrots, potatoes without too much seasoning or salt and small amounts of turkey without the skin.
- Try keep to your dog’s routine as normal as possible with long walks and normal rest times to help him cope with all the extra hustle and bustle the Christmas season brings. Be sure to enjoy the cosy nights in with a Christmas film too!
