Pet Haven

So Christmas Day with kids is a day of noise, excitement, noise, paper, shrieking, laughing –and did I mention noise?  For dogs this is a day that needs to be a little controlled so that they don’t get overly excited which could lead to an accident.

A dog doesn’t always understand what’s happening.  It’s not always able to distinguish between rough play and an attack under normal circumstances never mind when it’s on sensory overload.  A dog is also susceptible to having bladder/bowel accidents and barking incidents when it feels insecure, so whilst you don’t want to plan the joy out of Christmas Day, you do need to have some kind of plan that will remove your dog from the “action” for at least parts of the day.

Start off first thing in the morning when the children first get up.  Have their gifts in a part of the room where your dog doesn’t usually sleep.  Keep the dog’s area clear and make sure the children don’t litter it with toys and paper as they unwrap their packages.  If they are starting to get loud, and you see your dog is pricking up his ears or getting increasingly interested in the proceedings, this would be a good time to take him for a short walk, or at least take him to another room and give him a drink of water and let him calm down.

Whilst you prepare Christmas lunch, have someone take your dog for a long walk.  When he comes in, give him a drink and something to eat, and then let him rest in a room that isn’t going to be full of people.  Leave a lamp on as it gets dark quickly in the winter and you don’t want him feeling anxious.  After lunch is over, and the dishes cleared away, open the door to where your dog is asleep and let him come out when he’s ready – but leave the door ajar so that if he thinks it’s getting too noisy he has somewhere to escape too.  

Throughout the afternoon and evening, remember that your dog needs to go to the bathroom!  Even if it’s just a 5 minute walk around the block, or putting him out in the garden to do what’s necessary, make sure that his needs are attended to and you’ll know that if he’s hanging around, it’s because of something he wants rather than needs and you can either ignore him or take him into another room if he’s disturbing people.

If you’re having a party later at night, follow the same routine as for lunch, a long walk and then drink, food and a quiet lit place to sleep.  The last thing he needs after a day of unfamiliar chaos is to be in the midst of a very loud crowd of people – this will unsettle him and could result in him either having a bladder or bowel accident, or becoming aggressive and barking.  Take time to visit him in his quiet area throughout the party time just to pat him on the head and reassure him that everything’s ok.  

Christmas should be a happy time for everyone, and with a little planning and time on the day, your dog should have just as good a time as everyone else.

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