'Tis the Season

One look around or a trip to any store will let you know we are well into the Christmas/Holiday season. This brings shopping trips, decorations, house guests, large trees inside, noisy gifts and of course lots of excitement and joy. The tree and decorations alone are enough to stress some sensitive dogs out. Some dogs will be fine with everything, right up until the house guests start to arrive. Others will sleep the whole season away wondering why her silly humans are running mad! Before diving head first into the season take a step back and think about how all of this affects your beloved dog.

Think about your dog's limits.

If one or two guests make Rover spin out or act up, consider a long walk and some additional training before the event. Also use his crate. We are all crating our dogs to help him avoid stress, right? It's a safe place, it's his, and he has a Kong filled with food and peanut butter. Make sure the crate is in a quiet room.

Before bringing that scary tree into your living room, take your dog on leash and introduce her to it outside. Yep, I said introduce. Bring treats and let her go at her own pace. Give lots of praise and use a happy voice. Once she is ok, go ahead and move the tree in.

The latest gadget, one more gift, forgot Uncle Schmedlap was coming to stay for a week...all reasons for us to stress. Did you know our dogs know we're stressed before we do? Yep again. Way before we do. Our body's give off tell tale signs that are very obvious to our pups. Take a few minutes a day to chill out and remember...breathe, relax, calm. breathe, relax, calm.

Your dog will thank you in the long run, I promise! Don't forget...training for 3 to 5 minutes a few times a day does wonders. It strengthens our bond with our dog, it builds common vocabulary, shows the dog you are a good leader, it helps to build the dog's manners and confidence and lastly, it helps make them tired!

A tired dog is a happy dog,
Mike

p.s. Table scraps can and will overload your dogs tummy. They don't have the same bacteria or digestive track that we do. One too many treats from the kitchen could lead to you being outside all night, a ruined carpet or an expensive trip to the Vet. Remind your guests...Don't feed the dog!