Ideas for a smooth Holiday Season

[Guest maya's mom]

Hi all. So, I am looking for some tips on how to have a smooth holiday season with a dog in the house. Maya is 10 months now, and will turn 1 year old a few days before Christmas. I am really not sure what to expect from her...........I think my biggest concern is dealing with the tree. We don't do a ton of decorating, and don't have any children, but my husband will not budge from wanting to have a LIVE tree. We have been doing a lot of training with Maya, and she is really progressing. We have no regular "issues" with her in the house, and she is never out of our sight when we are home, and is crated when we are not. Just would like some ideas for how to handle her around the tree, and presents, so that nothing naughty happens! Also, the house will be full of people on Christmas Eve, and I am a little nervous about that, mainly b/c we do an appetizer party, and there will be food sitting out all night. This has happened once before, and while she normally doesn't beg, and doesn't get human food, she was very interested in the table, and I ended up having to crate her until we were done eating. I know I can crate her (which she has no problems with normally), but I think that's kind of cruel to do that to her when she will hear all of us, and will probably whine to get out. Plus, we will leave the food out the whole time people are there, unlike just having a dinner which only lasts a small amount of time. Any stories of how you've all handled holidays and a new dog would be greatly apprecaite. Thanks!

[BustopherJones]

If your BC is ball-crazy (as many BC's seem to be), hang any round ornaments high enough on the tree so that they are out of the dog's reach. As far as the interaction between Annie and holiday visitors, we have a simple policy: if you don't like dogs, don't come. Those who do come are asked not to feed the dog, as she has a very delicate digestive system (true, not a fabrication). Annie does sit with us quietly when we eat, but lies under the table; again, if people are bothered by this, they don't have to come. (Most of our friends and family are dog lovers anyway, so it usually is not a problem.)

[silhouettestable]

I have 7 large dogs in the house, ranging from about 45 pounds to 92 pounds and we always have a live tree with all the trimmings and presents underneath. We tuck it into a corner in the living room, where it's somewhat protected from being bumped and the dogs pretty much ignore it. Was more of a problem when we had a cat that would go under it away from the dogs and to drink from the tree's water, then the dogs would try to creep under a bit and lie there watching the cat. I think that if she's never out of your sight normally when you're home and you normally crate your her when you're not there shouldn't be any big issues.

 

Something that has always worked well for me, for keeping the dogs preoccupied and out of the way when we have holiday dinners is to buy them each a big new smoked bone. The dogs get so busy working on their bones that they don't bother anyone, they just all lay around chewing. Some will even take their bone and retire to the bedroom to chew it, or down the hallway. Those bones are so yummy smelling, just like a smoked ham that I usually put them in the freezer ahead of time to keep from tantalizing the dogs since I buy them a few days or weeks ahead of time.

[Lenajo]

Teach her how to stay in the crate now, before the season starts, without whining or fussing while the family is in the house.

 

Large holiday parties are full of temptation and chaos for even the most mature and social of dogs. They are simply *not* a place for a half trained puppy. At best someone will ruin your training, at worst she will do something that comes naturally to an unattended puppy and everyone will be very unhappy or very sad.

 

She should get a good long play period that finishes about an hour before the party, then off to the crate in a quiet room. Cover the crate up and tell her good-night.

 

Then go have some human fun

 

If you like you can bring her out at the end of the party when the food has been taken up and do a bit of quiet training when everyone is more mellow. Note I said mellow, not drunk. I can't think of a worst group of trainers than a pack of eggnog soaked guests LOL

 

eta - we don't let the young dogs have unattended access to the tree for safety. The old dogs have learned to leave it alone.

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

I was lucky enough to have Daisy for christmas at 3 months old. She was a devil and curious about everything! At least you've got some training under your belt. Daisy had a huge problem/fixation with poking things with her nose (still does actually) so any and all ornaments that were low enough on the tree got a good poke from her quite frequently. I think she was trying to figure out what they were and if she could play with them. Since most of my ornaments were glass, I did not want her to play with them or eat any that fell on the floor. My simple solution to this was to sprinkle cayenne pepper on the lower branches of the tree and she wouldn't go near it. Now at 4 the tree isn't even something she cares about.

 

We usually go else where for christmas, but in the even we have people over, they are fellow dog lovers and I don't usually invite people who don't like dogs over to my house anyway. Giving her a smoked bone is a fantastic idea, we also do that, it keeps them occupied most of the time anyway!

[bc4ever]

Scooter was about a year old when we had our first Christmas with him. Since we (I?) put up 4 trees and decorate every room in the house, I was more than a little concerned. He's always been very sociable, so we found that putting him on leash and bringing him into the living room while everyone was opening gifts worked well. He wasn't locked away (something I'm not real fond of unless absolutely necessary--how do they learn anything that way?) and behaved quite well. We were able to monitor his behavior and remove him if he got too hyper. He's never been interested in the trees or decorations for some reason. He also doesn't beg for food, a definite plus. Friends and family know not to feed him. I suggest just including him in as much of the holiday as possible, as long as he's safe and doesn't get over tired. I think I might caution you about the real tree though. I seem to remember hearing that some animals like to drink the water from the tree stand which can make them sick. Also, watch for ornament hooks that sometimes drop off the tree. I was so paranoid about that I vacuumed several times a day near the trees! Just keep a watchful eye on him. We also bought him his own stocking with goodies in it. That kept him busy and he knows now when we hang the stockings which one is his! The holidays can be hectic. Try to keep to his schedule as much as possible. And don't forget to have fun! Our first Christmas with Scooter was the best!

[Guest maya's mom]

Thanks everyone for the replies so far. We are really excited to be spending our first Christmas with Maya. Just bought new stockings for all of us yesterday!

[Lenajo]

(something I'm not real fond of unless absolutely necessary--how do they learn anything that way?)

 

A lot of raising a great adult dog is *preventing* the puppy from learning the wrong things.

 

Holiday parties are a very small part of the year. A dog that misses out on the potential "joys" (eating table scraps that make them puke, guests that encourage jumping up and other naughtiness, getting let out the door into the street by mistake, pancreatitis or seizures after drinking a few glasses of unattended adult beverages, surgery from eating tinfoil or the butcher knife he swiped off the table edge, etc...) is missing nothing he needs. You will get much better socialization and training done if you put the puppy up doing the chaos of parties, and get it out when you can train and reinforce proper behavior.

 

Some people can supervise a puppy and host at the same time no matter what the size/activity level of the party. I know I can't. My advice to anyone considering it is that if you would turn your less than 5 year old child loose during that party and consider it "safe". Most responsible people recoil in horror at the idea of the child being treated that way...yet they won't hesitate to let their equally mature dog do exactly that.

 

The old saying applies... "better safe than sorry"... and also "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

 

eta: Mayasmom we have stockings for the dogs too! We have a huge 4 footlong one with pockets that is filled with treats and goodies. Several of ours are also quite adept at unwrapping their own gifts

[Root Beer]

Would he consent to a smaller live tree that you could put up on a table or something? If not, I would actually put some kind of barrier around the tree if the dog had free access to the room.

 

I am always careful to supervise my young dogs around the Christmas tree, but last year I fell asleep on the futon one night and woke up to find that Dean had shredded and eaten a good bit of an ornament. Thankfully, nothing bad came of it, but after that the tree was up on a table. My husband wasn't happy about it, but I didn't care. This year it will go up on the table again, and we'll see the following year.

 

Be careful about giftwrapping items. Sometimes people attach things to gifts with little bits of elastic. In our house, I have to make sure those things go right in the trash because my husband will leave them lying around.

 

Also, I do not allow live Pointsettias in my house. Even if kept up high, the leaves tend to fall off after a while. I take all Pointsettias that I receive as gifts in to my office at work.

[bc4ever]

Scooter was and still is supervised. If anything, I'd say we're almost too cautious with him most of the time. We would never put him in harms way for a "teachable moment." But, on the other hand, I've learned a lot by just watching him explore and learn what things are. You have to know your own dog and his personality. Scooter is a real "party animal!" LOL!

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

Also, I do not allow live Pointsettias in my house. Even if kept up high, the leaves tend to fall off after a while. I take all Pointsettias that I receive as gifts in to my office at work.

 

That was an excellent point Kristine! I would also add to the warnings of holiday time.....keep them away from tinsel. I don't even use it anymore. If a dog eats tinsel, it can get intertwined in their intestines and be potentially fatal!

[Northof49]

I find I have more problems with my cats than my dogs. I get a small tree about 5 feet and put it into a corner of my livingroom. When I am not home I put a 4 foot Xpen aroiund it and I don't have to worry about the dogs. I don't use tinsel mainly becuase of the cats. I am also able to baby gate my livingroom off from my kitchen so with my puppy this year if I am not in the livingroom with her, she will be in the kitchen with me with the gate shut.

[somewhereinusa]

When I was young (a LONG time ago), mom put the tree in the playpen. It seems I used to climb the tree. We don't usually give parties, but quite a few family members show up. I have always enjoyed having my dogs help unwrap my gifts. Dogs are always with me and are sometimes the life of the party. I expect Molly will be excited about the tree, but with proper supervision I don't really foresee a problem. If something arises, I'll deal with it at the time.