Christmas with kids and dogs can be a magical time. But the holidays can also be a busy time with lots of events, visitors and noise which can be overwhelming for both kids and dogs. This can lead to everyone getting overstimulated and stressed. Here’s our tips for creating a happy holidays for all the family.
Christmas with kids and dogs
Firstly, and most importantly, is safety. Planning and management are key to keeping everyone calm and happy, and ultimately preventing bites ( you can read more about preventing bites here). Make sure you’ve got your baby gates/crate at the ready so you can split up kids and dogs if things are getting a bit too lively. Aswell as that, you can chat to older kids about doggy body language. Kids Around Dogs have some great free resources.
Ensure that your dog has somewhere safe and quiet to go if they are getting overwhelmed. Plan for a bit of downtime for everyone (you included!) If the kids are too old for a nap, an hour of watching a film, doing puzzles or reading books can be great for giving everyone a bit of a break. Lastly, have a plan for Christmas with kids and dogs. Have a read of ours below.
Christmas Day at DDS
- Wake up and do stockings
- Breakfast for tiny human (Duke has his after his walk)
- Go for a big family walk
- Presents! Duke will have his breakfast in a pre-prepared frozen Toppl. This is to give him something to do to promote calm. We’ll give him his pressies when he’s finished with his brekkie.
- Visitors arrive – we are hosting Christmas dinner this year. Dan’s mum, 3 of his siblings, his niece and my parents will be joining us so there will be a total of 8 adults and 2 children in the house. This is pretty much Duke’s dream day as he LOVES his family, especially the grandparents. If your dog finds people arriving to be overwhelming, try popping them in another room with a stuffed kong or long lasting chew. This gives them something else to focus on and starts to build a positive association with people arriving. Visitors=tasty treats!
- Christmas Dinner- Whilst we tuck into our feast, Duke will be working on a pre-prepared snuffle mat. We’ll then ask him to settle on his bed.
Our visitors will then be heading off to see more family. The rest of our day will probably involve relaxing on the sofa watching a Christmas movie so we’ll encourage Duke to have a rest. After such a busy morning he should be happy to chill for a bit. Our son *should* nap around this time too, but if not we’ll just have some quiet time. If Duke is struggling to settle, we’ll give him a long lasting chew. We’ve stocked up on his favourite chews from Nell and Lola (they’re having a festive sale too, worth a look!) The rest of the day should be pretty chilled as we’ll just be doing our usual routine of dinner, bath and bed for our little one. I’ll give Duke his dinner in a Kong or Toppl toy. Depending on how he’s doing, we’ll give him a rest day (day off walks) on Boxing Day and do some scent work and training games at home instead.
Reminder of our holiday opening hours
We will be closed 21/12/22-02/01/23. We’ll then be open for walks and training as normal up until and including Tuesday 20th December. We will then be closed from Wednesday 21st December until we reopen on Tuesday 2nd January. I’ll still be checking our inbox through the break so if you have any questions or you’re looking to book in training or walks for the new year, just email us.