Preparing for Christmas with your dog

Our tips and advice on preparing for a safe, calm and merry Christmas with your dog. 

Festive food and drink

There’s a number of foods that are popular at Christmas time that can be toxic to dogs. These include:

• Onions, garlic, leeks and shallots (found in stuffing)
• Mincemeat, currants, raisins and sultanas (found in mince pies)
• Cooked bones (these can be a choking hazard)
• Chocolate
• Alcohol

Be sure to keep these foods out of your dogs reach and contact your vet if they do eat any. 

Christmas Decorations 

A few things to consider when decorating your home for the holidays:

• Real Christmas tree- real trees can be hazardous to dogs as some fir trees can produce oils that are mildly toxic. Opt for a fake one or keep the tree somewhere your dog can’t access. Also, dropping tree needles can irritate your dogs paws and get caught up in fluffy coats. 
• Avoid putting gifts under the tree before the big day, especially if you’ve got something wrapped up for your dog! You could also have your tree behind a tree guard or hearth gate. Also useful if you’ve got a curious, bouncy dog who may accidently knock the tree over. 
• Fairy lights, baubles and tinsel can all be dangerous to your dog if they chew them up and chocolate tree decorations can be toxic too. 
• Festive plants such as Poinsettia, mistletoe, holly and ivy are all toxic to dogs so keep these out of your dogs reach.

Holiday Visitors

If you are expecting visitors over the holidays, it’s worth thinking in advance about what you can to help your dog enjoy the experience too. Whether your dog finds guests very exciting (like Duke) or very stressful, making a plan beforehand can help give you the confidence that you know how to help your dog stay calm. 

• If you know you’re expecting visitors, ensure your dog has had sufficient exercise beforehand. A quiet walk somewhere in nature where they can just sniff and relax is ideal (known as a decompression walk). 
• Prepare some toys and activities in advance for your dog that get them engaged in calming behaviours such as sniffing, chewing or licking. Snuffle mats/balls, long lasting chews such as Pizzles and stuffed kongs or Lickimats are all great options that promote calm. Read our blog post for more tips on teaching your dog to be calm. 
• Don’t force your dog to interact with guests, especially if they are new people. There’s nothing wrong with keeping your dog in another room or in their crate if they are happier there. 

Stress free Christmas with your dog

• Don’t dress your dog up if they don’t like it. Most dogs are just likely to find it stressful. If you can’t resist, just go for a festive bandana that can be tucked into their collar.
• If your dog has a strict routine, try to stick to it over the festive period if you can. If not, make sure their needs are met ie they’re getting sufficient exercise, mental stimulation and enough undisturbed rest. 
• Make sure your dog can access their safe place and has the freedom to take themselves off there if they want to. 
• Often this time of year leads to dogs being over-stimulated in all the wrong ways and under exercised. Make sure you know the early signs your dog is getting stressed -have a read of our body language post here.

Christmas Day

• If Father Christmas has treated your dog to gifts, have a word with the wrapping elves to ensure your dog’s presents are not wrapped up in the same paper that the rest of the family’s gifts are wrapped in. It’ll be difficult for your dog to understand he’s not allowed to shred them all!
• Standard wrapping paper can be toxic to dogs anyway, so try wrapping your dogs gifts in brown paper. Or you could do what we do and just give Duke his pressies as they are-he finds the sellotape a bit confusing!
• Whilst you’re peeling the brussel sprouts, take 5 minutes to prepare some enrichment for your dog for the big day. I’ll be stuffing a Toppl toy with Duke’s raw food and popping it in the freezer for him to work through whilst we tuck into our Christmas dinner. I will also be preparing a snuffle mat for him to do whilst we open our presents. Check out the Canine Enrichment group on facebook for ideas for DIY enrichment.

Christmas with your dog

• If your dog is on regular medication, make sure you’re stocked up before Christmas, especially with the postal strikes happening. 
• Make sure you have the emergency vets number saved on your phone, just in case.
• Plan for your dog’s care in advance if you’re going away. If you’re going out for the celebrations, don’t leave your dog for too long. The Blue Cross suggests a maximum of four hours for adult dogs, but this will really depend on your individual dog. If bringing your dog along, keep expectations low, bring their bed/safe place and plenty of tasty treats to reward them for their patience.

Lastly, we at Doherty Dog Services would like to wish you and your dog a very Merry Christmas! Have a very happy holidays.