5 Tips to Help You Prepare for Christmas With a Dog

How do you prepare for Christmas with a dog?

Can you believe Christmas is almost here?  It’s hard for me to process that another year is almost come and gone – it went by so fast!  If your dog has never experienced Christmas with your family, then this will be an exciting first Christmas for you all!  If you’ve celebrated more than one Christmas with your dog, then I hope these tips still provide a great reminder. This holiday comes only once a year, so it’s always good to prepare for Christmas with your dog 🙂

5 Tips to Help You Prepare for Christmas With a Dog

1. Watch your dog around your tree.  Three reasons:
   • Housebreaking: If your dog has never seen a Christmas tree before, bringing a live tree inside can confuse them a little bit with housebreaking, if you know what I mean 😉
     • What do you do?  Keep your dog on a leash if they are not or newly-housebroken so you can catch them in the act and take them immediately outside.  If your dog has been housebroken for awhile and just has a lapse in judgement, keep an eye on them when you’re home and correct as soon as they go to squat/lift a leg and get them outside immediately (again, the leash can help so you’re not chasing them).  Either way, keep a regular food and water routine so you can estimate when they are going to need to go outside. ALWAYS praise for going outside versus in the house.
   • Chewing the tree/lights/ornaments: Both real and artificial trees can present problems, each for their own reasons. Real trees can be considered mildly toxic.  Fir tree oils, for example, can irritate their mouth and stomach, causing excessive drooling and vomiting. Artificial trees are made of materials that can also release toxins when they are chewed, or dogs may not be able to pass what they’ve ingested.  Lights obviously pose an electrocution problem if they are plugged in, and ornaments can get ingested and harm the stomach/intestines (or your dog might not be able to pass them through their system).
     • What do you do? Monitor your dog around your tree(s) – whether on leash or keeping a VERY watchful eye on them.  Correct them if they go to chew and redirect them to an appropriate toy/chewy they can use instead. Praise for chewing on appropriate things.  If your dog gets bored with its own toys easily, rotate the toys every day or so, so that only a few toys are out at a time.  You could also spray your tree or ornaments with a bitter spray if your dog doesn’t like them.
   • The tree water itself : Your tree can leak sap into the water while it sits.  And, depending where you got it from, there also might be fertilizers, pesticides, or preservative can be present as well.  All of these can make your dog sick if they drink from the water.  How sick depends on what and how much is ingested.
     • What do you do?  Keep your dog on a leash while you’re home to make sure they can’t get to the water, cover the tree stand water with aluminum foil to discourage sneaking a drink if you don’t keep them on leash, confine your pet when you’re not home so they can’t get to the water.
2. Watch your dog around other holiday plants.  We mentioned Christmas trees above, but there are other plants that can be toxic to your dog if ingested.
   • Poinsettias – You probably have heard of this one before, but it always bears repeating. It is only mildly toxic if ingested, but it will cause nausea or vomiting.
     • What do you do? Best just to keep these off the floor, if you can.  If not, use a “leave it” command, spray with bitter spray, or sprinkle a little red pepper to deter them away.
   • Mistletoe and Holly – These can be mildly to severely toxic.  Call your vet or poison control center for specific advice.
     • What do you do?  Same as above 🙂
   • Lilies and Daffodils – Really, any plant in the lily family (like the Amaryllis that is popular right now).  The bulbs that people give this time of year can be extremely toxic, and even the daffodil plant when eaten can be toxic if ingested.
     • What do you do? If you give/receive the bulbs as a gift, put them out of the way where your pet can’t get to them.  If you already have them planted in your yard, sprinkle some red pepper to deter curious noses (and the chewing that usually follows).  Correct your dog if you see them go near the plants or start digging up bulbs and redirect them to an appropriate toy, then praise them for using the toy.
3. Watch your dog around other decorations/food.  Christmas trees aren’t the only things you have to be careful of with your dog 😉
   • Christmas tinsel, artificial garlands, wrapping paper, candles – these can all pose a temptation for curious noses that can lead to GI problems, puncture, or blockage if ingested.
     • What do you do? Try to be smart about where you put your decorations.  Even if you have a dog that might not chew something, wagging tails can knock over lighted candles.  Monitor your dog around the other decorations/presents, correct if they start to chew, replace/redirect with an appropriate toy, and praise them for using the toy.
   • Holiday foods – This time of year brings a lot of new, fun smells that can be tempting to your pup.  But, they can also make their stomachs upset.
     • What do you do?  Keep foods back away from the edge of the counter, and don’t leave them unattended on coffee tables, etc.  Monitor your dog when you do have food on coffee tables, correct them if they go for it, and redirect them to an appropriate toy.  Or, use the “place” command if you are eating at, or away from, the table.
4. Holiday guests can pose problems. Do you have family coming to visit? How does your dog do when they come over?  Besides greeting guests properly, some dogs don’t do well with the change in routine.
   • Greeting guests at the door – Does your dog dart out of the door or get underfoot? What about jumping all over your guests as they come in?
     • What do you do?  Teach your dog the “wait at door command” and “OFF” command to keep back away from the door to let people in, and not to jump when people are in the house.  You can also teach the “place” command to use while guests come in until your dog calms down.
   • Your dog gets out of sync with the change in routine – Change in routine can make some dogs change their eating habits, bathroom habits, etc.
     • What do you do?  Try to keep the same food/water schedule at all times.  Pick the food bowl up after 10-15 minutes, add that food to the next meal (so they get their set amount for the day), and put the food bowl down for the next meal.  They will learn to eat when the food is there and won’t go hungry, I promise 😉    Getting them on a regular food routine will help regulate the bathroom, too.
5. Christmas day is chaos. The day is out of routine and crazy, anyway, but add an excited dog in the mix…
   • Your dog is getting in the middle of everything – Wrapping paper, your kids playing with toys, etc.
     • What do you do? I have a stocking for my dog with things to keep her occupied. If that’s  not your “thing”, that’s fine – but do have some new toys, toys they haven’t seen in awhile, or puzzle toys you can use to keep them busy.  Give them one at a time and space them out over the course of the morning.

I hope this helps, and that you all have a wonderful Christmas celebrating with your family (two- and four-legged!).

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