Category: Holidays

#1 Holiday Tip

12/17/2025

Have a Backup Plan, or Two

If I could only give people one tip to help them have a happy holiday celebration with their dog, it would be this. Have a backup plan. Think about the what if scenarios, and come up with some options for handling those situations if they arise, and then be prepared to put them in action if you need to. Hopefully everything goes smoothly, but if it doesn't, then you can quickly move into plan B, or plan C if needed. Thinking through the possibilities in advance frees you up from having to do it in the moment, and allows you to make sure you have any needed management tools ready.

For Example

What if

Your puppy won't leave the resident adult dog alone?
Your dog keeps trying to grab food off the table?
Your nephew is afraid of dogs?
Your dog is afraid of the crawling toddler?
Your dog and the resident dog are having a ball chasing each other through the house?
Your dog isn't quick to warm up, and a visiting dog is coming?

Preparing for the Holidays

12/20/2021

Ingredients for success:

An appropriately exercised dog
A plan for how to handle greetings on arrival
Some quiet occupiers for your dog (i.e. a chew, food dispensing toy)
Naps! (See more below)
Treats
Training
Consideration of any special circumstances (i.e. other dogs, young kids present)
A back up management plan just in case

We all want to have that picture perfect Christmas with our dogs as part of our family festivities, but not in a stealing the turkey, pulling the tree over, knocking over Grandma and stealing the kid's presents kind of way. While some dogs are quite relaxed about changes, guests etc. and remain calm during the festivities, many dogs find some or all of these things quite interesting and exciting, and in the absence of guidance from you will do natural dog behaviours that result in problems (i.e. jumping, eating, grabbing). So let's look at how we can set these dogs up for sucess!

Avoiding the Vet on Christmas

12/18/2019

No one wants to have to take their dog to the vet on Christmas (and most vets are happy to spend the holiday with their families too) so how can we avoid an emergency visit over the holidays?

Watch what your dog eats.

Most people know that chocolate is toxic to dogs (if they eat enough of it) but did you know about some of these other problematic foods?

Xylitol - an artificial sweetener found in some products such as gum, candy, peanut butter and toothpaste. Consumption of xylitol can be fatal to dogs as it can cause sudden low blood sugar levels or liver toxicity.
Grapes and Raisins - some dogs can suffer kidney failure from eating grapes or raisins, while other dogs appear to be able to eat them with no issues. It's best not to experiment with grapes and raisins though, as the consequences could be severe.
Garlic and Onions - eating garlic and onions can cause Heinz body anemia, resulting in a low number of red blood cells.
Macadamia nuts - ingestion of these nuts can cause dogs to experience weakness, depression, vomiting, tremours and hyperthermia.
Caffeine - unused coffee grounds, coffee beans, tea bags and caffeine supplements can contain enough caffeine to harm your dog.
Chocolate - it's not the chocolate so much as the theobromine and caffeine that the chocolate contains that is the problem. The darker the chocolate, the greater the amount of theobromine it contains and the small the amount that the dog would need to eat to have symptoms. With white chocolate being the least risky, milk chocolate, dark chocolate and then baker's chocolate being the most risky.

What is your dog doing this Halloween?

9/28/2018

Photo by Bekir Dönmez on Unsplash

As the air turns frosty and the leaves start falling it means that Halloween is not far away.

A night of fun and candy, children dressed up in a variety of costumes Halloween can be a very fun evening. But, not all dogs enjoy superheros, princesses and an assortment of ghosts and goblins showing up on their doorstep.

So, how can we help our dogs? First, start by taking a good objective look at your dog. Does your dog enjoy children? Does your dog take new things in stride, or will the costumes cause concern even though the children would be fine if they were dressed normally? Does your dog enjoy children a little too much - bouncing and jumping, pulling at their costumes? Will your dog be into the candy or bolt out the door?

Which options you choose will depend on your situation and your dog.

Carry on like it's a normal evening, your dog will hang out with you without any worry of accidental candy ingestion, jumping on children or running out the door.
Refresh your dog's skills. "Leave it" and "Go to Mat" can be very helpful in these situations.
Practice your dog's ability to remain calm when there is knocking on the door or ringing of doorbells.

Consider using some management tools such as a baby gate to keep everyone safe and help your dog be successful this Halloween. This can be particularly helpful for young dogs or newly adopted dogs. A successful Halloween this year is great experience to have under their belts for next year's festivities.
Plan to set your dog up away from the commotion with some favorite chew toys, a special treat and some background music/TV to help with the strange noises. Let your dog relax during the few hours kids are arriving at the door. Some dogs would rather not be involved in all the commotion, or want to be too involved, and hanging out with their own special Halloween treat is a better option for them.

Photo by Charles Deluvio □□□□ on Unsplash

Whatever option you choose, thinking about it in advance of the actual night will help make your Halloween enjoyable and less stressful than just winging it.

Here's to a safe and enjoyable Halloween for all.
Rosemary