Before you have that holiday party, prep your dog
How not preparing your dog for strangers can ruin the Christmas and New Year’s festivities
Your family is all vaccinated, and you’re looking forward to inviting them over for the holidays. Halloween was too chaotic, what with trying to figure out how to safely give candy to trick-or-treaters while fumbling with a costume. So Thanksgiving or Christmas probably make more sense. You’ve planned the guest list, the food, arranged the holiday decor and even started your Christmas shopping. But you have another problem. You’ve been in social isolation for so long, and some of your family members or friends don’t know your dog. And your dog isn’t always the friendliest around strangers. So how do you arrange this four-legged to two-legged holiday meetup?
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Here are nine tips to keep in mind before the festivities start.
Try to make sure guests arrive separately. This may seem like a bizarre rule, especially with food needing to be on the table at a set time and temperature. But a crowd of people all coming in at once can overwhelm your pet. Give your dog a chance to sniff a couple of people at a time. By the time the next set comes in, she’s gotten used to seeing the prior set. But if they do all come at once, make sure to tell them ahead of time how to interact with your dog. No one should come running up to her, fluffing her head, scooping her up or chasing her around. Let the dog get used to the humans, not the other way around. (That is, unless you don’t plan on keeping your pet in a backyard, basement or separate room the whole night.)
Recommended Read: “Before you buy a Christmas puppy ~ Shopping pet tips to keep in mind for the holidays and beyond”
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Give your dog a place to escape. About that last line: That’s not a bad thing. If your dog gets overwhelmed by all of the excitement, make sure she has a safe space to rest. Even if it’s a crate in your open-door closet or moving her dog bed to a clean space in another room, give her some place to be away from people trying to pet her and sit near her. While some dogs are socialites, others are over the attention before it even starts.
Check to find out if anyone has pet allergies or is afraid of dogs. Cynophobia is a real thing, and people who are afraid of dogs don’t want to hear your dismissive attitude about how your dog “would never bite.”