By Diana Hutchinson
Dogs are mischievous animals and just like people, they like getting involved in the holiday cheer.
That’s one reason why you need to make preparations for your pets while taking care of other things that you may need for the holidays. It’s essential to make preparations ahead of time.
So, what do you need to do this holiday to keep your buddies well-behaved?
In a way, dogs are like kids and you need to lay down some rules to make sure that they will have a fun and safe holiday with you and your family.
1. Teach your dog to respond to the “sit” command.
It’s the holidays and sometimes dogs love messing up with everybody. If this is the case, you need to make sure that your dog knows how to behave. Hence, you need to teach them the most basic commands like “sit.”
When your canine knows the basic commands, it would be easier to make them behave especially when there are guests. It’s also easier to manage dogs if they know the basic commands.
2. Involve your family in the training process.
If you have a dog that lives at home, it’s also important to let your family members help you train your canine. This is important and useful so they will know the right way to handle your dog. During the holidays, your attention will be divided and some family members should be able to handle the dog when you’re busy with something else.
Aside from this, your dog will also know that every member of the family deserves their respect.
3. Put your dog on a leash when the guests arrive.
Is your dog always excited to see new people? This can be a problem during the holidays. If this is the case, you need to leash your dog at least for the duration of the holidays.
This is not just a good idea to keep your dogs well-behaved; you can also rest assured that they are not harmed. This way, it would be easier to keep track of where your dog is at any given time.
4. Keep your dog in another room where guests won’t be coming in.
This one of the easiest and most logical choice to keep dogs secured during the holidays. In the same way that you want your cats to be in a quiet room with their litter box, automatic pet feeder, and cat water fountain, you should also consider this as an option for your canines. Dogs also need some quiet time away from all the excitement.
Make sure that your dog has everything that it needs. By keeping them in one room, you can go ahead with your holiday plans without constantly worrying about your canine. Plus, your dog won’t be bothered by too much foot traffic from guests which is great when they tend to be skittish around other people.
5. As much as possible, don’t let guests feed your pet.
Giving table scraps to dogs is a big no-no. Keep in mind that there are some ingredients in food that are not healthy for your canines. You should try to warn your guests not to give food to your dogs especially when your pet has a medical condition.
In a way, you need to ask your guests to abide by certain rules just like in a zoo where they can’t feed the animals.
6. Make sure your dog is in a quiet place.
Dogs may like attention but they also need a quiet place. This is especially true when you are planning to have fireworks and such. Dogs can become anxious and stressed over the sudden change in its environment.
In some cases, dogs might misbehave or be uneasy because of this. All the excitement can be bad for your canine and to avoid any of these, you need to look for a quiet place for it. Looking for a room in the house where you can leave them is also a good idea.
If there is no spare room inside the house, you can consider leaving them in a facility or a place where they will feel comfortable.
7. Teach only one command a time.
If you are preparing for the holidays by teaching your dog about the best way to behave, then dog training is the best option. You need to let your dog learn basic commands especially “stay” and “leave.” However, you cannot force your canine to learn these things all at once
There will always be a learning curve and your dog will need the time to learn one command after the other. So, don’t pressure your canine to learn everything all at once.
Holidays with your pets need not be a stressful time for you. As long as you train your dog ahead of time, it would be easier to control them during the season.
How do you keep your dogs behaved during the holidays? Tell us all about it in the comments section and be sure to click share.
Diana Hutchinson is the founder of Tinpaw.com. She’s a pet lover, especially dogs and cats and truly believes “A home without a pet is just a house.”
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