🎄🐾 Holiday Safety for Your Hound 🐾🎄
The holiday season is full of excitement, but it can also be overwhelming for our dogs, especially for sensitive breeds like galgos. From loud noises, new people and unfamiliar scents, there’s a lot to take in, and the stress can be hard for them to handle. The inevitable changes to your daily routine and surroundings can also be confusing and pose unexpected dangers for your dog. Here are a few simple tips to help make sure our hounds are safe and calm during this busy time of year, so everyone can enjoy the festive period. 🐕🦺💖
Here are some common holiday stressors for dogs:
🎶 Loud noises: The sounds of holiday parties, music, and fireworks can cause anxiety. Sudden noises like Christmas crackers can startle your dogs so look for no-bang options. Ensure you have a cozy area set up for your dog in a quieter part of the house and make sure your dog can easily leave a room if they wish, so they don’t feel trapped.
🍂 New scents and smells: The aroma of holiday meals, candles, and decorations can be overwhelming. Keep in mind that strong scents might agitate your dog or cause confusion. Their sense of smell is much better than ours so even things like guests’ perfumes will be a sensory overload for our dogs.
🚪 Increased activity: Extra guests, kids running around, and furniture or decorations being moved can make your dog feel unsettled. Be sure to give your dog the option of a calm, quiet retreat away from the action.
🍽️ Non-dog friendly foods: Holiday meals often bring tempting but dangerous foods like chocolate, raisins, fatty foods and cooked bones. Be extra cautious to keep harmful food out of reach and make sure your guests know not to feed your dog things they cannot have. It’s important to check if presents contain edible items before putting them under the tree. Also be sure to carefully check the ingredients of any treats your guests may buy your dog, especially watch out for rawhide which is very dangerous. Have some treats/chews for your guests to give your dog instead if you don’t like the look of what they have bought.
🚪 Doors and gates left open: With visitors coming and going, there’s an increased risk of your dog accidentally getting out. Be vigilant about keeping doors and gates securely closed and make sure your gusts are also aware. Baby gates can be helpful to keep your dogs away from the front door or separate from guests or children, without shutting doors which can be distressing for a lot of dogs.
New environments: If you are visiting friends or relatives over the holidays, take your dogs bed so you can create a safe place in their home where your dog can feel secure and relaxed. Consider the safety of the garden and utilise a long line attached to your dog’s harness to ensure your dogs safety if the garden is not secure enough.
Additional visitors: Allow your dog to greet visitors at their own pace, particularly if your dog has not met this person before. If you have children visiting, then ensure that introductions are carried out in a calm and relaxed manner. Educate the children to stand still, let the dog approach and walk away without being followed. Children should always be supervised around your dog. Ensure all guests know not to disturb your dog when he/she is resting or in their safe space.
Temperature: For most of us temperatures drop at this time of year, ensure your dogs safe space is warm and in a draught free area. Also consider that if you are spending more time at home and have extra bodies in the house and the heating on more than usual the house could be much warmer than usual so could be too hot for your dog. This is especially important if your dog is already unsettled. Ensure you always have fresh water available and that your dog is at a comfortable temperature.
How to help your dog stay calm:
🧸 Interactive toys: Providing your dog with puzzle toys or food-dispensing toys can stimulate their minds and distract from the chaos. Be prepared, having a stash of frozen kongs/lickymats in the freezer or snuffle boxes made up can be really helpful when you are busy. Licking is a great decompression activity for dogs, perfect if things are more hectic than usual.
🕯️ Calming enrichment: Hide treats or favourite toys around the house for a fun, calming search activity that taps into your dog’s natural instincts. Additional packaging boxes and paper can be used to make fantastic snuffle boxes for your dog but please supervise to ensure that nothing nonedible is eaten. The ink in wrapping paper can be toxic to dogs so best to use brown paper. Long lasting, natural air-dried chews are a great source of physical and mental stimulation for dogs, chewing releases endorphins that can help to calm your dog down.
🛋️ Create a safe space: Set up a cozy, quiet area with their bed or blankets where they can retreat when things get too overwhelming. Make sure your guests (especially children) know to not disturb your dog while they are resting. Playing soft calming music in their safe space can also be beneficial.
🚶♂️ Walks: Where possible, keep walks local, sticking to familiar routes your dog already knows. This reduces stress and helps them feel more comfortable in their environment. Encourage lots of sniffing during walks to help them de-stress by engaging their senses in a natural way. Grit and salt can irritate paws so make sure to wipe your dogs paws with warm water when returning from a walk. Make sure to have all walks done by dusk on days where there is a chance of fireworks. And don’t forget, its OK to miss a walk!
👐 Gentle massage or brushing: If your dog enjoys this then these calming activities can help reduce stress and keep your dog feeling loved.
This season, let’s remember that our rescue dogs need some extra care and attention. Keep them safe, secure, and feeling loved during the holiday hustle and bustle! 🌟