Happy Holidays to everyone!
Here is a little blog about prevention...
There is very rarely a truly bad dog, only an unprepared one. We humans sure expect a lot of our furry friends, especially around Christmas and New Years! I mean why would anyone put a freshly cut tree in the living room and NOT want their dog to pee on it? Just to make it all the more irresistible we cover it in BALLS so that our pets have something they can play with while we are out. You must teach your dog what to do in the presences of presents! Use this opportunity to teach a strong leave it cue, or to work on body blocking and spatial pressure to tell the dog in its own language that the tree is off limits. Also, if there is any chance your dog will knock down the tree or ingest the ornaments, don't leave him unattended amidst temptation!
Another thing that is humorous to me, is that we somehow expect our dogs to know that Christmas chocolates and baking that are left out on the counter top, even when we are out, are not for them. The funniest story I have ever heard is the case of the missing Turkey. Dogs are opportunistic eaters and any game is fair game! My sister's dog consumes his weight in chocolates every year. Thank-God it is the milk variety, which is less toxic. I believe that is the root of their outrageous doggie dental bills. For the record, most dogs will get hyper or sick from eating milk chocolate, but not poisoned. Nonetheless, it is bad for them, so don't leave out sweets. Dogs are omnivorous and have a sweet tooth!
Prepare your dog for the holidays and make it an excuse to train foundation behaviours like down stays and sit stays. It takes a bit of time, but do set ups to strengthen your "leave it" command and use this season to work on impulse control and training techniques. The door bell will likely be ringing and people coming and going. To prepare them for this, play the doorbell game below. If your dog can't handle the excitement, find a spot where you can shut him away or kennel him until he calms down and then let him out to meet people, leashed if necessary, in a controlled way. Also interrupt and redirect all jumping up, repetitive behaviour becomes learnt behaviour! Just because you like your guests, doesn't mean they like dogs!
The doorbell game: Twice a day I put my dogs, Holly and Miko, on a place (their beds) stick my hand outside the front door and hit the doorbell. It sends Holly and Miko into a fit. I interrupt, asking them to be quiet, "QUIET" when they are I say "YES" and treat, calmly saying "good quiet"...then ask them to go back to their place..."YES" and treat calmly saying "good place". I've been doing it five to ten times in a row, until they don't react. If the doorbell goes off unexpectedly and I don't have time to prevent the "barkathon" , they go in the back room. They don't get to come out until they are calm. My goal is to have them go to their place when the doorbell chimes, so that they will do this when company comes. Today for the first time, I hit the doorbell and they both just looked at me...like where's the treat?
Prepare your house and your dog for guests and make sure you have a plan to keep everyone happy and out of trouble. Put things away and out of mouth's reach. Also, teach your dog the skills to co-exist with the family over the holidays. Things to work on to prepare your pet for this joyous occasion are, "sit stay" and "down stay", the every popular "off" as well as "leave it", the trusty "on your place" or "kennel up" and for your guests "please don't feed the dog!" I hate it when people reward my dog's begging! Tiss the season to be jolly and an ounce of prevention can spare you arguments and frustration. It will definitely save your dog confusion and possibly a trip to the vet!
