Keep Your Beloved Dogs Safe This Christmas

This year has flown by and the Christmas season is upon us again. The food, the friends, the fun and the frolics, but there are many hidden dangers for our dogs, that we need to be aware of. 

Surely our dogs can just join in with everything right? Wrong…..

As a dog trainer, every year I hear horror stories of dogs becoming unwell, dogs being rushed to the vet and even dogs sadly passing away. I also hear of dogs being put to sleep for biting.

Nobody wants this, it would be unspeakably sad, and you can take steps to prevent many of the common accidents.

So what’s lurking amongst all the fun, that we need to be aware of?

From early December when some eager beavers get the tree and all the trimmings up, there are already things to look out for:

Christmas trees are wonderful, but the pines can get stuck in paws. If your dog is a muncher, eating the pines could give them a bad belly. Don’t leave your dog alone in the room with a tree, real or fake; they may not be fussy about the matter.

Hang your dangly bits up high! Swallowed tree decorations can be very dangerous for your dog and keep the chocolates for the closed tins, not for hanging on the tree. Remember, a waggy tail or persistent paws can knock things off to be quickly consumed.

Keep tree light cables safely out of sight and reach of your dog, switch them off at the mains when you are not using them. Those chewy wires will be a real temptation, especially for puppies and bored dogs. If you have a puppy and have already puppy-proofed your pad, you’ll need to pimp your proofing about now!

If you don’t want your dog’s help to unwrap everything early, don’t leave presents under the tree, place them there just before you are ready to open. Don’t leave food presents under there, this is level 10 temptation for some! Dogs don’t know right from wrong, it’s one of the things I help owners to understand. If you shout at them for going under the tree, what they are learning, is that it is dangerous to do it when you are around and they will probably just wait until you have left the room or house.

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Safe Treats for Dogs at Christmas

We eat all manner of tasty treats at Christmas and I won’t mince my words here (excuse the pun) - some of these are poisonous and could kill your dog.

It’s as simple as that.

A long long time ago, I remember my grampy feeding one of the dogs Maltesers at Christmas - eek! These days we are much better informed, and chocolate is toxic. Dark chocolate is the worst by the way, but don’t be tempted to hand over any chocolate, or sweets for that matter. Lots contain xylitol (try spelling that after a few sherries!). Remember it though, as it’s really bad news for our dogs.

And sorry to be a party pooper but here’s a list of the most common food that are not safe

• Mince pies and Christmas cake (grapes, sultanas, and raisins can all cause kidney problems)

• Onions and garlic (and leeks and chives)  - you may not be planning to peel an onion and hand it over to your dog, but think of all the food items that have these ingredients in them. Be careful with leftovers, as we often forget what's in there altogether.

• Chocolate is highly toxic for dogs, even a little bit can make some dogs seriously ill. This can be even harder to manage when children (and some adults!) are eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Christmas.

• Alcohol - don’t leave any drinks, half-finished bottles, cans, and so on, anywhere where your dog could get hold of them. 

• Brazil nuts

If you want them to have a ‘Real Dog’s Dinner’ on Christmas day, try just adding some turkey meat (or whatever you have) on top of their usual food. Or buy a Christmas-themed dog meal, you won’t believe what you can get these days!

Have a selection of stuffed Kongs and good quality food chews that will keep your dog busy and help to calm them. Just make sure they are not bothered by anyone when they are consuming them, and always supervise a dog eating these types of things, to keep them safe.

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As if that’s not enough to watch out for, there are dangers in some of the plants we have around at this time of year too.

• Poinsettia

• Amaryllis

• Holly

• Mistletoe

• Ivy

• Lily 

Keep anything like this, safely out of reach!

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Resist the doggy dress-up!

If you want to dress up as a dog for Christmas then go ahead! As for dressing your dog up as an elf, a Santa, a fairy, or a pudding, it’s not the best idea. I know they look funny, but unless your dog happily approaches you when they see the outfit, they are probably not really into it.

I am a little ashamed to say that years ago (way before I worked with dogs), we dressed up my brother’s dog Darcey, as an elf. Sure, we all giggled when she started walking sideways and gave us the ‘puppy dog eyes’. Now I know these were all stress signals - she was shouting at us ‘Please take this off, I hate it!’

With everything else our dogs have to cope with at Christmas, we don’t need to be adding in even more stress.

A lot of people have no idea when their dog is asking for help - anyone can see it, if they know what you are looking for. Seeing what dogs do with their body to express how they are feeling, is so obvious once you know! Dogs don’t bite out of the blue, they will have been trying to tell us that they are not ok, and we will have just missed it.

I’m going off on a  bit of a body language rant here I know, but it’s because so many situations could be prevented if we just knew what we were looking for.

And to bring it back to Christmas, just like us, dogs can find it all a bit stressful. Sure, they don’t have to cook lunch or buy presents, although my dog Noodle always buys me one :) but changes in routine, more people at the house, noise from new toys, the TV, fireworks, crackers, and loads of other weird stuff, can cause stressed dogs. If you can see the early signs of this, you can take action.

For some really useful guidance on dog body language, click here to visit Dogs Trust website. We owe it to our dogs to do our best to understand them, and keep everyone safe. Dogs Trust

We all need space to chill out a little, so make a Doggy Zen Den

Create a nice safe space where your dog can retreat, away from the chaos. Make sure they like this space and associate it with good things before you use it for real. You could also set up baby gates to keep your dog safely segregated at busy times. 

Never leave dogs and children alone - it's so important to not only be in the room where dogs and children are, but to be watching what everyone is doing. Is a child grabbing at your dog, trying to hug them, sit on them, or chase them around the room? This is not funny or cute, it’s dangerous. Children may also be scoffing sweets or chocolate (more chocolate!) and dogs could be tempted to grab food from them.

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Teach children how to behave safely around dogs

Dogs are not dolls - teach children how to behave safely and respectfully around them. This is not just for Christmas, this is for life! You may have visiting dogs, or go to someone else’s house where there is a resident dog, so everyone needs to know this stuff.

Here are 3 words to help you remember the basic safety rules around dogs

• Hands

• Face 

• Space

You may have heard these words somewhere else in recent years... fear not! I’m not suggesting that you wash your hands for 20 seconds, wear a mask, and stand at least 2 meters away from your dog! That’s no fun. So what do I mean?

Hands - Stroke a dog with one hand, some dogs can feel trapped or uncomfortable if two hands are placed around them. I’ve seen many children put two hands around a dog’s face, - that’s a big no-no. Stroke for a few seconds and then stop. See what the dog does, if they initiate more attention then continue. If not, it’s best to just leave them alone.

Face - Never allow a child to stick their face close to a dog or their space. Dogs can’t see too well when things are up close to them. Children can often make unpredictable movements and noises that can freak a dog out, so you don’t want them near a child’s face.

Space - Dogs need their own space, just like we do. If a dog is eating, sleeping or playing alone with a toy, children should never approach. Don’t ever let children climb into a dog’s bed, lean into a crate, or follow dogs if they retreat. Walking away from us is often a sign that they don’t want to interact.

When I worked for Dogs Trust, I used to teach people all about dog behaviour. One of my audiences was schoolchildren. It was so worrying to see the number of children who were convinced their dogs liked being hugged, sharing their beds, being stroked when they were eating, and even sat on. All dogs are different I know, but as a whole, hugging, invading their space and bothering them when they are eating is a huge no-no.

It is up to us as adults, to teach children how to interact safely with dogs and to always supervise them. This means constantly checking in on how children are behaving around the dog, and what the dog's body language is telling us.

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What if you have a puppy?

If you have a young puppy in the key socialisation phase, which is up to around 16 weeks, go overboard to make sure they are not overwhelmed or scared by anything. Be armed with yummy treats so they find all new things wonderful. A fright at this age could unfortunately stay with them for a long time. Also, if you are in the midst of puppy training such as toilet training or teaching them which things they should chew on, you may get a few backward steps if you are preoccupied and take your eye off the ball.

Never punish your puppy, just go back a few steps and get the good habits going again.

A Final Word.....

In a perfect world, we would be preparing our dogs for a safe Christmas, with lots of dog training throughout the year, but who’s that organised?!

Maybe you could give your dog the gift of training in 2024 - you won't regret it.

So for this year:

• Do your best to keep anything dangerous safely out of the way

• Take some time to understand your dog’s body language

• Teach children how to behave safely

• Lay off the fancy dress (unless it's for you!)

• Give your dog time to chill out

And most importantly, have a wonderful Christmas

Love from Hayley & Noodle

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