By Kelley Corson, KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA, Manager of Behavior & Training

The holidays are a wonderful time for us, but they can be really hard for our canine companions. Their routines change, strange people are suddenly in their home, they are boarded, they are traveling, or maybe a new dog friend even comes into their life. In general, our dogs’ needs get put on the back burner due to our busy schedules which can lead to some unwanted behaviors to occur. We can easily set our dogs up for success during the holiday season without having to add to our busy schedule. 

Let’s dive into three tips to surviving the holidays with your dog:

1. Meet their Needs

This may seem like a big task when you are busy getting your house ready for guests, but it can be done simply and without much extra effort. To meet most of our dog’s needs, we need to incorporate activities that involve physical exercise, licking, chewing, and sniffing. Here are my favorite low-effort (on our part), high-reward activities:

• Frozen Kong stuffed with kibble mixed with plain yogurt
• Flirt pole for ten minutes
• Sniffy walk: a short walk where your dog is allowed to choose the route and sniff everything they want
• Snuffle mat with their dinner
• A long lasting chew such as a bully stick or beef cheek roll

2. Keep your routine

I know this one is hard! Keeping their routine as normal as possible is helpful for your dog! Feed them and walk them at the same time you normally would. This can ease a lot of anxiety for them during this busy time. 

3. Set up a safe place for your dog

Most dogs don’t love being in the middle of a holiday party and that’s okay! Make sure to set up a safe place for your dog to hang out at your house or even at your family member’s house if you are traveling. The safe place can be a crate or room but should be somewhere far away from where the gathering is occurring. Make sure the space has your dog’s favorite toys, blanket, and something for them to work on, such as frozen Kong.

These tips are simple, and they should be! The holidays can be stressful for everyone, but it’s important to acknowledge our canine friends during this time to make sure everyone can enjoy this time of year as much as possible.

If you’d like to take a class with Kelley or one of our other certified trainers, please click here to view our training schedule!