Are you making your holiday plans? As you shop for the food, clean the guest room, and decorate the house, we know you won’t forget to plan for the furry members of your family. Our patients’ temperaments range from the shy and retiring to the hyper and ‘talkative’. Here are a few tips to help make the holidays a pleasant emotionally experience for all pet personalities.
First of all, remember that all your holiday preparations may already be a bit unsettling because they’re in that nerve-wracking category known as change. Not only are you busy and excited, but this behavior suggests even more excitement to come. If your pet seems to get more nervous as the holidays approach, it may be better to help him/her avoid the excitement altogether. Think about preparing a quiet room for Fluffy with food, water and, if needed, a litter box. (Your master bedroom is often ideal location because no one strange will be in there and – bonus – you’ll be there at night.) This is where crate training can really help. Puppy can curl up with his favorite stuffed Kong and ignore all the holiday excitement in the rest of the house.
If your furry companion trends more toward the social, excitable attention-hound, that’s great, but it may be even more important to keep an eye in his or her general direction. When lots of different people (especially kids) provide lots of unpredictable attention and excitement and touching, it can be easy for Fido to get a little over-stimulated and accidentally scratch or possibly even bite someone. It’s great for Fido to visit with everyone. Just make sure you have a place where he can run off some energy and calm down before life gets a little out of control.
~~Kelley Wagner, CVT
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