Your guide to looking after your excitable dog during the excitement of the holidays.
“They’re overtired.”
“They could do with getting back into a routine.”
Christmas is great but brings a few challenges along with it also. Spend any time with kids over Christmas and you’ll often here parents saying these phrases, or something very similar. Maybe you’ve said them yourself.
It’s the same for our pets. Caring for your dog over Christmas needs some extra attention to make sure they avoid feeling stressed, overwhelmed or overexcited. This is especially true if you're lucky enough to have an excitable dog.
With planning, you’ll be ready for a brilliant and happy time. Read on to find out how you can best look after your dog over the festive period.
Take a walk with me…
Excitable dogs, Christmas and calm – Your role as "gatekeeper"
You know your dog like no-one else. You know what’s best for them, when they need activity, when they need rest, what overstimulates them, and what causes them stress.
You will have worked hard to harness and direct their energy and enthusiasm over many months, so you need to see yourself as your dog’s gatekeeper into the fun-filled chaos of family, friends, food and festivities.
Just like the first Miniature Heroes box can signal a dangerous end to your time of hard-earned healthy eating… changing eating, walking and sleeping routines for your dog can throw their behaviour off course.
For a dog whose personality is naturally excitable, extra planning is needed.
You may know your dog’s personality falls more on the anxious side, rather than the excitable side. If so, you’ll also benefit from looking at our blog, “Dogs and Christmas, Part 1 - Reduce anxiety and making sure your dog feels safe."
These are a few... sorry, all of my favourite things!
Lights, fuss, strokes, play, knocks at the door, new noises, new smells, off-limits food, treats, more play, wrapping paper, late nights, new visitors/playmates, car trips, even more play…
“Stop it!” you might be saying, “You’re getting me too excited!”
You’ll know, the enthusiastic response of your dog to life is a big part of the joy of being a dog owner. Our families are more vibrant and fun because of them. But too much of a good thing will leave your dog overtired – none of us are at our best when this happens.
For excitable dogs, Christmas can bring together all their favourite things in an intense period of non-stop stimulation. From the moment the school holidays remove their downtime in the day, to the house being active later into the night, good routines for your dog are trickier to maintain.
For dogs, the threshold for feeling overstimulated, overwhelmed and confused by the changes can be lower. Therefore, your awareness of bringing consistency and calm to the Christmas period needs to be higher.
Pre-Christmas training for an excitable dog
Consistency and routine are key for dog training. They're also key for keeping excitable dogs calm and happy at Christmas.
It’s not too late to build this in before Christmas! Two weeks of hard work now will set (or reset) good habits, which will make managing changes over Christmas more successful.
Getting your dog used to the “place” command, so they’re appropriately rewarded for settling on their bed, will be helpful starting point.
We’ve written a useful blog to help apply key principles of rewards-based dog training, “How do I get my dog to stop jumping up?” Take a look and download the free guide to get a plan in place from now.
3 key times to keep your dog calm, rested and happy
1. Visiting – should they stay or should they go?
Seriously consider whether your dog needs to travel with you to visit people. If they’ve had a good walk, they could rest happily at home.* It's important the walk is purposeful, with lots of fresh air, exercise and mental stimulation. Avoid simply throwing a ball for an hour as this can overexcite and frustrate your dog.
They might not realise it, particularly if they’re on the excitable side, but your dog will always appreciate and benefit from some downtime.
*Remember, there might be some trusted neighbours or friends who’d also benefit from a quiet evening at yours over Christmas!
2. Preparing for visitors – building calm before the busyness
Again, always give your dog a thorough, purposeful walk before visitors arrives so they’ve used up lots of energy. Give lots of familiar mental stimulation, including play and games, which will leave them a lot calmer, but avoid activities that could frustrate or overexcite.
Then, do make sure you spend some quality time with them, so they're in their happy place of having the reward of your full attention before others arrive.
3. During a gathering – protecting their safe spaces
Preventing overstimulation is key to a successful evening for you and your dog. Create and protect a calm space specifically for the dog, which is completely off limits for visitors.
You can then use this space to provide regular breaks from social interactions, giving your dog some one-on-one reward attention throughout – this will help them enjoy being in the quieter spot.
This is particularly important if there’s loud music, dancing, or people enjoying a drink or two, which can all overexcite or unsettle your dog.
Visitors will often want to fuss your dog which can be too much for them, especially at the end of a day. However well-meaning, you'll need to look out for this. To help, it’s important to agree your family’s house rules for interactions with your dog, and consistently intervene if you see a risk to your dog’s well-being. You know them best and you're the gatekeeper.
Download your free PDF copy of the “House rules – From your dog to your visitors."
A note on food safety – Never one to compromise on!
Friendly guests often want to feed dogs, but this can be dangerous. Mince pies and many holiday foods are toxic to dogs.
Please do make a clear rule on this.
This is one to always quickly intervene on because an uninformed, “But he looked hungry," could change the festive period significantly for all of you.
Prepare for a brilliant time for everyone
Your dog will will love spending more time with you over Christmas. As you prepare their safe spaces and set clear boundaries, you’ll make sure they get the rest and balance they need.
It’s all part of protecting your dog and knowing their limits… and, of course, having an excuse for some downtime with your dog might be a "win" for us owners as when another round of Charades begins!
Have a brilliant Christmas!
We’re here if you need help or advice or want to speak to us about our Dog Training Services. We’d love to chat with you and you can Get in touch on the website, or find us on Facebook
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