Preparing Your Dog for Holiday Guests: Part 1

Training before the holidays

If you haven’t taught your dog any basic manners or behaviors, now’s a great time to start according to the veterinarians at Peterborough West Animal Hospital!  Even if you’re short on time, you can easily work in short training sessions a few times a day and see results quickly.  Work the training into your daily life as much as you can, such as training “stays” while you are cooking in the kitchen, or asking the dog for “sits” and “downs” while you’re on the couch watching TV.  The more you ask for behaviors as part of your routine, the more your dog will develop using them as a regular habit.  Some of the behaviors that can be most useful during the holidays are:

Sit/Stay –  Sit (and stay) is an extremely versatile behavior.  The team at Peterborough West Animal Hospital explain that it is a great way to teach the dog not to jump on visitors at the door, to sit and allow people to greet him, to stay in one place comfortably while you move about the house, and much more.  Train your dog to sit and stay in the places he’s most likely to jump up, such as just inside and outside of the front door, in and out of the car, by your kitchen, living room area, or by the back door.  Once your dog is doing well, invite friends and neighbors over to practice his sit/stay so he’ll be sitting like a champ when your guests arrive for  Christmas dinner !

Go to your place –  The doctors at Peterborough West Animal Hospital feel this is also a wonderful command for dogs that are more boisterous or bother guests at the dinner table or in the living room.  Give your dog a place that is “his.”  Usually we use a dog bed or mat, or you can use crates.  Bring your dog to the mat, bed or crate and reward him for being there and laying down/going inside; pair it with a word such as “bed” or “crate.”  As with the sit/stay, move up to practicing this one with friends and neighbors so the dog has the behavior solid by the time guests will be arriving.  This is also helpful when opening up Christmas gifts to keep the dog away from potential hazards with all the confusion at the time.  Since you want this to be a good experience for your dog, you can give him a nice treat to chew on while he lies on the bed or in their crate.  Examples might include a food stuffed toy, such as a Kong stuffed with “Kong Stuff ‘N” available at Peterborough West Animal Hospital, or something else that your dog loves and can quietly enjoy.

Leave it – Leave it is an indispensable behavior during the holidays according to the veterinarians at Peterborough West Animal Hospital.  Not only can you use it if the dog decides to go for a delectable human treat on the dining room table, you can also use it on things that dogs are attracted to, such as shiny holiday decorations, holiday plants, and wrapped gifts.  Leave it can be generalized to anything once you’ve taught it with food and can help you to tell the dog to move away from something even if you’re at a distance.  Another behavior that is often paired with leave it is “drop it” which basically tells the dog to drop an item in their mouths, which is helpful if the dog has grabbed something before you had a chance to use leave it.

Tricks –  Okay, while this may not seem like an important behavior, tricks can be a great thing to teach your dog because it gives him something to do.  If you have guests coming over who may be a bit nervous about your dog, even if he is friendly, tricks can be a great way to “break the ice.”  A dog seems less intimidating when he can shake, high five, spin, roll over or do something equally adorable.  If your guests include children, they will most likely be delighted by these behaviors and may even want to teach the dog some themselves, which can be a fun holiday activity (with adult supervision, of course!)

The entire Team at Peterborough West Animal hospital want you to be able to enjoy the best of the Christmas season with everyone including your dog!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Preparing your dog for Holiday Guests