If you’re a new puppy-parent, Holiday season with days off work can be a great time to focus a bit more on making your new furry family member feel at home. At the same time, things can get a little hectic with holiday parties, visitors or trips, so it’s good to be prepared and have a plan in place to avoid any Christmas mishaps with your little puppy.
Below are some useful tips for you to make the holiday season as nice and fun as possible for both you and your new puppy.
Including your puppy in the festivities
If you would like to include your pup at the dinner table, a bit of turkey is always a safe option that your puppy will most likely enjoy. You can also treat your puppy to some yummy, chewy and puppy-safe bones, some gourmet dog food or dog biscuits if you want to make Christmas a bit more special for your pup too. Just make sure your puppy won’t overeat.
Your puppy will most likely find the wrapped gift packages very exciting, so you could also wrap one present for the puppy in some plain paper with yummy chew treats and a new toy inside. That will keep him busy while everyone else is unwrapping their gifts!
You should keep your puppy away from foods like chocolate, gravy, grease, cooked bones, grapes, raisins, anything with onion or garlic, nuts, uncooked yeast dough or anything that contains artificial sweeteners. Make sure your puppy doesn’t get hold of stone fruit seeds.
Quiet, safe spot during the holiday madness
It’s a good idea to use a baby gate, pen or a large enough crate to provide the puppy with a quiet and safe area to take breaks from holiday parties and activities. This will help keep the puppy away from getting up to any mischief that might be harmful to it, such as chewing Christmas lights, eating tinsel or going to play with all the exciting looking wrapped packages that you might have lying around.
Make sure you also keep your holiday plants such as poinsettias and mistletoe well out of reach of your puppy, as these will be poisonous to it.
Time puppy fun & games before your parties
If you’re organising a party at your house, make sure your puppy has a chance to play and train before your guests arrive so it will be ready to nap when your party gets started. You could e.g. hide some treats or toys and let your puppy try and find them, something your puppy will love!
Have some toys prepared for when it’s time for puppy to self-entertain for a bit. Chew bones are great to keep handy!
You should also tell all your visitors, including kids, to leave the puppy alone when he is eating or sleeping, he will need some rest and time alone with all the excitement going on.
Happy Holidays!
We hope you found these tips useful, and most importantly hope you enjoy the holidays with your new furry family member!
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