Fireworks
You might think that it is early in the year to be thinking about fireworks and your anxious dog but the truth is that now is the best time to start thinking about it. There are many dogs that suffer from noise phobias and firework season is a tough time, in some cases these dogs need medical support from their vet in order to get them through. But the aim should be to always support your dog without the need to medicate, and using noise desensitisation is the key to this. The problem is that desensitisation doesn’t happen overnight. You will need to have patience and remember that you are moving at a pace set by your dog, if you increase the noise intensity before your dog is ready then you can undo all of your hard work.
Day 24- Fireworks
We are finishing our advent calendar with a bang! We have already been dealing with the fireworks over the last few months but we are not done with them yet!! Between Christmas and new year there may be a lot of them going off and scaring many dogs.
If you know of any planned events, make sure you are not walking your dog at those times, use a doggy zen den to help them cope within the house and just be there for them should they need you.
A lot of radio stations will play calming music, this can be useful if your dog already has an association between the music and a calm event, otherwise the music could become a precursor to the fireworks which limits you should you wish to use musical theory as a way to desensitise them.
Unplanned events are harder to handle. Make sure you walk your dog earlier, in the light if possible, as this is when people are less likely to release fireworks.
Your vet may be able to offer you advise in regards to medication should your dogs really struggle to cope but be aware this is only a mask and does not help with the underlying fear, in order to better support your dog next year, desensitisation should be started in March (after chinese new year).
Day 22- Small toys
If there are children in the house then you will also find an abundance of small toys. These pose a choking hazard to our dogs should they be swallowed or cause a blockage of the digestive tract which could require surgical removal.
Depending on the age of the children will depend on whether they are likely to clean up after themselves, add in that they may be very excited Christmas morning they may also not want to. This means we need to be diligent with our dogs to ensure they don’t ingest anything that they shouldn’t.
Day 22- Candles
Candles are a common Christmas gift and with extra people coming over the house we tend to light them for a more pleasant environment. When we have a dog in the house, particularly a very active dog, we need to be mindful of where we are placing the candles in case they get knocked over, which when lit poses a very serious fire hazard!
If you do have a hyperactive dog in the house, the safest thing to do would be not to light them at all.
Day 21- Alcohol
Over the Christmas period the drinks will start to flow, but what does this mean for our dogs? If our dogs were to drink alcohol they could suffer from alcohol poisoning, leading to seizures and breathing difficulties. This can lead to intense veterinary care being necessary in order to help them.
Wine contains grapes and beer contains yeast, both of which are toxic to dogs on their own and should be kept out of reach of our dogs in order to reduce the risk of ingestion.
As with all toxicities, should you suspect your dog has drank anything then contact your vet.
Day 20- Wrapped Presents
As Christmas approaches the presents start to appear under the tree, this causes our curious dogs to start sniffing around and if they smell something good they may decide to open the present and possibly ingest what's inside which could be dangerous if chocolate is involved!
If you have a dog that likes to sniff around the presents under the tree, make sure they are kept out of reach and only put them under the tree at the last minute, or block off access to the tree.
Day 19- Boxes
One of the big benefits of Christmas is the amount of boxes that suddenly appear, this has increased in more recent years with online shopping. Most people will pop the boxes in to be recycled and think nothing more of them but there is a much more fun way we can recycle those boxes, especially if your dog enjoys chewing or pulling things apart.
Place some packing paper and some treats into the box and let your dog have some fun!
It is worth teaching your dog a release cue before they start their game as it can become easy for your dog to assume all boxes are for them which becomes a problem for the delivery person, or cause harm depending on the items inside.
Day 18- Enrichment
We have already touched on enrichment in some previous videos, but today we will discuss what we mean by that. Enrichment refers to any activity that looks after your dog's physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Enrichment activities are unique to each dog, what one dog may find enriching, another may find frustrating. This means that it is important to determine what your dog enjoys doing and incorporating that into your activities.
Think about what your dog likes to do when out on a walk… do they enjoy sniffing, chasing or foraging? Would your dog enjoy scent work, hide and seek, snuffle mats, activity feeders, or a run with a flirt pole? Could they benefit from some training to engage their minds?
There are also some behaviours that we would deem inappropriate but would benefit from enrichment, such as chewing or destruction (which will be covered tomorrow), while we don’t want to actively encourage our dogs to perform these behaviours, sometimes providing an outlet that is controlled, it can satisfy our dogs a bit better.
Enrichment is such a broad topic that we could discuss it continuously, but it is all about engaging our dogs in activities they find enjoyable but also make them think. It is also a great way of building a bond between yourself and your dog.
Day 17- Onions And Garlic
There are a few festive treats that might contain onion or garlic, including gravy and stuffing. If a dog ingests any then it can lead to gastrointestinal upset (vomiting and diarrhoea) but can also lead to a more serious condition… anaemia.
If you usually give your dog a christmas dinner, then make sure anything that may contain onions or garlic is removed, and ensure that any guests you might have do not feed your dog anything off their plate.
As always if you are concerned that your dog has eaten anything that they shouldn’t, contact your vets.
Day 16- Fatty Foods
We all like to indulge at this time of year, and it is very common for us to provide our dogs with their own Christmas dinner minus certain items we know are harmful. But did you know that high fat foods can also pose a risk?
High fat food can lead to a condition called pancreatitis, this is an inflammation of the pancreas and can be very painful for our dogs. Depending on the severity will depend on whether we are able to treat them with medication or whether more intensive nursing is required. Symptoms include; nausea, vomiting, fever, lethargy, abdominal pain (leading to the prayer pose), diarrhoea and a decrease to their appetite.
Pancreatitis can be easily avoided by limiting our dogs' access to fatty foods, making sure our guests do not feed them from the table, and any scraps are disposed of.
This picture is Maisie being nursed from home for pancreatitis 2 years ago, you can see her IV line in her right leg.
Day 15- Dressing Up
Dressing up is a common activity we do with our dogs at this time of year and one that I am also guilty of for christmas. While it is mostly harmless we also need to exercise caution, not all dogs enjoy having an outfit put on them, or if they are used to wearing jumpers, they may not like some of the more extravagant outfits available on the market.
Your dog should be able to perform normally while wearing the outfit. This means that they are walking around, jumping, eating, drinking and sleeping. If you find your dog is rolling around on the floor, trying to get the outfit off or simply shuts down (meaning they don’t move at all), it is a sign that your dog is not comfortable and the outfit should be removed.
Day 14- Batteries
Batteries are an item we tend to either forget about or over buy. They pose a risk to our dogs if they were to chew a toy and break the battery casing exposing the corrosive fluid within that can cause chemical burns down their throat or damage the stomach lining. Alternatively, if the battery is small enough they could swallow it, leading to a blockage requiring surgical removal.
Always try to keep any battery powered objects out of reach, especially if your dog is a notorious chewer. Provide enrichment so they are satisfying their need to chew elsewhere.
As with anything else, if you suspect your dog has chewed or swallowed a battery, contact your vets.
Day 13- Rawhide
There are many treats available on the market for our dogs and at this time of year we can get the stockings filled with rawhide chews for our dogs. Over the last few years people have been starting to steer clear of rawhide due to the chemicals being used to create the colours but that is not the only hazard that rawhide poses.
The main issue is that rawhide is indigestible, which means it has to pass through the digestive tract completely and risks causing an obstruction along the way.
If you do give your dog rawhide make sure they are supervised at all times, but in many cases it is better to stay away from it completely.
Day 12- Dark walks
With winter setting in we are now seeing very dark mornings and evenings. It is important that both you and your dog are visible if you are walking in the dark and not relying on street lights or car headlights to make you visible.
There are many lights available for our dogs, either as a collar, LED attachment to their usual collar or even high-vis jackets to ensure your dogs are being seen and as the Human you can also wear high-vis and carry a torch.
Try and keep to the streets where possible and avoid open spaces where few people are, there are horror stories. If you have someone willing to go with you then don’t walk alone, make sure you stay safe. If at any time you are concerned about taking your dog out in the dark on your own, do some enrichment activities with them instead and stay safe.
Day 11- Mould
With a larger quantity of food coming into the house it can be common for some of that food to go bad and possibly even develop some mould. Dogs will then still eat it, which leads to some serious medical conditions and can even be fatal!
If you have children within the home that like to take food into their bedrooms, make sure they are bringing the plates, cutlery and any cups back into the kitchen to be washed up and not left forgotten under the bed.
Also make sure that bins (particularly if you have a food waste bin) is kept out of reach as this is a common place for dogs to get hold of mouldy food, and that they are emptied regularly.
If you think your dog may have eaten some mouldy food, time is of utmost importance, contact your vet immediately!
Day 10- Plants
There are many plants that can be toxic to our dogs that make an appearance at this time of year. The most common are;
Poinsettia- probably the most popular plant gifted around the holidays and can lead to many problems if your dog were to ingest enough of it. On the plus side the plant also contains a sap which is an irritant to our dogs so they don’t usually eat enough because of this.
Mistletoe- again very common this time of year. Luckily it is usually positioned high up in our homes reducing the chances of our dogs getting to it. But make sure it is either secured very well, or just don’t have it in your home.
Holly- dogs are not usually put off by the spikey leaves!! Also note that it is considered bad luck to bring holly into your home before Christmas eve.
Amaryllis
Christmas cactus
Christmas rose
Ivy
The common symptoms of all these plants are drooling and gastrointestinal signs, such as vomiting and diarrhoea. As with anything toxic, if you suspect your dog may have eaten one of these plants, contact your vets as soon as possible. They will need to know the weight of your dog and roughly how much has been ingested.
Day 9- Children
Continuing on from when we discussed having extra people to the house at this time of year, we also end up with a lot more children visiting. Depending on their age will depend on their hyperactivity level (Christmas is coming after all!). Again, this can result in our dogs becoming much more overwhelmed a lot quicker.
To combat this we can look into gradual introductions with some calmer children and build up to the more excited, and utilise the Doggy Zen Den previously discussed. It can be a lot harder for children to understand why they are not allowed to fuss, play or chase the dog when they are in the den so it is up to the adults to supervise and step in if necessary.
Day 8- Ornaments
Tree ornaments seem to be a great game for our dogs, they are attracted to them simply because we don't want them to be and that makes it fun! However, these ornaments if swallowed can lead to blockages within the digestive system and can require surgical removal! Or if your dog is more destructive then they might break the ornament and they dont always break cleanly leading to jagged edges that could puncture the digestive tract.
To prevent this either teach your dog to be calm around the tree, have some toys and games they can be distracted by, keep any ornaments higher on the tree than your dog can reach or simply block access to the tree itself.
Day 7- Pine Needles
While pine needles that fall off real christmas trees are non toxic to dogs they can still pose a risk. Some dogs like to ingest them either from the tree or from the floor which can cause some gastrointestinal upset, the needles are also sharp and can pose a risk of puncturing the lining of the digestive tract leading to further problems.
If dogs like to rub against the tree we need to be aware of where the needles might end up, specifically the dogs ears as this can also lead to an infection.
Finally if you have a real christmas tree with a water base on it, either make sure the water is cleared out regularly or the dog does not have access to it. This is because some dogs will choose to drink from it and the water itself could also lead to gastrointestinal problems.
If you are unable to trust your dog completely around your real christmas tree, block access if possible to reduce any risks.
Day 6- People Visiting
The holiday season is all about family and as a result we tend to gather in larger numbers than usual. Not all dogs are comfortable with this and become quickly overwhelmed. This is where the Doggy Zen Den from yesterday can play a big part as it provides our dogs with a place to go should they feel overwhelmed and our guests are told not to disturb them.
If you are worried that your dog may become overwhelmed with guests then start with small numbers of calm guests and gradually build up, making sure that your dog is comfortable at all times.