Canine Care Christmas Countdown - Day 47

We all have in-laws or family members who insist on helping your dog break house rule.  A piece of turkey slipped from a dinner plate and popped into your dog’s eager mouth,  a pat on the cushions inviting your dog on the furniture,  rough play with your dog, or disciplining your dog with a swat on it’s nose. It happens all the time.
 
This Christmas, let visitors know the ground-rules early set by you, his guardian and caregiver.  And let them know the reasons and risk of repercussions. Be firm. Here are some of the ones I would include:

1. Please do not feed my dog from the table.  He has a sensitive stomach and allergic to many things. We need to control everything he eats. Seasonings used on meat, vegetables and other food items are often bad for dogs. If you want to help feed him his normal dinner, we can plan for that; I will show you how. Just to be clear, if you do feed my dog from the table, we may have to leave suddenly to go to the vet clinic.
2. Please do not intimidate, push, shove, pull, shout, pick up, or play roughly with my dog.  We work on force-free cooperation in our home. As his guardian and caregiver, I am solely responsible for his well-being, and we don’t use force, ever.  You benefit from not being bitten by my dog, and my dog will come to love you even more, especially if you are gentle.
3. Please do not hug my dog. He knows you love him. Show him affection by rubbing him in a way he enjoys, not the wayyou enjoy. Try patting his back or the side of his neck.  In this way, he is not uncomfortable, recognizes your affection and even better, that you value and respect him.
4. I take full responsibility for the actions & behaviour of my dog while you are visiting, or I am visiting you.  I promise you will not be asked to listen to him bark endlessly, or beg for food all night. We have been working on his challenges and I have a number of ways to help calm him down when he gets overly excited. I only ask that you support my actions, decisions and not ask the dog to do something that I have not first approved.
5. Dogs’ emotional capacity is similar to a 2-year old child. Before you do anything to my dog when I might be momentarily out of sight, please imagine a two-year old toddler in front of you, and act kindly and gently. Call for me should there be an issue.

 
Providing these ground-rules allows for discussions up front before the festiviites start. Your visitors and relatives will respect your clarity and decisions if presented in a calm and confident manner.  Plan to include these helpful messages and thoughts as part of your successful holiday gathering.

See Day 48 Tips on Pay it Forward Gift Gifting