Creating Calm for Holidays

 

Creating a Calm Christmas can be challenging for Service Dogs during the holidays.

We often work to teach our SD/SDiT's to be calm in public places such as restaurants, office settings and waiting rooms where there may be people walking past, perhaps even the occasional Service Dog. Yet it's easy to forget that holiday times often make this even more challenging for our dogs.

Yooper Paws of Love has a great resource on Patreon that includes these topics:

Day 1: Plan for Success
Day 2: Create a Safe Space
Day 3: A Present for Your Dog
Day 4: Creating Calm Introductions with People
Day 5: Creating Safety Around Other Animals
Day 6: Taking a Sniff-a-bout
Day 7: Packing for Calm
Day 8: Set Up for Successful Traveling
Day 9: Special Holiday Treats
Day 10: Set Up for Success
Day 11: The Big Day
Day 12: Safe Holiday Exits

Check out this FREE Patreon resource here!

While these are posts directed at pet owners, most of these things are even more important for Service Dogs and especially young Service Dogs in Training.

Planning for Success is always a big part of every outing we do with our SD/SDiT's. We prepare by selecting the right gear for the environment we are going into, making sure we have a clean up kit with us, possibly shoes or settle mat if needed. We prepare by making sure our dogs have been fed, watered, and pottied before we enter a public space or that we have the supplies available to deliver food and water while we are there. 

Planning for holiday gatherings and activities might be a bit harder. We may need to pack more stuff depending on how long we will be there and the environment we will be in. We may need to make a plan for making sure we take a break from family activities to play with or walk our dog. We need to decide when and where our dogs need to remain in work mode and when they can be free to socialize or play with other dogs. This is often one of the first things we forget to do before the big holiday events which then cause us to react to what is going on around us. At that point we may or may not have the supplies we wish we had. 

Planning is easier if we are going somewhere we have been before. Such as taking Azul and Belle to my daughter's house in Illinois. I've been there regularly and we have a routine. But then we may need to change up things when someone else comes such as an Aunt who really doesn't like or is afraid of large dogs. Most of the people entering the house there is mega dog friendly so the dogs can greet in a frenzied fashion and it's fine. But when this Aunt comes in the dogs need to be mega calm and greet the Aunt one at a time which means I have to rely on management resources to help them be calm until she gets used to them in the environment.

The biggest thing that we often struggle with is reviewing our relaxation routines. While SD/SDiT relax in public places, these are short term settles perhaps an hour or so long before getting up and going again. If we are gathering with family for the holidays, they may be asked to settle all day, or perhaps even a couple of days in a crazy environment. 

Knowing what your dog's weakness is before the holiday event can help a lot! Belle and Earl are a bit nervous around kids so Julie and I would need to make sure we have a nice cozy space available when kids are running around being kids. Nick might struggle with over-excitement, especially around his best friends that he likes to play with. Cindy may need to schedule some extra play time and make use of some enrichment activities to help Nick calm down after playing. Lilly is getting older so she may need a quiet place to sleep a bit more, where Daisy will have extra energy that needs to be burned off somewhere. Every dog is a bit a different! Understanding your dog's needs and weak spots can help you in planning and setting up for success.

There are Crazy2Calm Canine Coaches available to help you with planning and preparing for your holiday activities! Reach out to us at crazy2calmcaninecoaches@gmail.com for help.