4 Tips to Keep Pets Calm During the Holidays
The holidays can be a fun time to shower our animal friends with new toys, warm blankets, and tasty treats. But, just because our animal companions likely enjoy the extra downtime they get to spend with us, their people, they may not enjoy the visiting humans who drop by this time of year.
To help ensure that your pets have a peaceful holiday season that's less stressful, consider the following while planning for the upcoming week:
A note: Not all animals will benefit from these tips, and you should always consult with your vet before adding a supplement or medication to your pet’s diet.
1. Provide Enrichment
One of the best ways to keep mischievous furry, feathered, and scaly friends out of trouble is to provide them with long-lasting, safe, animal-appropriate treats and toys. Whenever I’m expecting company, I always freeze a mix of peanut butter and pumpkin in all the Kong toys and lick mats for the pups, and disperse them throughout the day.
Although I have plenty of toys and scratching mats for the felines in the house, the kitties who cohabitate with me prefer to retreat to their designated safe spaces (more on that later) rather than get their stress out through play.
2. Keep Their Schedule
While it’s common for people to operate on “holiday time” during the last few weeks of December and the first week of January, animals don’t. Try your best to keep your pets’ feeding, sleeping, and exercise times the same. No person or pet is their best when their normal schedule is suddenly interrupted.
3. Take Precautions
Not all pets enjoy being around people they don’t know well, and some pets become extra skittish when people make unexpected sounds or movements. If you have a shy, fearful, or reactive pet who benefits from stress-reducing items, like melatonin supplements or medications, make sure you have plenty to get you through the holiday break. Other things to consider could include:
ThunderShirt: This shirt, which is made for dogs and cats, applies consistent, gentle pressure to help alleviate stress.
Pheromone diffusers or sprays: These products diffuse synthetic pheromones that mimic a mother’s natural pheromones, promoting a calmer mood. They are made for dogs and cats.
A basket muzzle: If your dog has a history of nipping or resource guarding, a basket muzzle may be a helpful option. I recently started using one with Cash, my senior dog. He suffers from age-related cognitive issues and has resource-guarding tendencies. While it took him a week to get used to it, this tool has alleviated a lot of the stress my husband and I have about his unpredictable behavior.
4. Create a Safe Space
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, is creating a safe area for your pet to stay in when things get too loud or unpredictable. This area can be a room, a whole floor of your home, a kennel, or something that your animal can hide in, like a cat tree.
Whenever company is coming over, I always prep my dogs’ kennels, make the area underneath my husband and I’s bed accessible to the cats, and drape blankets on the cat tree the kitties can hide behind. You can also surround your animal’s safe space with calming noise (a radio, television, or white noise machine work well) and comforting things your pet loves.
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I hope some of these ideas help you create a calm environment for your animal friend this holiday season. Stay warm and safe during your celebrations, and have a happy New Year!
