Christmas Proofing for our Companion Animals

Christmas is such a fantastic time of year for us people, we get together as a family, enjoy lots of tasty food, and play lots of games or have a sleep! Although this year will probably be a relatively small affair for everyone, there are some important considerations to think about if you have an animal companion living in your home. Christmas throws routines out of the window, and for some animals this can be stressful in itself!

It’s up to us as owners and carers to ensure our animals feel safe and secure in this busy period- there are lots of new hazards for our animals, as well as things they may be worried by, so have a think through our list to see if you’ve Christmas Proofed your Animal!

 Decorations and Christmas Trees 

SO much fun to play and investigate for our kittens and puppies in particular, but free roaming house bunnies and other small furries may also be overly interested in the new big tree in the living room! Make sure as your putting your decorations up that your animals are kept otherwise occupied with chews, or are kept safely out of the way in a pen or a different room. Moving large glittery objects may be scary or indeed too exciting not to attempt to chew or play with, so it’s best of preventing access whilst things are being put in place. Once the decorations are in place, supervise your animals’ first interactions and experience with them- don’t force them to approach if they’re a bit unsure, but allow them to have a quick sniff and then encourage them away. With puppies, kittens, and small furries, you’re best off ensuring they can’t access to the tree or low hung decorations by utilising pens around the tree and presents, or having the tree off the ground which may deter puppies and rabbits at least…. Kittens tend to be able to get everywhere! Don’t leave your animals unsupervised with the tree unless you are very confident they are not going to chew or try to play with the decorations.

Visitors

Although we won’t be having as many visitors as usual this Christmas, if your animal is anxious around new people, even one or two extra people can cause the animal to feel very worried and unsure. Particularly if you don’t usually have children visitors- this time of year children will naturally be even more excitable than usual, and this means for our companion animals, extra enthusiasm to be worried by. If your animal is likely to show signs they are overly anxious (such as barking or pacing/panting with dogs, lots of hiding from cats, and thumping the ground from rabbits) take pre-emptive precautions instead of reacting when they are already worried. Either keeping your animal separate from visitors for the duration of their stay, entertaining them with chew toys or other enrichment activities, or allow the animal in only once people have settled down and the house is less ‘busy’. Provide a safe space for the animal to retreat to - a comfy bed away from the hustle and bustle for dogs, high hidey holes for cats, and the rabbit’s usual bedroom with plenty of extra bedding to burrow into. You should instruct your visitors to leave the animal alone when they have retreated to this area. 

Animal Visitors

If your human visitors are bringing their own animal to your house, this can be difficult for some dogs- even those that enjoy company out on walks! Try to ensure that the dogs go for walk together before being brought into the house together, so they have the space to work each other out and gain an understanding of each other. Even a large house feels smaller when Christmas is going on- more people, decorations, and now another animal to contend with. Give both the animals space away from each other, and prepare to be able to separate them entirely if they are showing signs that they are not going to be comfortable with each other. This is also important if a new dog is visiting your cat- ensure your cat has access to high spots, can escape, and that their food, water, litter tray, and toys/scratching post are provided in the area they’ve decided to retreat to. 

Christmas Food!

Be VERY careful with all the tasty food- often there are lots of chocolate boxes and nuts around at Christmas time. Don’t leave food on low coffee tables when your dog is unsupervised- even for a few seconds. Lots of dogs this time of year will end up at the vets due to ingestion of something potentially poisonous. Remember it’s not just chocolate either- mince pies, mouldy cheese, Christmas pudding, cooked bones, and lots of others! Even giving your dog an extra tasty dog-safe Christmas pudding may cause tummy upset to those dogs with sensitive tummies! 

Christmas Games         

Surely no danger here? But board games are full of small, interesting things to chew or consume to our animals! Puppies and kittens are renowned for chewing and pouncing on everything they come across- so be careful not to drop things from the table. If your puppy or kitten does take something they cannot have, do not remove the item from them, but swap it for a tasty treat. You don’t want to inadvertently teach your puppy to run away or growl at you when you need to remove something from them. 

Plants

Christmas plants are also potentially harmful to animals if ingested- such as Poinsettia, Holly and Mistletoe berries, and obviously our Christmas Trees, can all cause upset stomachs and vomiting. 

Seek veterinary advice if you suspect your animal has ingested anything they shouldn’t have!

Routine

Try to keep your animals’ routine similar to that they usually have- this little bit of predictability may help keep your animals feeling a bit safer and that they can continue to rely on that routine. This also ensures the animals’ needs are met to exercise, play, or train; as well as easing the transition for when we do return to our normal lives post festive period!

 Phew!

So, there’s lots to think about, and this list is not exhaustive. Your individual animals may have specific needs to address or need more stringent measures put in place to ensure they feel safe and that our visitors are safe to.

Remember: if your animal is showing behaviour you are concerned about over Christmas, avoid the behaviour occurring again (e.g., by keeping them separate from other visitors). The animal is not trying to be difficult, spiteful, they’re not jealous or angry- they are most likely having a really hard time. Get in touch with a reputable Clinical Animal Behaviourist for support for the future.