7 Tips for a NO DOG BITE Holiday Season.
Holidays are fun yet fraught with stress and your may dog feel this stress in the days prior to guests coming over. Their whole world is turned upside down and this is when dogs can bite. A no dog bite holiday season only happens when we know the signs, are prepared to make and keep our dog safe so it never happens.
Illustrated by Lili Chin
Here are some very easy tips to help prepare you for the holidays.
1- Keep your dog on leash, in a crate or another room for greetings.
2- Know the signs of stress: Images for the Dog Decoder App are illustrated by Lili Chin of Doggie Drawings with 3 different images for each of the 60 poses. The Pose, Information (about the pose) and Details of each body part talking. Please know these signs.
3- Don’t let anyone, especially children hug your dog. Many dogs don’t like it.
4- Assign one adult to supervise your dog.
5- Assign one adult to supervise toddlers and small children.
6- The day before or morning of, wipe your dog out by going for a hike, having a play date or a rockin game of fetch as well as having a great training session. Stimulate her mind and body before the big events.
7- If you notice any of these signs of stress, keep her with you on a leash, , put her in her crate or in another room with some quiet music and you can even have people she knows and loves, switching people spending this quiet time with her. She’ll be much happier being less stressed and everyone will be much safer.
Be proactive! Get the app before the holidays so you can teach and play with the children. There are quizzes on the app that kids LOVE. Then you can have them watch the dog and see which pose it is and ask what the dog is trying to say.
Don’t be a statistic at the ER room this holiday season. Keep you and your family safe by being prepared.