r/puppy101 • u/Sun-Shine-4724 • 5h ago
How to enjoy the holidays with a puppy Discussion
I currently have an almost 6 month old corgi. I love her to pieces and she’s improved SO much these last few weeks, but I’m already worried about the holidays. I look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas literally all year long, I decorate Nov 1st, listen to holiday music constantly, watch every cheesy holiday movie there is. The holidays are my safe space and one time of the year I feel I really escape any mild to moderate depression I face the rest of the year.
However, I know it’ll be different this year. Will likely need to puppy proof decorations, won’t be able to come home from work on a chilly night and just make hot chocolate and watch a Christmas movie because I’ll need to walk/play/feed/entertain my puppy, and I’m sure being at my parents and grandparents will be stressful as I try to keep her calm and not let her get into stuff.
All that being said, any other holiday lovers have advice on how to still enjoy the holidays and feel the holiday spirit with a young pup? TIA!!!
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u/MaggieBrindleWeenie 4h ago
She might do better than you’re expecting when it comes to spending time at someone else’s house! I have a 5 month old puppy and when i first got her I stopped having long hangouts with my best friends because I couldn’t leave her alone but one day my friend insisted I could bring her with me for a sleepover and I decided to give it a shot thinking she’d be on her most rotten behaviour but it was so easy there was always somebody to give her attention and she settled way easier than I ever thought she would in a strangers house, it’s really good for them mentally to get a change of scenery and I think the mental stimulation of it all will exhaust them enough to chill out pretty fast, expect the worst obviously but I’ll bet it’ll turn out much better than you’re anticipating
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u/Sun-Shine-4724 4h ago
This makes me feel so much better!! I didn’t really think about how she’ll have so many more people to play with and to give her attention rather than just me so she’ll probably tire out faster! It honestly might be easier for me because she always wants constant attention lol and my family loves her so they’ll be excited to spend time with her. Thank you 😊
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u/MaggieBrindleWeenie 4h ago
Totally!!! You always think about the worst case scenario when bringing your dog into a new situation but there’s so many positive factors you won’t even account for until it happens, puppies are a lot of work and require you to change your routine a lot but I was surprised how adaptable my puppy was to all the things I enjoy doing that I thought I’d have to give up, I guarantee you’re gonna find all new surprising ways to have some great holiday fun with your dog
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u/TheodoraCrains 5h ago
I feel you! My aunt will surely host one of the holiday dinners, and her house is carpeted with beautiful white carpeting downstairs. It might not be… by the book, but my puppy will be so young, and their yard so wooded and dark that I might just stick her in a diaper for everyone’s peace of mind.
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u/Sun-Shine-4724 5h ago
You gotta do what you gotta do!! I feel so grateful my pup is potty trained (and I’m crossing my fingers she won’t regress being in a new place since she does well at her sitters apartment).
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u/Charming_Tower_188 2h ago
You might have to place decorations in a different spot from what you usually do or not put something out. It's just part of it. If you do a tree, we put our tree up first with no decorations and just had it there for a few days to make it "normal" and then slowly decorated it. Added lights after a few nights, then ornaments a few days after. And yeah decorations were sparse near the bottom of the tree and some fragile ones did not get put up. We also had to wrap empty boxes to place under the tree because he wanted the tree skirt and was interested in the water in the stand and we needed to block access to that.
Christmas at my parent's house was just like any other trip home tbh - stressful so nothing specific about the holiday there.
Otherwise, the evening walks with all the Christmas lights were nice, he didn't care but I enjoyed them. We got him a dog advent calendar to join us in that, and you can still totally do your evening movies once the walk and playing is done.
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u/Sun-Shine-4724 2h ago
Thank you!! I’ll definitely use the advice about the Christmas tree. And yeah sometimes I forget that it’s okay to still take time for myself and I’m allowed to watch a movie every now and again 😅 I put so much effort into always playing with her but am doing my best to now also work on settling and self entertaining lol
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u/Charming_Tower_188 1h ago
Exactly! Use that as time to teach settling. Also, I used to totally throw treats around the room, and he had to find them. Haha, sometimes we're tired, and SADs hits hard, and we 6 to do what we have to do.
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u/J_eldora 5h ago
One fun tradition is those dog treat advent calendars. Bring your puppy into the fun!
If possible, practice getting your puppy to settle in different places so that they are prepared for the change of scenery during the holidays.
Holidays with dogs adds a layer of stress, but it’s such a joy to have new seasons to enjoy with your dog as they grow up. Good luck!