How to prepare your dog for Christmas and New Year’s Eve?
How to prepare your dog for Christmas and New Year’s Eve?
One of the basic needs of a domestic dog is a sense of security. This need is fulfilled by, among other things, providing a quiet place, predictability, and routine, i.e. setting specific rules for the family. In this case, how to cope with the arrival of guests or the noise during the explosion of fireworks? In this article, we will present some methods for dealing with a stressful situation.
Table of contents
Daily routine in dogs
Christmas is a frenzied period of preparations and meetings with closer and distant family or long-lost friends. Often in the busyness of work, we forget about daily training or take a shorter walk once in a while. Unfortunately, such changes can lower the mood of our pet and even cause severe stress affecting the health of the animal.
Taming your dog with noise
In most cases, we associate New Year’s Eve with a pleasant time spent with friends or family, but not for everyone. The day can turn into a real nightmare. This is associated with the huge noise caused by the launching of fireworks, which cause stress and even panic in some animals.
With help can come training, which, properly planned and carried out, will help our pet cope with anxiety and stress. In the work of a zoopsychologist, we distinguish two basic methods of changing behavior:
Desensitization is also called desensitization. It is based on reducing the response to a specific stimulus, such as the sound of an intercom, thunder or fireworks. During training, the animal is presented with a stimulus with specific parameters (such as distance, volume, intensity or duration). During each session, it is necessary to observe the animal and ensure that it is in full comfort. This means that we work below the threshold of response to the stimulus causing anxiety. We try to prevent the dog from showing signs of stress.
Counterconditioning involves linking a given stimulus to pleasure on the basis of classical conditioning. We then model the dog’s emotional response. An example would be turning on a silent recording of fireworks and giving the dog a treat.
During the session, make sure to provide attractive rewards for your pet. Tailored to his preferences.
A safe place for your dog during New Year’s Eve
Even if your dog can tolerate the noise – keep him comfortable and limit the possibility of contact with the stimulus as much as possible:
- Cover all windows.
- Turn on the TV or radio to drown out the roar of gunshots.
- Ensure that the dog’s bed is in the quietest possible place in the house.
- Support your dog by gently touching it if you see it needs your attention (some dogs may avoid physical contact in difficult situations).
Formulations for anxiety and stress in dogs
Ambient preparations to support your dog in anxiety and stress.
If you know that your dog is going to be nervous that night, it is worth using dr Seidel’s adaptive preparations, which contain a composition of natural substances that affect animal behavior similarly to dog pheromones. They help control and reduce stress levels in difficult situations for dogs of all ages.
Adaptive products for dogs will work well in such situations as:
- transportation
- separation
- phobias
- excessive attachment to the caregiver
- fear of novelty
- Noise, such as thunderstorms or fireworks
Oral formulas to support your dog during anxiety and stress.
Another element to support your pet is supplementation.
Stress out SHOT is designed for use in emergency, stress-inducing situations. It contains natural ingredients:
α-KAZOZEPINE (Lactium®)
- is a natural peptide derived from cow’s milk, helping mammals achieve a state of relaxation (its mechanism of action has been recognized in newborns fed with mother’s milk)
L-TRYPTOFAN
- reduces muscle tension and susceptibility to stress
- is an exogenous amino acid – it must be supplied to the body with the diet
- is a precursor of serotonin (a mood-regulating neurotransmitter), necessary for its synthesis
B VITAMINS
- are essential for the proper functioning of the nervous system
- The formula is available in two forms – paste or tablets depending on the preference of the animal and the caregiver.
Agata Lewandowska
Zoopsycholog – Behawiorysta, Trener zwierząt (PAT),
Instruktor szkolenia psów, Petsitter
12 December 2023