11/13/2024
Introducing Christmas: How To Help Your Hound Cope With The Changes!
Yup. We’re going there. The dreaded C word.
We’re sorry…but it’s for the hounds!
The question of ‘when are you putting up your Christmas tree’ was tossed around the work chat the other day and for us bah hum bug folks, Christmas shouldn’t be allowed to start until December 1st…but for some die hard Christmas lovers, the trees have already been up for some time and they are already racking up their electricity bill with lights and other festive activities.
To each their own.
But it also got us thinking that perhaps we’re a bit late in getting the word out about how best to introduce Christmas to your hound! With particular attention to those who have been adopted this year, especially those who have only been living their retired lives for the last couple of months as this is a crucial period for setting your new hound up for success.! So here goes…
At this time of year, there is a lot going on. Hounds are barely recovering from the Halloween and Guy Fawkes fireworks (and the t***s still letting off fireworks every night since) and before they know it their entire house gets turned upside down.
Christmas decorations get put up, their favourite sofa may have been moved to accommodate the tree, which is covered in lights and various objects, there may be more visitors to the house, possibly even parties, Christmas music on repeat, and with the school and work holidays starting and stopping quite close together mean that the overall routine of the house can change dramatically. And that’s not including any changes to your dogs’ walks that you may have made to avoid the fireworks and the fact it has become dark and bitterly cold seemingly overnight, which everyone is complaining about. Typical Britain.
While many hounds cope with these changes without too much of a fuss, there are those who feel like they’ve been thrown through the ringer and each change brings about another layer of stress. Just like humans, dogs don’t handle stress very well…let alone newly adopted greyhounds who are still learning what retired life is.
Something any seasoned greyhound servant will tell you is that greyhounds love routine, and when they’re routine changes it can really throw them. Some might handle it quite humorously, tell you off with a bit of playful sass and give your bum a little love nip, but others can present with unwanted behavioural issues such as excessive vocalisation, defensive behaviours, over grooming, toileting indoors and freezing on walks.
This is why it is so important to make accommodations for the hounds, depending on their temperament and confidence, to ensure that they also have a positive experience during such an unsettled time by reducing the stress they experience.
But when we think of stress, we think of work pressures, looming deadlines, anxiety from being at social events you really don’t want to be at or nervousness over braving the magic roundabout in Swindon.
As humans, to relieve stress we take actions to reduce it in our lives. Be it seeking help with our workload or going into potato mode on the weekends and recharging our batteries…because at the end of the day, no one wants to be stressed! So, why do we let our dogs suffer from stress?
While they may not be able to say, ‘I’m really stressed-out Janet, take me home’, they will communicate it in other ways such as changes in body language, posture, and behaviour.
Unfortunately, these signs are often missed by the untrained eye and extended periods of stress can lead on to a host of behavioural issues (as mentioned) as they continue to try and communicate their discomfort. The last thing you need, when you yourself are already stressed over the Christmas countdown, the mandatory family time and all that comes with it, the last thing you want is the hound peeing on the Christmas tree, tearing up presents and making off with the nutcracker.
So, how can you ensure a positive experience for your dog? Watch them, see them and advocate for them.
- Try to maintain their normal routine e.g. keep the same feeding times, toilet breaks to the garden and walking times. You may have to provide additional toilet breaks to the garden as stress can increase the speed in which food and water travels through the body!
- Introduce changes to the environment gradually, allowing your hound to be involved, sniff, investigate and be rewarded for a calm reaction to the introduction of something new into the environment.
Spread out the changes over time to allow them the opportunity to adapt, making sure they are still eating and comfortable within their space. Slow down should they show signs of discomfort such as going off their food or toileting indoors.
- If you are rearranging the furniture, keep them out of the room with some enrichment to avoid causing them stress. When arrangements have been finished, allow them back in and provide plenty praise and support while they investigate.
- Provide plenty of enrichment and ‘Christmas free’ zone that they can escape to if they want to get away from it all.
You also want to make sure you can identify the subtle signs of stress in your hound. Particularly if you’re having a party or big family Christmas where there will be a lot of bodies in the house, which might include unfamiliar people and children that the hound hasn’t met.
The signs may be subtle, but they will be there. Changes in your dog’s body language can include, but are not limited to:
- Shaking (shake it off)
- Whining
- Yawning
- Licking
- Whale Eye
- Pinned Ears
- Rapid Blinking
- Tight Facial Muscles/Furrowed Brow
- Eyes Dilated
- Changed Posture
- Appeasement Grinning
- Tense Body
- Lip-Licking
If your dog is low-key stress, a lot of what you’ll be looking for will be listed above. Body language is key to understanding your dog, and if they’re having difficulty settling, pacing around, are shaking a lot, yawning a lot and generally just seem tense, they are quite unhappy!
This can progress further into more behavioural indicators such as uncharacteristic:
- Chewing
- Hu***ng
- Jumping Up
- Mouthing or Pawing
- Vocalising
- Boisterous and overexcitable play
At this point not only are they stressed, but they will be starting to act like overtired toddlers! Greyhounds are melodramatic at the best of times, but sleep is very important to them and a regularly disturbed sleep cycle or lack of sleep overall because of a party can cause more harm than good!
As such they may start demonstrating avoidance or displacement behaviours, or will try hiding to escape the source of their stress.
Avoidance or displacement behaviour can present in various forms such as carrying things around the house while pacing, licking their ge****ls, looking away or ignoring people when approached or if they are really worried, they may try to hide or escape. This can be simply hiding behind their favourite person, digging, or wholly leaving the room or house!
While unlikely in most cases, if the dog is pushed hard then defensive or aggressive behaviours can occur. Such behaviour is demonstrated with the intention to protect their space, warning off what is stressing them out, but without any intention to do harm. However, in the case of children or slow-moving adults, a warning air-snap can accidentally become a bite when they don’t move back quickly enough.
If things have escalated to this point, there is potentially a lot more at play then situational stress, but it can still be the cause and it is the last thing anyone wants to happen. Both for the dog’s wellbeing and that of the visitors.
Some additional steps to take if you know you have a party coming up:
- Appropriately exercise your dog and allow enough down time for them to relax and get in some sleep before the first visitors arrive.
- Set up a safe space or room which is off limits to guests to give your dog space to retreat to when overwhelmed and needing rest.
- Pre-prepare Kongs, lick mats, snuffle mats and other enrichment activities that you can provide to your dog to ease anxiety and provide enrichment.
- Inform each of the guest on arrival of the rules around interacting with the dog, signs that they don’t want attention or are stress and not to force attention on them anyway. Make sure children know to let the dog approach them, not the other way around, and that their safe space is off limits.
- Keep music low and avoid any sudden, loud bangs such as popping balloons or pulling crackers. There is a lot of fireworks at this time of year, and dogs may present a lot more sensitively to pops and bangs as a result of their heightened state of stress.
- Keep an eye on them. If you see signs of stress, restlessness or anxiety building, take the time to remove both yourself and your dog from the situation and give them time to settle. This could be providing them the pre-prepared enrichment, taking them to a quiet room and encouraging them to sleep, going in the garden to play and blow off some steam or even taking them for a walk.
If you’re an introvert, the dog is a great reason to excuse yourself to recharge your own social battery!
Also, don’t forget to make sure all the guests know not to feed your hound any of the Christmas food too…you don’t want to end up in the emergency vets!
We have hounds in our lives to be a part of the family, and that comes with a certain amount of desire to have them included during special occasions. However, not all dogs benefit from or enjoy busy environments.
Knowing your dog, their behaviour, and signals of stress, and making preparations to maintain they’re safety during the festivities will not only put your mind at ease but it will ensure they have a positive experience while sharing Christmas with you and the family!
Or, if you’re anything like our team here at the Zoomie Zone, it’s not too late to cancel all social commitments and enjoy a nice peaceful Christmas with your hounds!
When is your Christmas tree going up? Drop a comment below!
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