11/28/2024
Just like the Macy’s Parade, our turkey day tradition is Riku Smart Tiger back on the page to remind everyone to keep your dogs and guests safe during the holiday.
We at Fortunate K9 wish all of our friends, fans and students a wonderful Thanksgiving!
A THANKSGIVING REMINDER
A word to the wise (that's YOU, friend of FK9!).
Big plans for Thanksgiving? Do your dog a favor and consider the following.
Every year at this time, our phone starts ringing more than usual and the “inquiry” inbox fills with stories that usually include the line "But he's never done THAT before!". Many professional trainers will tell you that the days after Thanksgiving, Christmas and the big summer holidays are their busiest time for dog bite calls. The combination of busy hosts, inappropriate behavior from guests who insist on getting in your dog's face, barely-supervised children, and often, adult beverages adds up to a bad situation just waiting to happen. It’s also a time when rescues and shelters hear bad news from adopters, especially when it comes to newly-adopted dogs who are still learning the ropes with their new families. Exposing these dogs to the overstimulation of holiday gatherings often results in a lot of bad feelings, and sometimes ends up with a previously uncomplicated dog being presented for an evaluation at FK9 with a bite history. If you add in the presence of other dogs, often untrained and under poor control, you're just one dropped turkey leg away from a dog fight. Do I sound like Debbie Downer here? It's only because I know what awaits us on Friday morning: probably half a dozen inquiries or voicemails from panicked owners, regarding situations that are totally preventable.
So if you're reading this, be smart, be kind, be fair to your dog. Enjoy whatever festivities you have planned while keeping him safe from circumstances you can't control. Here’s how:
UNDERSTAND THAT MOST DOGS’ RECOGNIZED FAMILY IS THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE WITH THEM
While there are plenty of super friendly dogs who have never met a stranger, there are also quite a lot who become anxious and even defensive if presented with too many new people at once. This is especially true of many newly adopted “rescue” dogs, who may have lived fairly isolated lives before being sent to the agencies who place them into homes. A busy family gathering is probably one of the worst places to introduce a dog to new people and sets the dog up for failure, especially if that first meeting is during the hectic arrival of the family at the front door. If you must allow your dog and your guests to make acquaintance, it’s best done later on in the form of a walk that you, your guest and your dog take together rather than an up-close-and-personal “interview” in which your dog may feel crowded by his potential new human friends. The frequently opening door is also an invitation to both nervous and adventurous dogs to make their escape while their owners are distracted. While spending most of Thanksgiving searching for an escaped dog who’s gone walkabout may sound like a fun story for future holidays, the reality of that situation would not be as quaint.
Keep in mind that when an army of festive “invaders” shows up at Thanksgiving, your garden-variety pet dog may not automatically understand that this is a good thing. Your beloved Uncle Joe who you haven’t seen in ten years might as well be an armed intruder to some dogs, and your fragile grandma may not appreciate the obnoxious attention of your 75 pound Lab mix as he investigates the green bean casserole she’s carrying in. Good, results-based training is always the answer to these issues, but if you don’t yet have impeccable off leash control of your dog at the very exciting moments when guests arrive, do him and your guests a favor and keep him away from the front door.
THE CRATE IS YOUR DOG’S BEST FRIEND
One of the kindest things we can do for a dog is to provide a quiet, safe spot where he can be kept away from the impossible-to-supervise actions of canine and human strangers. If you're the host of the feast, make sure that your dog isn't allowed to run around like a maniac just because it’s “his” house. Giving him his own spot away from the activities and making sure that people don't bother him will be much more pleasant for him -and- you. During downtime, you can bring him out in a more controlled state and let him visit, but only if you know you have very good control over him and your guests.
If you’re bringing him to another person’s home for Thanksgiving, make sure that you bring a crate or there is one provided for him so he can have his own familiar spot to stay out of trouble. Although many dogs do just fine while uncrated but confined to a single room at their owner’s place, the stress and excitement of being in a new environment may mean that the carpet edge or chair leg or TV remote that he would never dream of touching at home is suddenly a very desirable chew toy at Aunt Violet’s house.
COUSINS ALWAYS GET YOU IN TROUBLE
Anyone growing up in a big family knows this rule all too well. It applies to dogs, too. Just because the dogs at your sister’s house or the one your uncle brings to your house are “family”, your dog doesn’t know that. Even dogs who are very tolerant of other dogs can have a shorter fuse when a strange canine visitor appears in their territory and starts getting attention from their human. And the dog who visits a home with others living there may not take kindly to those resident dogs getting in his face or defending their toys from him. Unless you specifically have time set aside to introduce the dogs correctly and safely (offsite, walking near each other and then turned loose in an enclosed area outside back at the house), save the meeting for another day when you can focus on making it successful.
PLEASE DON’T FEED THE ANIMALS!
Thanksgiving is all about the food, and it’s only natural to want to share our bounty with our best friend. But use discretion. A few bites of turkey in his dish is a fine treat for your dog, but a full course of stuffing and gravy to go with it may lead to a pretty unpleasant night for everyone. Don’t forget that even small quantities of onion, garlic (especially seasonings like garlic powder or salt), raisins or chocolate can be toxic to a dog, something that not everyone at the table might realize. Keep your dog away from the dining area and keep any well-meaning treat-givers of all ages away from his eager snout.
These are simple guidelines, maybe a little hard to hear if you had visions of a Norman Rockwell painting featuring your best pal at its center. But please remember how often we see the unhappy results of dogs being over-faced at big holiday gatherings, and can only imagine how sad it must be to have what should be a fun, peaceful event marred by the memory of an unpleasant and totally avoidable dog-related incident. We don’t want that for our students or their families.
We hope that all of our FK9 Family has a wonderful, safe Thanksgiving. And please know that we are very grateful for YOU!
