Happy Holidays!

Tis the season when family and friends gather together to celebrate and pets are underfoot! I know... Thanksgiving brought home five adult children, two grandchildren and six pets - all dogs! We loved it. What a great celebration. We sat down to eat and the dogs laid down under our feet, around our feet, and beside our feet just in case any scrap of turkey hit the floor!

Christmas will come and the experience will be similar. This year we have two younger dogs, both around a year and 1/2 and four older dogs who like to find cubby holes in which to nap. So, as we plan our gift giving, travels, and party time, we are also planning how to accommodate the age range of the pets.

How do we manage? We keep everyone on their regular pet food, limit treats, give them regular and frequent times outside, chew toys, and separate pet beds. Because the younger animals want to play, sometimes quite enthusiastically, we try to give them enough space to do so without having them tear up the house. This means "human supervision" and sometimes human interaction in the game. For the older ones, we make sure they have space to escape to, pet beds or pillows in quiet areas.

My daughter-in-law, Laurie, has always had an uncanny way of getting animals to "take turns" just as though they were children on the playground. When it is treat time, each dog is called by name to get their treat and the other dogs wait patiently for their turn. When the humans grew tired of tug-o-war with the younger dogs, we simply got another dog to hold one end of the roped toy and tug.

The relationship between our pets and the people is based on setting boundaries and expectations. We are as clear as we can be as to what we expect from the dogs and we do not let situations progress to a point of being out of control. The dogs are praised for good behavior and corrected immediately for behavior that could cause a problem for family or visitors. For example, one young dog, Skyler, likes to jump up on you. Laurie has taught Skyler hand signals that indicate expected behavior. When Skyler starts to jump, Laurie holds up her hand, closed in a fist (not threatening just a clear shape Skyler can quickly pick up on) indicating that Skyler should sit. Then she immediately has Skyler lay down from the sitting position by lowering her hand. Holding her hand in an open (fingers together and up as though you were saying stop like a traffic policeman) Laurie tells Skyler to "stay." This breaks the jumping pattern and helps Skyler get control of his behavior and calm down. It takes much less time than yelling, "Stop! Stop!!! Stop!!!!"

We will be checking the toys we give as gifts very carefully this year. They really need to be age and size appropriate. Young dogs have sharp teeth and some toys don't last long enough to support the cost. If you are considering squeaky toys, squeak them about ten or fifteen times in the store. If the sound drives you nuts put it back. There is no need in putting your money into something which will cause you to be angry with the dog when it plays with it.

Try going organic with the treats or make your own. It's as easy as making cookies and just as much fun.

What ever you do for your celebration, have fun! We'll be thinking about you.

Breeders, rescuers, writers, poets, photographers, crafters... got something you would like to share with our readers? Contact us at support@springerspaniels.com.