Thanksgiving is a celebration that brings family and friends together.
And with it just being around the corner, your home will most likely be experiencing more activity and guests. But dogs and Thanksgiving don’t go so well together, because the holiday can pose a serious risk to our furry friends.
So, while Thanksgiving brings about the festivities, it’s important to take precautions to keep your dog safe and make sure the hoomans still get to enjoy the holiday.
If you’re a dog parent who’s looking for the best ways to ensure a happy and dog-safe Thanksgiving, then you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, we’ll discuss how you can best dog-proof your home for the holiday. From food safety, preventing escape, to creating a safe space, and ensuring safe guest interactions – we have you covered!
Dogs And Thanksgiving: 5 Ways To Dog-Proof Your Home
For us hoomans, Thanksgiving means getting to enjoy fun and food-filled activities with families and friends.
But for our furry friends, it can mean loud noises, unfamiliar faces, and a whole lot of potential health hazards.
So, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving preparations and celebrations, let us not forget to ensure to take our dogs’ needs into account.
Without further ado, here are five ways to dog-proof your home for the holiday season:
1. Keep Food Hazards Out Of Reach
We believe that one of the main reasons why dogs and Thanksgiving don’t go well together is because of the deliciously dangerous food that they can easily access during all the celebrations.
As a responsible dog owner, it’s imperative that you’re well aware of Thanksgiving food that can pose a risk to your dog. Here are some:
- Turkey skin
- Cooked turkey bones
- Stuffing
- Ham
- Gravy
- Nuts
- Cranberry sauce
- Nutmeg
- Corn cobs
But this doesn’t mean your dog can’t have a taste of Thanksgiving! You can give them a few nibbles of Thanksgiving food like turkey meat (without bones and skin), sweet potato, pumpkin, and unseasoned veggies like carrots, green beans, and peas.
Or, if you want to really make your pooch feel included in the festivities, you can make homemade dog treats made from fall season food staples!
Here are helpful tips on how you can keep Thanksgiving food hazards out of your dog’s nose and their reach:
- Immediately clean any area you use for food preparations. Dogs like to sniff out leftovers on any place their nose takes them to.
- Similarly, make sure to keep your counters clear of any food for the same reason as above.
- Securely store your food in places where your dog can’t reach or easily open. These include closed cupboards, drawers, and food containers with locking lids.
- Guard and secure the trash can. During Thanksgiving festivities, the trash can is a treasure trove of leftover food for dogs! Make sure to dispose food leftovers in a tightly secured trash bag and that the trash can’s lid is closed at all times.
2. Protect Your Dog From Decorations
When we think of dogs and Thanksgiving hazards, we always think about the food. But did you know that while decorations help get everyone in the holiday spirit, they can also pose a threat to our furry friends?
Thanksgiving decorations that can pose a threat to dogs include:
- Fragrant candles: These can make your home smell nice, but they can be real dangerous when your dog knocks them over.
- String lights and electrical cords: String lights help set the Thanksgiving ambiance but your dog may be tempted to chew on them. So, if you must use them, make sure to strategically place them around your house, along with their electrical cords, to prevent chewing.
- Decorative plants and flowers: Not all indoor and decorative plants are safe for dogs. And some popular decorative plants and flowers, such as ferns, hydrangeas, and baby’s breath, are toxic to dogs. If you’re looking for plants and flowers to decorate your home with, make sure they’re dog-friendly.
3. Create A Safe Space For Your Dog
From the preparation down to the actual celebration, Thanksgiving can be hectic! And all of these can overwhelm or stress your dog out.
Here are a few common signs that your dog is getting stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious of the situation or environment:
- Tucked tail
- Pinned back ears
- Licking of lips
- Excessive panting
- Panting
- Drooling
- Growling or whining
Ensure that you understand and recognize stress signs in your dog, so you know when to escort them out of the stressful environment.
And that’s why it’s important to create a safe space for your dog. A place they can retreat to when they start feeling anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed with all the people and noise in the house during the festivities.
Ideally, this space should be away from the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, the dining table, and even the living room where all the guests are.
Furthermore, to ensure that the space is familiar, comfortable, and will calm your dog down, it should be furnished with the following:
- Your dog’s own bed and crate
- Their favorite blanket
- Their favorite toys
- Treats to chew on (to ease their anxiousness)
- Enough water and food
- Some soothing music
Make sure that your dog recognizes this safe space and can easily access it during the festivities.
4. Prevent Escape
Thanksgiving festivities means a LOT of changes for your dog, which in turn makes them stressed. It also means a lot of guests coming in and out of your front door – a recipe for the disaster of your dog escaping your home and getting lost.
Aside from stress, there are also dogs that are just natural escape artists! So, to ensure that your furry friend doesn’t get a chance to run away, here are a few tips to prevent escape during the festivities:
- Use baby gates in your front and back doors. Although, these are also helpful to keep dogs away from the kitchen!
- Microchip your dog (if you haven’t yet).
- If your dog is microchipped, make sure their information is up-to-date.
- Put your dog’s collar on with updated information on it.
- Use their favorite toy or treat to distract them. These items might help them take their mind off escaping and help calm them down.
- Believe in the saying “A tired dog is a good dog” and exercise (or have someone else exercise) your dog before the festivities. This way, they’ll be calmer when people arrive, and they might retire early for the night after greeting guests.
5. Ensure Safe Guest Interactions
As a responsible dog parent celebrating Thanksgiving with loved ones, we want to keep our dogs safe and our guests happy.
To ensure this, it’s important to let your guests know that you have a dog at home, and set some ground rules for when the arrive in your home to celebrate the holiday.
Here are some ways to prepare for guests at home and ensure interactions with your dog:
- Let your guests know in advance that you have a dog at home. They might be allergic to dogs or afraid of them.
- Tell guests to always keep doors closed to prevent the dog from escaping.
- Encourage your guests to guard their food and drinks at ALL TIMES. Furthermore, tell them to not give your dog any table scraps at any given circumstance.
- If guests will bring children with them, ensure that all interactions between the dog and children are supervised.
- Remind guests not to engage in rough play as this may become a hazard, especially if children are around.
If at any given moment, your dog displays any signs of stress or anxiety, it is in everyone’s best interest that you escort your dog to their safe space.
Conclusion
Dog-proofing your home before all the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving ensures that everyone, including your dog, gets to enjoy a happy, safe, and fun-filled holiday.
Furthermore, this also helps you show how grateful you are to be a dog parent to a furry friend that does nothing but make your life better every day!
Do you have any other dog-proofing tips for other dog parents this Thanksgiving? Share them in the comments below!