Tips to Keep Your Dog Calm and De-Stressed This Holiday Season

​The holiday season is upon us; and while that means festivities and fun for you and your family, it can mean a lot of stress for your dog. Some of the stresses your pet has to deal with this time of the year are the weather and unfamiliar faces and guests that may visit your home during this time. The summer months bring with them lighting, thunder and electrical storms all of which can upset your dog. 

Most dogs are extremely sensitive to climatic changes and some of them are also phobic when it comes to dealing with the stormy weather around them. They have a very acute hearing and a keen sense of smell and know when a storm is approaching well before humans do. If you find your dog becoming restless and anxious, it’s important that you don’t make too much of a fuss about it.

Act normal and comfort them without mollycoddling them too much as this will help calm them down eventually. The same logic applies to help your dog through the noise and bustle associated with parties and guests in your house. This same approach should be used when there is too much of commotion or when fireworks are being lit in the vicinity of your home. 

Some tips to follow 

Here are some more things you can do to help de-stress your dog:

• Thundershirts- This coat helps in calming and settling your dog with the gentle pressure it applies to their body. 
• Storm warning app- Download this app on your phone; it will pre-warn you about an approaching storm and you can take the necessary steps to calm your dog. 
• Music pod- The Pet Tunes music pod that operates via Bluetooth is specifically designed to help calm anxious dogs; it can play continuously for 8 hours and is useful even when you are at work, to keep your dog relaxed and calm at home. These are sold here at K9 SWiM.
• Herbal remedies- There are a number of natural, herbal remedies that help in calming the phobias, fears, and anxiety that pets face. Natural products are drug-free and non-invasive and great to calm your pet in situations such as these. Talk to us about herbal remedies for your dog as we make many herbal remedies not just for calming and they are made up for specifically for your dog.
• Keep your dog in a sheltered space- Bring your dog indoors or keep them in the garage or any other area of your home where the fury of the storm is less evident. 
• Get some prescribed medication- If your dog suffers from severe anxiety attacks when there are too many people around or when the weather is very stormy, you should consider visiting your vet and they may recommend a prescribed medication to calm your dog.

Make the holiday season stress-free for your dog 

If you are planning on hosting parties during the holiday season, do spare a thought for your nervous pet with unfamiliar visitors. The idea is to create a safe zone he can retreat to in case he feels stressed. That could mean keeping one room free for him, with his bed and water and food bowls easily accessible. This will reduce his anxiety and give you the time to focus on the party and your guests. 

The other thing you need to focus on is the activity levels of your dog during the holiday season. With all the running around you have to do decorating the house and preparing food for guests etc. it’s easy for your dog’s needs to get sidelined. The one way to ensure this doesn’t happen is to bring your dog to K9 SWiM’s Hydrotherapy Centre. Your pet can swim around and have fun at our indoor pool and get the exercise he needs during the holiday season too.