Introducing Christmas: How To Help Your Hound Cope With The Change

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 twats  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
- Humping
- 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 genitals, 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!