Christmas Decor And Dogs

Christmas decor and dogs, more specifically puppies, can be nothing short of chaotic. However, it can also be nothing out of the ordinary, it’ll just depend on your dog and their attitude and interest in things. Having a dog or a puppy doesn’t mean you can’t decorate for Christmas, but you should take a little extra time to place things if you know what I mean.

Brie is a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier (they’re Irish) and she definitely had the attitude of a terrier in her early days. She still does to some degree, but she’s calmer in her older age 😉

Christmas Decor And Dogs – Our Disaster

Let’s start this with a funny story. I mean, it’s funny now, but it wasn’t funny then. In full transparency, we didn’t put up a lot. We did put up the tree and then had our nieces come over and decorate.  Brie showed little interest in the tree and I thought, “perfect – that’s going to make this a lot easier”.

And that’s when I realized I was wrong. Dead wrong.

Brie was just shy of a year old at this point, she was fully trained and on occasion, we would let her roam the main living area with the bedroom doors closed for small bouts of time. I still came home to check on her at lunchtime, but I always take a late lunch so I was OK leaving her for a few hours with no access to the bedrooms.

Now, we decorated the tree on the weekend, I feel like Monday was normal, and then I came home to chaos on Tuesday after work.

Brie had swatted ornaments from the tree and smashed them/stomped them, whatever you want to call it. And not just a few ornaments. A LOT OF ORNAMENTS. The tree was still upright, but our living room was covered in broken ornaments. I wish we had a camera to record this because it’s all just such a blur!

I can see her now; proudly standing on the sofa or chair and swatting ornaments off the tree. Why would the humans put toys on the tree? This must be some sort of game. There was no harm to her paws or her insides thankfully, but she was back to being gated off in the front entryway for the foreseeable future.

Did I decorate much more after that? Nope.

Christmas Decor and dogs – Take two!

Now, this went much better. We put the tree up and kept ornaments from the bottom of the tree in hopes that would alleviate temptation. It did in fact work, and while she would occasionally sniff at the tree and maybe get a little too sniffy, she was told to leave it and would back off.

It’s not that Terrier’s don’t listen, it’s that their listening is selective. But, when that stern tone comes out, she knows. I wasn’t happy in 2013 when that ornament swatting/stomping session happened, and she knew that. Wheatens are very intuitive; it’s the terrier in them that sometimes keeps them from listening to that intuition 😉

Christmas Decor and Dogs – Tip 1

Bring out your decorations and let them sit in their bins for a day or two and let the dog sniff. See what they tend to fixate on if anything. They may not fixate on anything until outside of your storage bins, but their senses are more sensitive than ours.

If once out of the bins they continue to fixate on something, it may be best to put up high where a dog can’t get to, or just put away until the following year.

Christmas Decor and Dogs – Tip 2

Let your dog be around when you put up your Christmas tree. You can always have them on a lead and have that tied to you or something nearby so they’re not completely in the way or out of control. Now, Wheaten Terriers are unlike any other dog I’ve ever had – she loves to be a part of the action. Lesser so now that she’s getting older, but if you don’t include them in something, they get sassier than normal.

If your dog is completely uninterested in your tree when you’re putting up and decorating, count yourself lucky 🙂

Our Christmas tree is fake, and I was worried when we went to my aunt’s house the first Christmas with her about what she would do. She was definitely intrigued by the smell of the real tree, and the presents underneath as she is a present unwrapping demon type, but she mainly left it alone. I really think her interest in Christmas trees is the wrapped presents underneath now.

And don’t put dangly ornaments at the bottom – that goes for cat and dog owners alike! Dangly Christmas decor is a temptation too good to pass up for any pet!

Christmas Decor and Dogs – Tip 3

Try and limit the amount of floor decor you have, unless you’re swapping out holiday stuff with your standard decor. When I put new things out, Brie gets very nosey and intrigued. I used to keep garland up high where our stockings are. This year I put garland down in the windowsill of our bedroom and she gave it a sniff, probably a lick or two, and has left it alone since.

I bought a snowman and Santa that are just wooden decorative pieces and Brie tried to pick a fight with the snowman because of his pointy nose (carrot).

The less we put out to tempt them, especially in their puppy years, the better. And hey, this helps the Christmas clutter we’re all guilty of when we collect new and fun decorative pieces for the holidays.

Christmas Decor and Dogs – Tip 4

Presents typically go under the tree, and dogs love to unwrap things and sniff out things that do or do not belong to them. We don’t put presents under the tree until the week of Christmas, and definitely not her presents until Christmas. You can put decorative presents under your tree and then replace them with real presents.

Hot tip for parents – can help your kids stop shaking their presents. Nothing to shake 😉

It’s The Most Wonderful Time …Now

It can be stressful dealing with a dog or puppy during the holidays. I truly understand that and honestly, you may find it easier to decorate nothing at all the first year or two. If Brie had continued to go after the tree, I would have put it in the second bedroom at the time, where she couldn’t get to it.

The puppy days go by faster than you’d ever believe, and they do get calmer – even Wheatens! So if you’re stressing over your Christmas decor and dog, it’s temporary. We can still have festive households even when our dogs are testing our patience.

I made the mistake of putting a fabric penguin ornament on the tree towards the bottom, and even at the ripe old age of nearly 9, she became fascinated by it. I do think she was first distracted by a present under the tree and then noticed the ornament. However, to keep it safe, I moved the penguin.

Every dog is different and every home is different. Temperments definitely play a part in how dogs will react, but for the most part, once their inquisitive years are over, you should be fairly safe. Before you know it, you’ll be reminiscing on the days of trouble they once caused, bringing a smile to your face. We’re thankful to live in a smaller space, where there’s less chance for trouble. You can find my small space decor tips on the blog.

Cats are a whole other ballgame. And since I don’t own a cat, or rather, a cat doesn’t own me, this is for the dog parents out there.