Have to do a little more work but this is what I will be submitting to the paper for this coming week I hope: Holiday Visits Karen Peak It is your turn to host Thanksgiving dinner. In marches Great Aunt Edna with her snappy little Spiffy who proceeds to go after other guests. Your Aunt knows Cousin Louise’s child is deathly afraid of dogs yet refuses to confine an out of control dog. The child has to be taken home after a severe panic attack. Uncle Sal has an elderly cat than is quite frail but his daughter brings her Christmas Great Dane puppy to show off her favorite gift. The puppy hunts down the cat and ends up being severely scratched and the cat badly injured. You know your child has emotional issues and has a habit of targeting animals. You fail to tell your friend you will be bringing her to a Moms Only New Year’s Brunch. The child dashed out of your car, blows through the front door and promptly kicks the family dog – who responds with a bite. Even though your nephew told you to leave your cat home because his wife is very allergic, you decide her allergies cannot be that bad. This results in the poor woman spending her Holiday at the local emergency room. The Holidays are stressing enough without making it worse by being disrespectful pet owners. When you go visiting, you get permission to bring your pet. Never assume because they love Sparky at your house that he will be as welcome at your host’s. There is a chance that the behaviors you think are adorable upset guests at your house but they are afraid to comment as it is your house. Those same behaviors are not welcome other places. If they say “Yes” it may not be an honest “yes” but “a keep the peace with the extended family and we will suffer though and pray nothing happens” yes. It is best to just leave your pet home. It is not fair to force your pet on others, especially if there are questionable behaviors or situations that would make his arrival unpleasant. If you own pets and are inviting people to spend the holidays, it is your responsibility to keep everyone safe. If you are worried about a particular visitor, do all you can to limit access to your pets. Close and lock doors, an obstacle course of baby gates to get to the room your pet is in, pet on a different level of the house, etc. Instruct parents they are responsible for their child. You cannot be host and babysitter at the same time. Even if your pet is well mannered and social, the most laid back critter can become tired of the attention and begin to let people know. Dogs and cats may not appreciate hugs and kisses, being poked, face grabbed and baby talked too, food being dangled around them and laughter as it is taken away, etc. Keep your pet safely confined. If people want to visit him, bring them in a couple at a time for supervised greetings. It is not fair to any pet to be forced to endure a house full of visitors. Even if the pet seems OK, there may be hidden damage happening and the pet react adversely the next time there are groups at the house. We know how stressing the holidays can be for us, they can be even more-so for our pets and those around our pets. Karen Peak is owner/operator of West Wind Dog Training in Prince William County, founder of The Safe Kids/Safe Dogs Project, a published author, wife, mother and the manager of a multi-dog, multi-species household.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 14:05:43 +0000
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