Creating Calm Canines

 Creating a Calm Christmas Special

Christmas time can be crazy for us humans and our pets! 

• We fill our homes with decorations that might seem unsettling to our dogs, especially the Christmas tree.
• Our schedule or routine often changes with some extra time off work/school plus extra time home with family.
• We are more likely to travel to see family we haven't been able to see since last Christmas.
• We often have people come to stay with us.
• There is extra time spent in stores which adds stress to us all! Christmas shopping, longer than normal lines, bigger crowds, etc. Often our dogs feel this stress in us when we get home!

Fearful, sensitive, and overly-excited and real young dogs tend to struggle with the changes that happen at Christmas more then confident, social dogs that are used to changing routines. Often I take emergency calls from people that have been going to Grandma's (insert any name here) house every year, but now they have a new puppy and either A- Owners don't know where to find a good puppy sitter OR B- Owners think taking their puppy with them will be real easy, then get a rude awakening when it's hard. 

We will have 3 Christmas promotions this year! The first 2 are totally FREE!

Here ion my blog we have the  "December List of Holidays Activities!" This is a list of 30+ activities to do with dog during the holidays. The list gets posted Dec 1st, then it gets updated with links to photos, videos, or blogs as I work through the list with my dogs. You're encouraged to copy the list and do as many activities as you can!

On Patreon we have the "12 Top Tips to Creating a Calm Christmas!"

The last one is super low cost virtual session to help your pup have a peaceful holiday despite all the chaos we often add to our daily routines. I'll be offering 30 minutes for $30 and 60 minutes for $50 available for Zoom sessions and video calls only.

The 12 Top Tips to Creating a Calm Christmas

This is a FREE resource that will be offered to Patreon members!  You can sign up for a free account and get access to this. As a member, you'll get notified each day Dec 1 - 12th when I add the post for that day. 

Here is a list of topics:

Day 1: Plan for Success
Day 2: Create a Safe Space
Day 3: A Present for Your Dog
Day 4: Creating Calm Introductions with People
Day 5: Creating Safety Around Other Animals
Day 6: Taking a Sniff-a-bout
Day 7: Packing for Calm
Day 8: Set Up for Successful Traveling
Day 9: Special Holiday Treats
Day 10: Set Up for Success
Day 11: The Big Day
Day 12: Safe Holiday Exits

One of the problems with lists of this nature is that they often cater to the most common needs that dog trainers experience with their clients. You may find that all 12 tips can easily be implemented into your holiday routine or you might find that only 2 really apply to your dog. Each dog if a unique individual, just like each family is different, each holiday gathering is different. So if you like the Top 12 Tips, but feel like you need a bit more, check out the next discount on Virtual Planning!

Creating a Calm Christmas Virtual Planning Sessions

From December 1st to 20th, I'll be offering a discounted rate on individual sessions based on reviewing the changes that your dog will face during the holidays and creating a plan for success. This might include some training you can do before the craziness happens, some enrichment you can add or other ways to help meet your dog's needs, and tips for making sure all the pets in the house and visiting pets can share space successfully. You can schedule your 30 min Virtual Session for just $30 or your 60 min Virtual Session for $50. (My normal rate with be $75 for any session up to 60 min long.) 

This is one-on-one time to look at your holiday plans and your dog's individual needs and brainstorm ways to meet your dog's needs in an attempt to prevent or reduce the challenging behaviors that happen when your dog becomes stressed.

I look forward to hearing about you and your dog plan to spend the holidays with as much peaceful feelings as possible and reducing stress as much as we can for everyone!