Day 19 - How does your dog celebrate?
When it comes to celebrating the Christmas Season sometime we wear a Christmas jumper – and sometimes it’s our dog’s turn!
Not all dogs are actually comfortable wearing clothes like hats, jumpers, antlers, booties etc so although they may tolerate having them put on we need to look at their overall body language!
Dog Communications aren’t always what we expect as it’s not all based on a single thing happening but actually several different types of body language happening at once.
For example we often hear owners say their dog must be enjoying something because they can see their dog’s tail is wagging! However wagging can mean various things depending on the tail height, speed of the wag, the dog’s stance, plus other factors such as ear position, how the eyes look etc.
So if a dog is given a Christmas sweater and their owner puts it on their dog and the response is the dog wags their tail fast and high up, they bounce about in a happy way, are playful, ignoring the material then chances are the dog is comfortable wearing the outfit.
If a dog is dressed in a costume but they stand totally still and refuse to move, hold their tail really low and still, lower their head, possible move backwards a few steps, yawn several times or lick their lips/nose then they are showing signs of discomfort, worry and even stress from the situation.
So we have some alternative ideas for you to try with your dogs to help them show their Christmas Side!
We have some ideas to show you that are from our own Training Classes!
Bandanas ties up or slide on the collar, teaching a ‘hide face’ with a cutout picture, using a Christmas blanket or even a festive collar and lead can all be much more comfortable for a lot of dogs!
Does your dog enjoy dressing up? Whether it’s a Christmas sweater, a bandana, novelty glasses or laying on a cosy blanket we would love to see how your dog gets involved!
Come and see our post on FB and add your dog’s photo too!!
https://www.facebook.com/295002648260/posts/10158669020843261/?d=n
