[DogFoodie]

Alas, there’s a place for all of my totally random off topic ramblings! Best of all… no ***OFF TOPIC*** disclaimer needed!

So, my dilemma is this…

Now that it’s finally gotten “cold” and we finally had some snow tonight, it’s starting to feel a little like Christmas. With a 60 pound Golden pup, I’ve reached this crossroad… do I put up a Christmas tree that I’m quite certain Sam will knock over, chew up or something worse; or do I forgo the tree this year? I considered the possibility of a tiny tree on top of a cabinet in the living room and I refuse to consider the purchase of a play-yard like you use for babies that goes all the way around the tree. The worst part of all this is that I don’t want my daughter to feel disappointed.

I just wondered how you guys planned to puppy-proof your homes for the holidays?

[cyndi]

we got a pound puppy 2 months ago (can’t figure out how to get his pic in my profile), and decided not to put up a tree because he’s into everrrrything. but…i don’t have a kid, so there’s no one to be disappointed. i think you should go for a small tree you can put on a table for your daughter, and make it totally hers – let her do the decorating! we cut back drastically on any decorations that are his level, because i don’t want to be yelling ‘leave it’ all month!

[Toxed2loss]

Hi Betsy,
I have had a puppy in the house for the last 3 Christmases, I do the tree with non breakable ornaments on the bottom. I also work with the dog, reinforcing the “leave it” command with lots of praise and treats for successful experiences. In just a few minutes, I’ve had all my pups looking at me as if to say “see me leaving that alone? Do I get a treat?” I make sure to reinforce it a lot for a few days. By the third day, no problem. I should say, I do have a very stable stand, not one of those flimsy ones with the three legs. 🙂 Though we’ve never had an incident. The other thing is, I don’t put mine up for a month either. Just a couple of weeks. And of course, I don’t leave the dogs loose in the house on their own, since I’m always here. 🙂

[InkedMarie]

I’ve never had a problem with a dog trying to pull the tree down, only a kid (we put it in the playpen one year). We do have to make sure there are no wooden ornaments within reach or Boone finds a new chew toy:)

I have three trees. One in the breezeway and a small one on the dining room table (not decorated, only lit) and one in the living room. We have three mostly to piss off the neighbors, truth be told.

[theBCnut]

Just last year, I got a table top tree because Of BC pup in the house. They are totally OCD about balls. This year we have another pup, it will be table tree again. My kids are getting old enough that they aren’t wild about the tree having to go up at the first possible moment anymore, so it’s no disapointment to them to have a dwarf tree. When they were younger they loved the idea of their own tree.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Growing up we always had a big tree in the living room then I’d have a small tree in my bedroom that I put homemade ornaments and popcorn strings on. We had a German Shepherd at the time. One day we left her alone in the house – BIG mistake. When we got home the big tree in the living room was tipped over, ornaments were chewed up, she went in my room and ate all the popcorn strings off my tree and she was pooping out tinsel for a couple days. She’s so lucky she didn’t get an intestinal blockage (this is the same dog that climbed on the counter to reach the shelf above the counter to get to my halloween candy another year, ate it all and lived to tell the tale lol)! Anyways, my hounds don’t bother the tree. I had more of an issue with my kitten to be honest – he was always trying to climb it and was batting at the ornaments and tearing them off the tree. I’d just put a doggie gate up – if you’re not going to be there to supervise sam just put the gate up so he can’t get into the room the tree is in.

[Shawna]

We’re not putting up a tree this year because my house is Buzz proofed (my one year old grandson).. Darn kid gets into EVERYTHING!!!

IF you put up a tree and have glass ornaments make sure you have cotton balls and real cream in the house.. If Sam eats any of them you can soak the cotton balls in the cream and feed them slowly one by one to Sam. We had to do this with our first foster dog — she ate the THICK glass fixtures off my expensive lamp on my headboard (three of them each about half the size of a tennis ball — left the bulbs just ate the glass fixture). The cotton ball and cream was the vets suggestion. Worked like a charm.

I like Cyndi’s idea of using a table top tree and letting your daughter decorate it too..

[InkedMarie]

Shawna, when our youngest was 11 months old, it was Christmas time. We put the tree in the playpen.

[Shawna]

That’s a good idea Marie except……. Buzz is a year and seven months now.. For about seven months now he has been scaling the baby gates (which we actually use for the dogs not the babies). For the last month or two he’s been pulling himself up the back of the livingroom chair and sofa to get on the furniture. The easy way is apparently not challenging enough… ughhh.. The playpen is a bit higher then the back of the furniture but I see him either 1. pulling the playpen and tree down on himself or 2. succeeding in getting IN the playpen with the tree… He’s a strong little dude.. Amazes me how strong he is.. Not even two and can lift his own body weight — and he’s not small. He is the same weight minus 2/10 of a pound as his sister who is 13 months older than him….

He’s the first baby human boy I’ve ever been around… I had NO IDEA!!!! 🙂 He’s completely fearless and will get what he wants come h— or high water… He does mind if you are watching him 24/7. I live in the real world though and he can move FAST :)..

[pugmomsandy]

I did a tree on the dining table one year and a doggie gate/xpen around the tree another year. This year, I’m just going to gate off the whole dining room as hubby already bought a huge tree that is too big to go upstairs. Upstairs would have been nice since it is gated off!

[DogFoodie]

I was talking to my daughter about our tree dilemma on the way to school this morning. It sounds like we’ve decided to go ahead and put up ye old plastic greenery, with very few ornaments.

Last year, my pretty tree seemed to have an issue in that one of the plugs was corroded and “Section B” wouldn’t light at all. So, I decided that this year would have to be the last year for this tree anyway. I have to have to gate off the living room, but suspect that’s what we’ll end up doing anyway… at least the majority of the time.

Question for Shawna, tell me more about the cotton balls and cream!? I know you said if it’s they eat something glass… so is it basically to coat their stomach and attach to the glass so that the shards pass through?

Toxed, agreed… our tree isn’t up yet and won’t be for long. But, you’re infinitely more disciplined with your dog training than I am! Remember, your dogs deliver the cardboard TP roll to the kindling basket, pick up their toys and put them away, etc… and that’s just to start. ; )

[Toxed2loss]

Hi Betsy,
Well, that’s just because I get bored easy, just like the dogs. GFETE I start wondering things like, “Is it possible to train a dog to______?” Sometimes its because I’m lazy. Sometimes because its challenging. Sometimes because its funny. 🙂 o.k., then there’s that disability thing. Stuff I need her to do… :-} It really doesn’t take that long. Just a few minutes here and there.

[Hue Z]

This organic, all-natural dry food contains brown rice, oatmeal, green peas and potatoes– a combination of ingredients designed http://www.testking.net/testking-640-864.htm
to provide the perfect balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The Natural Balance formula is vegan and has added nutrients to meet a dog’s specific nutritional needs

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Hue Z.

[Akari_32]

We always put a tree up, and one of the first things we teach the dogs are “leave it” and “no”. Moms got a lot of breakable things throughout the house, so it’s important that they learn not to bother things that isn’t meant for them, for their safety and moms sanity.

When we put the tree up, it’s always in a place that’s a bit out of the way (though this year it’s not) and the breakable ornaments are always on the top half of the tree. And if we don’t trust them to be left alone with it, the offending pets are put away when we leave the house (the cat this year, in our case. It’s his first tree, and he wants to play with all the pretty dangly things LOL).

If you have the patience, it’s a perfect time to teach your guy a few things about what is his and what is not, and what is appropriate to be crazy around and what is not.

[theBCnut]

When I had puppies around Christmas, I always put an x-pen around the tree. Now, I have a smaller tree that I put on the dining room table.

[Dog_Obsessed]

@Hue z That has nothing to do with the topic. This is not a place for promoting certain brands of dog food.

[DogFoodie]

Funny thing is, I first posted this two years ago, and we did in fact put the tree up. As crazy as Sam was as a puppy, he left it alone for the most part; with one minor exception that some of you may recall, that darn glass ornament that he got a hold of and promptly crunched up and swallowed, landing us at the vet first thing in the morning the day after Christmas.

[crazy4cats]

My goofy (psycho) dog has chewed up at least 5 ornaments and a centerpiece so far. He is three years old now, but still is not to be trusted. Am looking for a some type of gate or pen to put around the tree. It makes me so mad, but also concerned about him eating something dangerous. So far no Santa or Snowman heads have shown up in the yard! Lol!

[Hater and Molly’s Mom]

My girls are ok with the tree. I had some stuffed santas and snowmen sitting around but they are pretty much chewed up! I couldn’t keep Molly off of them. She seemed to think they were her new toys!
Both girls have stockings. They are just waiting for Santa to come fill them.

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by Hater and Molly's Mom.

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