Holiday Guests and Parties With a Dog: A Calm, Safe Plan

A holiday gathering goes well for a dog when the quiet room is ready before anyone arrives, guests know not to feed the dog, bags and medications are shut away, the front door is managed, and every moment with children is supervised. Most problems at parties come from food the dog shouldn’t have, a door left open, or a dog pushed past what they can handle. All three are easier to prevent than to fix.

Before anyone arrives

Set up the quiet room. The AVMA says all pets should have “a comfortable, quiet place indoors if they want to retreat,” a room or crate “away from the commotion, where your guests won’t follow, that your pet can go to anytime they want to get away.” The ASPCA suggests adding cozy blankets. I add water, the dog’s own bed, and a chew or a stuffed food toy, and I take the dog there a few times earlier in the week so it’s a familiar, good place rather than a punishment.

Tell your guests. The AVMA recommends letting guests know ahead of time that you have pets, partly for people with allergies or weakened immune systems. It’s also the moment to give the rules: please don’t feed the dog, and please close the door behind you.

Practice the two cues that matter most. A mat the dog goes to when the bell rings and a solid “leave it” do more than anything else on the day. My guide to cues to teach before the holidays walks through both.

Bags, coats and medications

This is the hazard most hosts miss. The ASPCA warns that guests may carry medication that could be toxic to curious pets, and its holiday safety tips ask overnight guests to keep their medication in a closed cabinet rather than in a bag or suitcase. A guest’s coat or purse can also hold:

• Sugar-free gum and mints. The FDA warns that the mints common in the holiday season can cause life-threatening problems for dogs if they contain xylitol. See is xylitol poisonous to dogs?
• Nicotine products. Pet Poison Helpline calls nicotine a rapidly acting toxin with a narrow safety margin for pets, and notes that some nicotine products also contain xylitol.
• Edibles. The ASPCA says it gets many calls about pets eating marijuana, including edibles such as brownies.

The fix is simple: one closed room for every bag and coat, and a quick word with overnight guests about their toiletry bag.

The food and the drinks

The AVMA’s advice is to keep people food away from pets “and instruct everyone else to do the same,” and to clear food from the table, counters and serving areas when you’re done with them. The ASPCA adds: don’t leave a drink unattended where a pet can reach it. A few habits that help:

• Serve from a counter, not a low coffee table.
• Put a jar of dog treats by the door, so guests who want to give the dog something have something to give.
• Close snack bags. The FDA warns that a dog can put its head into a chip or snack bag far enough that the bag wraps around the nose and mouth and suffocates it.
• Take out the trash. The AVMA recommends a covered, tightly secured bag in a closed can outdoors for carcasses, bones and the strings and packaging that wrapped the meat.

What’s on the table matters too: my guides to Thanksgiving foods and Christmas foods and plants go dish by dish.

The front door

The AVMA’s word is “watch the exits”: while you’re welcoming guests and collecting coats, a dog “may make a break for it out the door and become lost.” I use the quiet room or a baby gate while people arrive and leave, and I keep the leash on the hook by the door. The AVMA also asks you to check that your dog’s ID tag and microchip registration carry your current contact information, so a dog who does slip out is more likely to come home.

Children

The AKC is clear that “you need to always supervise your dog’s interactions with children,” and that “younger children need constant supervision, even when they know the rules.” Visiting children don’t know your dog, and your dog doesn’t know them. A few rules for the day:

• An adult watches whenever dog and child are together. When nobody can, the dog goes to the crate or a child-free room with a chew, which the AKC says should feel like quiet time, not punishment.
• Teach the simple rule the AKC suggests: growling always means back away.
• Let older children help with training, such as asking for a sit and delivering the treat, which the AKC says builds good associations.

Visiting dogs

If a guest asks to bring their dog and you don’t know how the dogs will get along, the AVMA says you can politely decline, or plan to spend time introducing them, supervising and stepping in before anyone gets hurt. A crowded party is a hard place for a first meeting. My guide to introducing a second dog covers the slower way: neutral ground, a walk side by side, and short supervised time together.

Reading your dog during the party

The AVMA notes that “even pets that aren’t normally shy may become nervous in the hubbub.” The AKC names subtle stress signs such as yawning; lip-licking, turning away and leaving the room are others, all covered in my guide to reading your dog’s body language, and the free body language decoder helps you read them in the moment. When you see them, walk your dog to the quiet room with a chew and let them sit the rest out. If your dog barks, lunges or growls at visitors, my guide to introducing a reactive dog to house guests is the place to start, and the AVMA suggests asking your vet if visitors upset your dog a lot.

If you’re the guest: staying at someone else’s house

The ASPCA’s advice for celebrating at someone else’s home is to double-check before the evening starts that the exits are securely shut and the food and medications are put away. For the trip itself, the AVMA says pets in vehicles should always be restrained with a secure harness or a carrier, and never left alone in the car. It also notes that interstate and international travel regulations require a health certificate from your veterinarian, even if you’re traveling by car, so check the requirements for every state you’ll visit or pass through. My road trip guide covers the drive, and the free dog sitter instructions help if your dog stays home with someone else.

If something goes wrong

If your dog eats something from a bag, a plate or the trash, call your vet or a poison line right away: ASPCA Animal Poison Control (888) 426-4435 or Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764-7661 (a fee may apply). My guide to what to do if your dog ate something toxic covers the first ten minutes, and the free pet poison emergency card keeps the numbers on the fridge where a guest or sitter can find them.