What do dogs think about Christmas?

Christmas can be hard on dogs. Dogs like routine. They like to be fed and walked at regular times. They want their people to be home. I decided to sit down with our two pups and ask them their thoughts. Andy, our five-year-old Labradoodle, and Katie, our nine-year-old Yorkshire terrier AKA The Brat, sat down with me to share their thoughts.

Each spoke (woofed) up knowing there would be a reward at the end of my interview.

Andy shared first, “We mostly like the holidays because the family seems to enjoy it so much. One tradition we can look forward is joining other pet therapy volunteers visiting with seniors at the Council on Aging. We dress up in our holiday gear and celebrate with our senior friends. They love having their pictures taken with us. Each year, they give us dog cookies that they make especially for us! I must say it does get pretty chaotic and pretty unpredictable.”

Katie sarcastically added her thoughts, “They sometimes forget to feed us and fill our water dish. Maybe we need to think about training collars for our adults. Not sure they make one big enough for Big Guy.”

“One of the strangest things people do is bring an outdoor tree inside. How does that make sense? It gets even stranger when they drape lights on the branches and hang things that look a lot like dog toys to us. The weirdness continues. They put colorful wrapped boxes under the tree and wait until the day they call Christmas to open them. It just seems odd, but there is usually something for us to unwrap, so we don’t mind," Andy added.

Cocking her head sideways, Katie continued, “I am always looking for food opportunities. There seems to be a lot more food around at Christmas. Mom cooks more, but it looks like the food she cooks gets wrapped up and given away, and it isn’t DOG food. Andy and I hang around the kitchen, hoping for some treats, with little success. They think carrots are treats. We have learned we must be ready for the unexpected in December. We still do not trust the UPS man, who seems to come several times a day. Our barking does not make the humans very happy. After all, we are just trying to protect them. It is in our doggie handbook – “Bark at strangers – stranger danger.”

Both dogs agreed, “The calendar goes crazy. No regular schedule. Gone is any sense of normal. Usually our days are pretty predictable, but not during the holidays. On top of everything else, they are gone a lot of the time. Our nighttime schedule is out the window. No more cozy TV time. When they do settle down, we like the Christmas specials, especially the ones where cute little kids get puppies and kittens for presents.

The big day arrives – Christmas Day! There is just something, well, yes magical even for us dogs. Presents are opened, and there is a special meal. Everyone seems happy and appreciates each other. Kinda wish there were more days like that!”

Yes, my interviewees got their treats, and they weren’t carrots!