ADVICE NEEDED

[Gumbo and Ashley]

Hello Doodle moms/dads!  Any advice for how to get your doodle to NOT mess with the Christmas tree? I hadn't even thought that far ahead but Ava pointed it out the other day, "Mom, how are we gonna train Gumbo to not touch the tree or the ornaments?"...... I thought hmm....good question for DK!! 

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

All 3 of our dogs were young puppies when they experienced their first Christmas. We never had any problems with the tree or ornaments. Bentley & Porsche love sleeping under the tree when the lights are turned on. Maserati also liked the tree and the biggest problem was his tail wagging and knocking off ornaments! 

Good luck! 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It was never much of a problem with my guys.  If I couldn't supervise, I gated them out of the room with the tree.  When I was there I just verbally corrected and redirected them when they would go near it.  They got the message pretty quickly and just lost interest in it.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Finn has never bothered the tree although the first year I didn't use any lights (I was most concerned that he might try chewing on the wires).  He sniffed it a few times and then ignored it. My little siamese cat, however, is a different story but once Finn (the enforcer) heard me tell her no, he pretty much makes sure she stays away LOL. It's funny how she'll sneak over to lay down under the tree as soon as he's asleep. I keep it in a corner  though so there's less chance it could fall accidentally. 

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

I did not put up a tree for the first couple of years.  Then the first year I did my Oliver thought the round ornaments were balls.... be broke a few but he was not harmed.  Now I put the glass ones on top and the plastic on the bottom.  I did not put up a tree last year because I was fostering so this year (so far) its just my two doodles.  My Sasha could care less about the three but Oliver..he is such a stinker !!!!

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

This was a real challenge for us the first Christmas for Libby!  She was nine months old and wanted each and every ornament on the tree.  We put up two trees, one in our family room and one in the living room.  All our commands and time outs did not work and it was not pleasant.  We even had her x-rayed twice because we thought she swallowed a ornament hook. Thank goodness both times were negative.  At this point we ended up putting both trees up in the living room which we gated off from her and all was well.  The next Christmas was entirely different and she has never touched the trees or the ornaments since that first year, but she does love to sit and look at the tree and all the lights!  

[Meghan Court]

Bubba was about 6 months old last Christmas, and we were worried about the same thing. Bubba absolutely despises bitter apple spray, so we sat him down in front of the tree, showed him the bottle and sprayed all around the tree. He ran away and didn't touch the tree at all. We will see if it works again this year...

[Three Doodle Life]

This is a great idea! I am going to try it!:-)

[Heather Martinez]

Teddy has been good with the tree after his first year. Last year he did get obsessed with a wooden ornament and I found him chewing it once. I put it up high and luckily he wasn't interested in the other ornaments. We do keep the presents out of his reach because he has been known to unwrap them. We keep the presents in baskets on our side tables and then move them under the tree on Christmas Eve. Last year, Teddy unwrapped a present that was for my niece, it was a stuffed animal and I don't know how he figured out that would be a fun one to open! Of course, this year we will have an 11 month old baby, so we will keep the whole tree and presents gated inside his play yard!

[Wendy and Myla]

Oh my goodness, he will definitely love the presents for an 11 month old!!!  So funny!!!

[Adina P]

I put an expen around it the first time. They didn't seem to care much about the tree, in the end.

[Susan & Randy's Kate]

Our past pups adapted pretty readily. If there were particular ornaments they couldn't resist I put them up higher. We have to see how Kate will do this year. Think, hope, she will be ok.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

I was concerned that first year-we just kept the ornaments higher up and it was fine.  Last year, when he was over a year, he after the initial curiosity, he did not bother with it at all.  I do have a picture somewhere of one of his toys that he apparently draped over a low branch! lol...he got in the spirit.

This will be his first year with free roam (not crated) while we are at work, so I may have an update!