11/12/2025
Our Behaviour Consultant’s Guide to Christmas 🎄
Today Isabella is here sharing her hot tips following our post on the common stressors from yesterday 💃
Now that we’ve explored the common triggers behind festive stress, let’s talk about what we can actually do to help our dogs and cats feel supported, safe and emotionally regulated during the Christmas season ✨
These strategies aren’t just nice ideas, they’re grounded in behavioural science, the nervous system, and how animals process stress and the best part is that they’re simple, practical and work for every household!
BUILD A SAFE ZONE BEFORE DECEMBER HITS
Think of this as your pet’s emotional anchor point. A quiet room, cosy crate, or gated off area filled with familiar scents, bedding, soft lighting and calm enrichment creates a space that tells the brain: You’re safe here, you can decompress!
Add white noise, fans or gentle music to buffer the chaos outside as this helps reduce activation of the amygdala, the brain’s alarm centre!
PROTECT THEIR ROUTINE; EVEN WITH CHANGES
Predictability is one of the strongest safety cues a pet has. Choose two or three daily rituals that stay consistent, no matter how busy life gets. Isabella's fam favourites are:
🍲 Meals at the same time
🚶♀️ A steady sniffing walk before visitors arrive
🦴 A tasty long-lasting chew at midday
🛌 Consistent bedtime routine
Anchoring the day helps regulate the HPA axis, the body’s stress-response system, and prevents trigger stacking!
INTRODUCE DECORATIONS WITH INTENTION
Christmas trees, lights, scents and new objects all change your pet’s environment. Give them time to sniff, observe and adjust!
For cats: Offer high perches, hidey spots and quiet observation points, even if that means leaving a hall cupboard cracked open or an empty box 🐈⬛
For dogs: Pair new decorations with treats and sniffing opportunities of a scatter feed to help create positive associations 🐕
Licking, chewing and sniffing enrichment to reduce big emotions as this taps into natural regulation pathways that soothe the nervous system faster than reassurance alone. These aren’t just entertainment, they’re neurological self soothing tools. Sniffing helps to decrease stress hormones, chewing can increase dopamine and serotonin while licking helps down regulate arousal 💖
Nature built these behaviours for a reason, let's use them to our advantage!
IF YOU KNOW YOUR PET IS ANXIOUS: PREPARE
This is the part of the year where sometimes we wish we’d acted on sooner. December gets busy, triggers escalate and by the time pets begin to unravel, we’re running out of days to set them up successfully!
This is where we come in with our unique service you won't find anywhere else 🫶🏼
At our clinic, you have access to something genuinely unmatched: a Behaviour Service led by a formally certified Behaviour Consultant, combining a Cert IV in Animal Behaviour & Training, Family Dog Mediator® credentials, Advanced Behaviour study in Aggression and years of hands on experience with dogs and cats with big feelings. All of this works hand in-hand with our compassionate, Fear Free aligned veterinary team 🥹
This is expert level support built for real pets, real families, real emotions and it makes all the difference at Christmas. If your pet needs help this festive season, we’re here! We can assist you with:
🎄 Pre Christmas Behaviour Consults
🩺 Veterinary collaboration planning & anxiety support
🏡 Tailored home strategies
🗺️ Step by step guidance for pets with noise concerns, visitors, routine stress or separation anxiety
If you’re unsure whether your pet will cope, reach out now because spots are limited but we’re here to help you create a calmer, safer, more predictable Christmas for your four legged family; with science, compassion and expertise on your side ✨
