18/12/2025
CREATE A SAFE SPACE FOR YOUR DOG THIS CHRISTMAS
Here’s a simple management technique to prevent you from contacting a dog trainer over Christmas and the New Year because your dog bit someone – create a Safe Space.
What is a Safe Space?
By a safe space, I mean a separate area (or room) where your dog won't be disturbed by visitors or other dogs. Safe spaces can be helpful for ALL dogs, not just anxious or reactive ones. Even bomb-proof dogs can become overwhelmed and struggle to cope.
There are many ways to create a safe space, and having a few options can be helpful. I use a baby gate to separate the laundry from the rest of the house. I also have an open-door crate policy, so my dog can retreat into it. Use puppy pens for younger or smaller dogs. To make crates feel even safer, use blankets or towels to block the view and make them super cosy.
If you have a dog that can easily jump a baby gate, stack them up on the door frame. Take extra great care to ensure your dog (or children) can’t get stuck in the gap between gates if you use this setup (use your common sense!)
Using a baby gate or puppy pen is generally better than closing the door. Your dog won’t feel left out, can see what’s going on, and still feel secure. Some dogs prefer areas where they can’t see visitors. Being away from the action helps these types of dogs feel more relaxed and safe. As always, work with the dog in front of you!
Shutting a dog in a crate isn’t always the best option, as they may feel restricted and unable to escape. A crate with the door open inside a puppy pen or behind a baby gate can be an alternative.
It always helps if you make the safe space in a room your dog already has a positive association with and would choose to spend time in. However, if that isn’t an option, then you need to put in quite a bit of work to help them love the place you’ve chosen for them. Ensure they genuinely enjoy being in their safe space.
Safe spaces can be beneficial, even for dogs that aren’t reactive to visitors. Help maintain a calm environment at home when people arrive, during meal times, when children are playing with noisy or intimidating toys, or when visitors have babies. Safe spaces are excellent tools for managing your dog’s behaviour if you need to keep them out of the action for any reason.
Safe spaces also help keep your sanity. When you don’t have to worry about what your dog might be up to, you'll feel less stressed and be better able to handle it when your dog needs some attention.
Whatever safe space you choose to use, there are TWO crucial rules:
1. Get your dog USED to being in their safe space WELL in advance of having visitors.
✅Help them to LOVE being in their safe space. Initially sit in the kitchen or whatever room you’ve chosen WITH them and spend time with them while they do something they enjoy (activity, toy with food, etc.). Make going into the safe place a random event and not only when visitors arrive. You don’t want to turn the safe space into a predictor and trigger inappropriate behaviour.
❌Don’t lock them in there and walk away. You need to gradually help them feel comfortable in their safe space, at their own pace. They might initially just need you on the other side of the baby gate.
✅Ensure they always have rewarding activities available (Toppl, Kong, LickiMat, etc.) and a bed or chair they love.
✅Add items of your worn clothing, etc., to create a space where they feel secure, and that smells like you. You can try out different plug-ins, such as Adaptil or lavender oil, to see if they help with calmness.
2. Make sure the safe space is SAFE.
❌ Make sure that people cannot wander into their safe space. Please don’t set it up in a room where people (especially unattended children) could wander in. Putting your dog’s crate under a TV while the kids want to play a video game or watch a loud movie must be so frightening for many dogs!
❌ Be careful that baby gates can’t fall or be knocked over.
❌Make sure the room is safe for your dog. Remove items that could harm them or scare them (don’t put the washing machine on if they are scared of the spin cycle, for example!).
❌ Make sure that children are never left unattended to attempt to climb or get in your baby gate or pen (sounds like common sense, but you’d be surprised!) and that they can’t get caught in the gate
I know it sounds like a bit of effort to make a safe space, but when you’ve done it, and your dog is totally relaxed in there, it’s a huge relief and so much better than trying to manage an anxious/excitable dog on lead around visitors.
Starting with your dog separate doesn’t mean your dog can’t meet visitors if that’s appropriate for them; it makes it easier to manage the initial period when people arrive. This is generally an exciting/scary time for dogs when lots of people arrive at once, and everyone stands up, moves through a doorway, and into a narrow space like a hallway. My dog tolerates visitors, but benefits from going to his crate or laundry safe space during these busy periods when people arrive or leave. It also helps visitors settle in before a dog wanders about my home, especially since not everyone loves dogs!
