Tips on Having a Dog AND a Christmas Tree!

Teach Your Dog to Leave the Christmas Tree Alone

If you have been avoiding having a fully decorated Christmas tree for the holidays because you are worried about your dog or dogs misbehaving, then this guide is for you! It IS possible to have a tree around your dog without your pet ruining it. Use these tips to safely desensitize your pup to your decorations so you can have a dog and a Christmas tree this holiday season. Learn how to split the setup of the tree into 7 simple steps while training your dog to leave it alone so you can start enjoying Christmas again.

Looking for suggestions on how to have a Christmas Tree around your cat? Check out this post on 5 Fun and Festive Cat-Friendly Christmas Tree Ideas from Shed Happens!

1. Put the tree in an out-of-the-way place

After the tree is up, keep an eye on the dogs when they are around the tree. Let them check it out, but not interact with it too much. This means no contact with the tree other than a quick sniff. Make sure your dogs have plenty of toys to play with instead of the Christmas tree during the whole holiday season. (For some low-cost toy options, take a look at the DIY Dog Enrichment Ideas post) If the tree comes pre-lit, turn the lights on when you are around, so the dogs get used to seeing that as normal too. If the tree does not come pre-lit, add the lights once the dogs are used to the tree being up.

2. Put the tree topper on

This is safe to do once you no longer have a fear of your dogs knocking the tree over. Start with tree toppers that are either plastic or metal so they are not as breakable. This can also be put on the tree when you put the tree up.

3. Next, add the Christmas Tree Skirt

Do not fully fasten it until you know the dogs are not tempted to pull or tug on it. This way the tree does not get knocked over that way. You can fasten or tie the skirt together once you are confident that your dog/s will not dig at or pull on it.

4. Once the tree has lost any type of novelty, put up the tinsel

Tinsel is something that is easily replaceable and not easily breakable. You do have to be careful with ingestion of it because it can get wrapped around the intestines if your dog does eat it. If you have a dog that tends to eat non-edible items, you might want to douse it in an anti-chewing formula if this has historically worked for your pups. Start by putting the tinsel at the top and depending on how much interest your dogs show in it, continue adding more until the whole tree is covered.

5. Start putting up plain ornaments

Start with plain, non-breakable ornaments that have limited personal value to you. This way if it breaks, you will not be heartbroken. We used dollar store ornaments the first year.  You will start decorating from the top and slowly add them lower and lower, so the dogs get used to seeing them on the tree. The goal is for them to be another boring piece of furniture that they are used to. Do this slowly so your dogs get used to ornaments being on the tree as they start getting into the range where your dogs can reach them. This step can take a few days if your dogs are very curious. Remember to keep an eye on them and redirect them to one of their toys whenever they start to interact with the tree.

6. Start putting on the more meaningful or fun ornaments

The ultimate game plan will be to have the ornaments that look the most like dog toys or have the most personal value to you be at the top. This limits the likelihood of them being damaged at any point. Remember not to put the valuable stuff on the tree until they have shown that they have limited to no interest in the tree or anything on it.

7. Presents:  Never put anything that smells good under the tree

You have dogs so wrapping paper will not hide the smell of tasty candles or treats (dog or human). Keep these items out of reach in a stocking or in another room until it is time to open them up. Try only putting presents that won’t easily be destroyed and won’t be tempting to your dogs.  You can always have some fake presents wrapped and put underneath the tree to get your dogs used to not touching them, or for presentation if you don’t think your dogs will leave the gifts alone. This tends to be more of a problem if you wrap presents for your dog and they have been taught to ‘open’ their gifts. (My dog ruined a friend’s present this way. The package admittedly felt like a dog toy and my oldest opened the present and played with it while I was at work. Whoops!)

Extra Tips

Remember that you know your dog/s best, so it is up to you to decide what would work better for your pups. Some of these steps may take longer than others and certain decorations (or presents) might prove to be too much temptation for your pets which means that you will have to avoid putting them out. Depending on how likely you think your dogs may be to still mess with your Christmas tree, you can always elevate the tree so it is out of reach or place baby gates around the tree to block the area off.

Accidents can happen but this process should help limit any potential Christmas mayhem. Additionally, remember that tired dogs are good dogs. Make sure they are still getting attention and lots of pet enrichment during this jam-packed season, so they are not tempted to grab your attention through negative ways and acting out. 

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