My dog keeps opening gifts!

[angie_nrs]

I love my dogs so much, but one of them is driving me crazy right now. She LOVES to open presents. If anyone says "present time" she goes ballistic. It seems to have gotten worse the older she gets. So, I've put the Christmas tree downstairs and and I put a big pink colored note on the door to the downstairs KEEP DOOR SHUT SO GRINCH CANT RUIN CHRISTMAS! Even with the note, I still can't seem to train the family. I went down this morning and a gift (for DH) was ripped open under the tree. Grrrrrrr! Hubs said he went out to warm up the truck and forgot to shut the door.

Last month I ordered a big box of medical supplies, much of it sterile. I had to unpack everything to make sure none of it had gotten wet since the postman left it in the rain. Luckily everything was dry. I left it sitting on the table and in the middle of the night she got into it. 65% of my order was ruined. Hubs left a note on the table......guess last night it was PRESENT TIME!!!

I have a brat dog! Boy do I love her.....but she makes being prepared for Christmas a challenge! But, I gotta admit.....she does make Christmas fun. If the presents make it that long..........

 

[Sentry18]

We train up our dogs like we train up our children; obedience is not optional and consequences are quick & consistent. Other than during their early puppy phases our dogs utterly ignore the Christmas tree and presents. The Rotties have never seemed to care and needed very little training. My wife's small/medium dog showed some interest early on this year but a few shakes of the rattle can and a swat on the butt with a cardboard wrapping paper tube was enough to remind her of lessons taught to her last Christmas. She will go sniff near the presents while keeping a very close eye on me so if I get up she can run and jump up on my wife's lap, aka her safe space.

 

[Grimm]

We have 5 cats that think wrapping paper and bags are cat toys. You could do what we do- TOTES! We keep all gifts or boxed items in plastic totes. Then on Christmas morning I pull out the totes when someone can watch the cats. The presents from Santa are always wrapped in brown paper and hidden in the closets!

 

[The Lazy L]

First thought that comes to mind is to wrapped up a few skunks and when your dog gets sprayed, might cure the dog from opening any presents in the future.

I got a wife with a short attention span too. Doesn't remember to latch the door so our furnace contributes to global warming. Doesn't remember to turn off the lights or TV when she leaves the house. Doesn't remember to shut drawers or put things away where she found them. Bless her heart it's just the way she is.

 

[Sentry18]

First thought that comes to mind is to wrapped up a few skunks and when your dog gets sprayed, might cure the dog from opening any presents in the future.

Pretty sure that would keep EVERYONE from opening presents in the future. And perhaps being in the house.

 

[angie_nrs]

We train up our dogs like we train up our children; obedience is not optional and consequences are quick & consistent. Other than during their early puppy phases our dogs utterly ignore the Christmas tree and presents. The Rotties have never seemed to care and needed very little training. My wife's small/medium dog showed some interest early on this year but a few shakes of the rattle can and a swat on the butt with a cardboard wrapping paper tube was enough to remind her of lessons taught to her last Christmas. She will go sniff near the presents while keeping a very close eye on me so if I get up she can run and jump up on my wife's lap, aka her safe space.

Hmmmmm......sounds familiar. DH is a push over, with the kids and the dogs. It drives me crazy but he won't discipline either one. He is the gentlest, kindest hearted dude you could ever meet, which is why I love him so much. But........the kids and dogs walk all over him.

We have 5 cats that think wrapping paper and bags are cat toys. You could do what we do- TOTES! We keep all gifts or boxed items in plastic totes. Then on Christmas morning I pull out the totes when someone can watch the cats. The presents from Santa are always wrapped in brown paper and hidden in the closets!

I used to just wait until the last minute to wrap gifts, but walking by a tree with gifts under it just warms my heart a little. The totes are a good idea, but I hope I don't have to resort to that b/c it would take some of the beauty of it away for me. If only I could train my DH!

First thought that comes to mind is to wrapped up a few skunks and when your dog gets sprayed, might cure the dog from opening any presents in the future.

They're indoor dogs! I've never had to deal with getting skunk off my dogs......and I'm so grateful for that! I agree, that would teach her a lesson......but the expense on that one is a bit too high for me.

 

[The Lazy L]

Pretty sure that would keep EVERYONE from opening presents in the future. And perhaps being in the house.

I didn't say there wouldn't be collateral damage

 

[zoomzoom]

Christmas is easy. Put your expired valium (or whatever you have) out. Dogs will definitely mellow.

 

[Meerkat]

:reindeer: Our cats ate the ice cycles off one year, cost us $300 in vet ER. Hubby saw another one hanging out next day and snatched it out of cats butt, said no way am I paying another 300 bucks for cat enema. Back then that was a weeks take home pay.

 

[Weedygarden]

The ridgie, a hound dog, has been putting her nose on the Christmas stockings, which do have some chocolate in them. She has treats in her stocking, so I expect she will go after hers as well.

 

[Dani]

I just had to laugh at this thread! After the kind of day I had, I sure could use this so thank you! Yes I can relate . . . cats climbing trees and playing with ornaments, then dogs notices cat in tree and my tree then falling over cause it got dogs excited. But never had a cat with icicles coming from its butt. OMGoodness!

 

[Sentry18]

I am just going to park this right here...

 

[angie_nrs]

Maybe we just need to get smarter pets! Maybe next time........

 

[Grimm]

I am just going to park this right here...

View attachment 1106

Funny you should post this. We don't do tinsel, chocolate or tree scents but not because of the pets. Its the kids we are more concerned with. This is the first year we haven't had a cat climb the tree (except the years we used a 3ft one on a table). All the ornaments we find on the floor are from Juju pulling them off the tree.

We stopped doing glass ornaments when Roo was 2. We still have them just don't put them out.

 

[angie_nrs]

Update:

So I run upstairs today and leave the door open while I grab the ringing phone. I'm into the conversation and forgot about the door. I hung up and hear a crunching sound from downstairs. I run downstairs and the "good" dog is ripping open the same package that the "bad" dog did a few days ago. The "good" dog got a swat on the rear and some harsh words that I'm sure he didn't appreciate. I taped the package back up.......it looks like it went thru hell and back, but DH will think it's funny.

As I'm (somewhat) fixing this gift up.....again, I wondered WHY this package. He'd gotten the corner of another one, but I'm quite sure that was just collateral damage. Then I realized that I put a 10# bag of deer plot mix into that package for some heft along with some other lighter hunting things so DH couldn't guess what was inside. There's no food products under the tree, but I guess the dogs can smell the mix that's in that box. I wouldn't think that would attract dogs, but apparently I'm wrong. Just for safety's sake I'm putting that one up on the counter until..........PRESENT TIME!!!

 

[Sentry18]

Sounds like it's time for the old Christmas baby gate system. We used this same set up for years, but it was for toddlers not dogs.

 

[angie_nrs]

Tree abuse I say!!!

So now the tree is paying for me and my dogs' bad behavior.....WTH???