5 Signs Your Dog Doesn’t Want to Be at Your Holiday Party

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — but not necessarily for your dog. The holiday season has arrived, and while you might love celebrating the festivities by decking your house out in twinkling lights and hosting the fête of the year, your pup might not be as stoked as you are.

Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if your dog is enjoying all the attention at the big festive bash with family and friends, or if they are terrified, anxious, or really uncomfortable. Below, we referred to multiple dog experts on the signs you should drop your dog off at the pet sitter’s when you host your next holiday gathering or leave them at home when you hit the town.

5 signs you should hire a pet sitter while you party it up this season

Your dog is showing classic stress signals.

If your dog always shows classic signals of stress while folks are being loud and social at your place, you should consider hiring a pet sitter or dropping them off with them. Your best bet is probably to find a sitter who watches dogs in their own home so your pup doesn’t have to be anywhere near the action. Or if you have an already-established doggie daycare, you could see if they have availability to keep your dog overnight.

If necessary and possible, you could get a sitter to come hang out with your dog during the party in a room away from the reveling (kind of like a wedding-day doggie chaperone, which is a thing). Maybe you have a downstairs den that is blocked off from the rest of the house or a similar area where attendees aren’t treading — this could potentially work as the doggie zone.

According to Rhea Northcut, a certified professional dog trainer and resident separation anxiety expert at Wiggle Butt Academy, you should look out for some signals if you need to determine if your dog needs to skip the jamboree. If you have observed your pup at large gatherings before and seen them do the following, they are probably not into it:

• Lowered head or body

• Lip licking

• Ears pinned back

• Panting

• Stiff body

• Wide eyes

• Growling, barking, showing teeth

Your dog avoids people or ducks away from touch.

 “Avoiding interaction and ducking their head away from reaching hands are big indicators that the dog is not comfortable,” Northcut explains. Other signs a dog is struggling could be lip licking, stress yawns, physically moving away, pawing, pacing, hiding, tucked tails, and flat ears, according to dog trainer Ali Smith, founder of Rebarkable. 

Your dog can’t settle and is pacing constantly.

If they are “not settling and pacing around more than normal, especially with a stiff body, it can indicate the dog is overwhelmed,” Northcut says. 

Your dog becomes hypervigilant or startles easily.

If your pup is jumping at noises, constantly tracking movement, or watching everyone closely, it’s probably a sign that they are in a hypervigilant state, and they aren’t comfortable at the party. “Hypervigilance means they are keeping an eye on everything and everyone at the party and remain in an elevated state of alert,” Northcut explains.

Your dog gets mouthy, barky, or overreactive.

According to Smith, if your dog is “being loud or barky, jumping up, being mouthy when it’s not their normal, and yawning, these are all signs of overwhelm.”

How can you tell excitement from true anxiety? 

Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if your dog is acting a little wild because they’re excited about the party or if they are super anxious about everyone and everything in the house. “An excited dog will be wiggly, not just have a wagging tail,” Northcut explains. “We want to see loose body language, a relaxed face, solicitation for interaction where the dog chooses to approach people, and the ability to settle intermittently.”

Note that if the dog’s energy is balanced and joyous but not intense, they’re likely having fun. “But if it’s very intense; that energy can actually be anxiety because play is often used as a displacement behavior,” Smith explains.

Which dogs are not party animals? 

There are certain categories of dogs who are at higher risk for stress during a holiday party. “A brand new or unknown rescue dog should absolutely have a sitter,” Northcut explains. “A big party is not the time to add more stress. And any dog with a bite history should be somewhere else during parties.” Additionally, Smith notes that anxious dogs should not be exposed to parties because people are coming into their safe space.

Puppies and senior dogs are other types who don’t regulate stress very well. “Dogs with chronic conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, arthritis, bronchitis, seizures, or anxiety can destabilize very quickly in crowded environments,” explains Dr. Ezra Ameis, a Los Angeles-based emergency veterinarian and founder of Paw Priority in West Hollywood.

What are the medical risks of forcing a dog to “push through” a party? 

Forcing your pup to just grin and bear it (so to speak) through a stressful holiday party comes with its consequences. The most common medical stress signs from your dog could be: 

• Trembling

• Panting

• Drooling

• Arched posture

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea

“Overstimulation leads to physiologic stres s, including increases in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, body temperature, and the release of stress hormones,” Dr. Ameis says. “Prolonged stress will always worsen medical conditions.”

There are also some holiday emergencies to look out for when hosting a holiday party with your dog around. The most common emergencies that Dr. Ameis sees include ingestion of “toxic foods like chocolate and grapes, fatty foods that lead to pancreatitis, foreign body ingestion, alcohol exposure, door-dashing, and bite injuries triggered by overstimulation,” he explains. 

How do you decide between bringing your dog or leaving them at home?

If your dog is used to coming around to your get-togethers with friends, it may be your instinct to take them to the parties you get invited to. But there are some things to consider before you jump to that plan, especially if these parties are larger than what your usual Friday-night friend hang. If you’re only going out for a few hours (the standard holiday-party length), they should be fine home alone, unless there are special circumstances, like if they are very young and need to go out often or senior and have special medical needs.

“If you are not completely certain your dog loves all people in all quantities, you should make a plan for them to be elsewhere,” Northcut advises. “Even a social dog can feel overwhelmed and react poorly to new stimulation.”

Some questions to ask yourself, according to Smith, include:

• How long will the party be? 

• How far away is the party? 

• How familiar is the environment? 

• How familiar is your dog with the people? 

• Is your dog good at following instructions in this type of environment? 

“If the dog has a chronic illness, recent vomiting or diarrhea, mobility issues, a history of anxiety or noise sensitivity, or simply does not enjoy crowds, it is usually better and healthier for them to skip the party,” Dr. Ameis explains. “Pets do not get FOMO.”

Loving your dog sometimes means spending time apart.

Your pals may wonder where your dog is when they come over and aren’t immediately greeted by a slobbery kiss or gifted a random household item. But you should’t feel guilty about explaining that you made an alternate plan for your doggo; your friends will see them at another, better time.

Remember, hiring a pet sitter to watch your pup protects their emotional safety and physical health. “A calm sitter and stable environment can prevent stress-related medical events and protect your dog from food, alcohol, and household hazards,” Dr. Ameis says.

Calm environments help prevent injuries, illness, and behavioral fallout. And having the peace of mind knowing that your dog is comfy with a sitter and away from the madness is, in our opinion, priceless.