Welcome to the special Holiday edition of DogSkool News, ACI Dog School's newsletter. Here at Dogskool, we wish you all the merriest and happiest of holiday times with your friends and family -- both two and four legged! With this issue, we bring you things to watch out for during the holiday season, as well as helpful suggestions that could make the time spent with your pet more rewarding.

Fire up the cameras! Groom up the dogs! Dust off the scanner and enter Dogskool's Holiday DogFest! We want to see your HoliDAWGS in pictures! Share your canine friend celebrating the holidays with the DogSkool Community! Catch them being naughty or nice! Worried that your dog doesn't do anything worthy of pictures? Stop worrying and send a story about your dog's wildest adventure. We are looking forward to seeing and reading about your pets soon. Send files to: editor@dogskool.com

The holiday season is here. Let the stress begin! Not only are we affected
by the hustle and bustle of everything, but our pets are, too. As we get busier preparing for guests and parties, it's easy to overlook simple things that could be harmful for your dog. We tend to have more visitors during this time. Perhaps you will have stay-over guests. Take into consideration that these people may or may not be familiar with dogs. If you have a dog that gets overly excited or stressed when visitors come to the house, try putting the dog in a crate while guests are over. If the dog is not crate-trained, perhaps you can leave him or her in the garage or back bedroom. If your dog is used to having the radio or TV on, you can turn it on for a comforting sound while they are alone.

If you have a dog that might run outside when no one is looking, you might want to think about putting the dog in his or her crate while visitors
are coming and going. It would be very easy for a dog to sneak out the door and into the street or driveway. Make sure your dog is wearing ID tags that are up-to-date in case they should escape. Even the friendliest dog could become nervous with too many people and too much noise.

Holiday Foods - Beware of leaving food or treats out in areas where it's easily accessible for dogs. It would be very easy for someone to leave a plate of food unattended for just a moment, leaving your dog the perfect opportunity to help themselves. Watch out for bones. Small bones or bone chips can lodge in the throat, stomach or intestinal tract. Fatty foods, such as gravies and poultry skin, can cause severe stomach upset stomach upset as well. Keep candy and other treat dishes out of your dog's reach. Chocolate is especially toxic to our pets and can be fatal. Dogs with chocolate poisoning will exhibit signs of nervousness, diarrhea, hypertension, uncontrollable urination, panting, seizures, or in extreme cases, death. Consult with your veterinarian immediately if your dog has eaten chocolate.

Begging - If your dog will be joining in the festivities but is not welcome during mealtime, think about buying a food cube-type toy, which is a toy that can be filled with food. As the dog rolls it, the food drops out of the cube. You can also fill a small Kong toy with peanut butter and let the dog The dog will be kept busy while you are eating instead of being a nuisance at the table, and getting indigestion from unfamiliar foods.

Online training advice is a very sticky area, since every dog, owner and situation is different. Everything written in the ACI News merely offers suggestions to get dog owners thinking. We encourage all dog owners to take obedience classes, talk to their vets, and work with professional trainers so that their relationships with their dogs can be everything they should be.