How to win over your pet-despising family members this Thanksgiving
Every family has one. A distant cousin or semi-crazy aunt who, for whatever unimaginable reason, isn’t a dog fan. They show up on Thanksgiving Day, give us the evil eye, then immediately start raiding your refrigerator and asking when dinner is going to be ready.
Though we, as dogs, would rather pee on their shoes, we know that’s probably not going to make for an enjoyable day. So here are some tips that may help you win them over to the dog side.
1. Dress us up. It’s nearly impossible for a human to NOT react to a dressed up doggie. Turkey headbands, feather tail tutus (yes, they make these) or Pilgrim hats should give us a good shot at being too cute to resist.
2. Give us our exercise. We get it. You’re busy getting ready. But we’re still dogs. We need our walks just like any other day. In fact, a longer walk (or several of them) can help tire us out so we don’t bug you as much. So add this to your schedule of things to do and don’t blow it off because you’re too busy.
3. Let a family member feed us. Sometimes dog dislike stems from a bad experience or watching Cujo at too early an age. Let them give us a little turkey or mashed potato sample. Our immediate gratitude should lighten the mood and show them we’re not all rabid creatures put on this earth to pollute the air with our poop. Although that argument could be made for certain other creatures that start with the letter “c”…
4. Don’t forget to let us outside. This seems obvious to anyone with half a brain, but it’s easy to get distracted while cooking, cleaning and entertaining. But just like humans, we can only hold it for so long. The last thing you want is for us to have an accident in the middle of the family room during a pivotal moment in the football game, or while everyone is chowing down on pumpkin pie. Even worse – we may try to hide our excretions, leaving a surprise for someone who sets foot in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not a good scenario.
5. Do NOT give in to the temptation to leave us outside the entire time. The food is ready, everyone is sitting down and someone asks if you’re going to put the dog out. Though this may seem like a tempting, win-win suggestion, it will more than likely backfire. We’ll cry, bark, scratch at the door and drive everyone nuts – we’re dogs, we can’t help it. Try giving us a bone or feeding us our dinner at the same time as a distraction.
Following these tips should help ease the interaction between dogs and your weird family members who don’t like dogs. Don’t say I didn’t warn you if you decide to ignore them.