Before Katy, our Magnificent Manager, dives into this week’s post for Rover-Time, Julia, Rover-Time’s owner, is going to take a minute to share her gratitude for you.

We appreciate you so much. Thanks for your support this year. This holiday season has been our busiest yet and we wouldn’t be here, loving our jobs this much, without you.

I hope this week brings you much-deserved downtime with friends and family. Time to feel real joy and happiness. And for those who experience loss and grief associated with the Christmas season, we hope that affectionate heartbeat at your feet brings you a few smiles and lots of cuddles.

Next Monday, before the New Year, I’ll return for a short post to highlight our best moments of 2013. Stay tuned and as always thanks for reading. – Julia

Eight Humans, Three Dogs, and a Baby
This will be my first Christmas staying in Chicago and not traveling back to Ohio. This year, my family is coming to me. It’s very exciting, but also stressful planning for a full house of humans and “kids”. Here’s the cast of characters:

Humans 1 & 2: Me and hubby Jeff
Dog 1: Squash, our rambunctious border collie/lab
Humans 3 & 4: Mom and Dad
Dog 2: their tiny pseudo-dog, Oliver, a teacup Yorkie with a polarizing personality
Human 5: Middle sister Jenny
Dog 3: her mutt Bruno (aka Brunado) who looks like a stuffed animal with one ear that permanently sticks straight up
Human 6: Lil’ sister Andrea
Humans 7 & 8 ½ : older brother Dan and sister-in-law Kari + my 4 month-old nephew Arlo (Dan and Kari live in Chicago, so at least they aren’t sleeping over.)

All the humans get along swimmingly – only love among the two-legged beings. As for the pups, Squash, Brunado, and Oliver have previously spent some quality time together, but they are far from friends. Among these three, they cover the entire spectrum of personalities:

Oliver – Pretentious, privileged, & presumptuous…but in an endearing way. Knows how to find all the right napping nooks. Has no teeth left. Fears the bottom step.

Brunado – Enjoys sleeping like a baby in your arms. Energy is mostly spent jumping, kissing, and running in circles. Not totally house trained after living in shelter long-term.

Squash – Frolics and prances at every opportunity. Can entertain herself for 20 minutes with a squeaky toy. Assumes every person and dog wants to play with her.

So, basically, Squash perpetually chases after the other two never taking the hint that they don’t want to play. Bruno mostly tolerates Squash. In the quiet moments, you can catch them sitting on a couch together, but they aren’t exactly sharing secrets. Oliver usually cowers in the corner until someone picks him up. He does fight back sometimes, but he doesn’t have any teeth. Squash is amused by this.

The real wild card is the baby. Oliver probably won’t even notice him. Bruno may be curious at first, but will likely just assume his lay-like-a-baby position. Squash has met Arlo very briefly. She was super intrigued. She didn’t know what to make of him. I will be interested to see if she would rather investigate the small babe or pester the small dogs.

Here’s my plan of action to enjoy the holidays:

• I’m going to review this post on introducing my dog to visitors and then read this one on managing multiple dogs.
• The baby gets precedence. Arlo’s safety remains most importance and if the atmosphere gets too hectic, the dogs will be put in their separate spaces to chill out.
• The dog’s routines will be kept as close to normal as humanly possible to lessen their anxiety.
• I’m going to place sealed jars filled with high-reward training treats in every room to reward the dogs when they do something good.
• We’ll take long breaks out in the backyard with Bruno and Squash who both share the joy of patrolling for bunnies in the back yard. This also gives Oliver some peace and quiet in the house.
• Take Squash for a half-day at doggie daycare to socialize and release some of her pent-up energy.

Take a moment or two to chime in. We love your comments, feedback, and ideas. Do you have your holiday plan in motion? What were the key pieces of information you shared with family and friends interacting with your dog?

As Julia mentioned above, she returns next week for a 2013 Rover-Time wrap up. Happy holidays!