Originally shared in the Cosmic Dogcast Newsletter · October 2025
Game-Based Dog Training: Prepping Your Pup for the Holidays
Hello Dog-Loving Friends!
The holidays feel magical for us. For our dogs, extra guests, decorations, and noise can feel overwhelming.
The good news? With thoughtful planning and game-based training, we can help our dogs not just cope, but truly thrive during the festive season.
Is your dog struggling with:
- Extra visitors or frequent knocks at the door
- Over-excitement and difficulty settling
- Uncertainty around new decorations and seasonal changes
Let’s walk through a few simple, effective games.
1. Boundary Games: Creating Calm Spaces
Boundary games teach your dog that staying in one place is rewarding and relaxing. A bed, mat, or crate can become their “holiday chill zone.”
How to play:
Reward your dog for choosing to settle on their mat. Build gradually so they can relax there even with distractions.
Why it helps:
During busy moments like greeting guests or serving dinner, your dog has a safe and familiar retreat.
If you want to understand the science behind how we teach calm through play, visit our Training Methods page to see how relationship-first training builds real-life skills.
2. Optimism Games: Cardboard Chaos
The holidays bring novelty. New sights, smells, textures, and sounds.
Optimism games help dogs feel confident when faced with the unexpected.
Cardboard Chaos:
Scatter treats in a pile of cardboard boxes, paper, or safe recyclables. Let your dog rummage and explore.
Why it helps:
Your dog learns that novelty is fun, not frightening. That confidence carries over to rustling gift wrap, decorations, or noisy toys.
3. Novelty Surprise Games
If your dog struggles with sudden changes, try short novelty sessions that make unpredictability enjoyable.
How to play:
Hide a toy or treats in or around something new, like a holiday tin or decoration. Let your dog discover it. Always prioritize safety.
Why it helps:
This builds resilience. The unexpected, like a dropped pan or a loud laugh, feels less alarming when novelty has become positive.
4. Management Is Training, Too
It is okay if your dog does not love holiday chaos. Giving them space is not failure. It is kindness.
Set up:
- A quiet room with a comfy bed and water
- Calming music or white noise
- Baby gates or pens to create peaceful boundaries
Management teaches your dog that downtime is safe and predictable.
If your dog struggles with bigger emotions like fear or reactivity, you can read more on our Reactivity & Behavior page about how emotional support creates lasting change.
5. Calming Activities: Sniffing, Licking, Chewing
When in doubt, lean into natural calming behaviors.
Licking:
Stuffed Kongs or lick mats with dog-safe fillings. Freeze them to last longer.
Chewing:
Long-lasting chews such as bully sticks, cheek rolls or safe bones.
Sniffing:
Scatter feeding in the garden, inside boxes, or around the house.
Why it helps:
These activities meet natural needs and help dogs decompress, even when the humans are still celebrating.
Final Thoughts
Prepping your dog for the holidays does not have to feel stressful.
A few simple games build confidence, optimism, and calm. Pair that with thoughtful management and calming outlets, and you set everyone up for success.
When our dogs feel safe and supported, the whole household enjoys the magic.
Want Support Before the Holidays?
If you would like hands-on guidance, our group classes focus on calmness, focus, and real-world skills that hold up during busy seasons.
You can explore our Life Skills and Puppy Classes to build confidence before guests arrive.
Small practice now creates smoother holidays later.
Ready to change your dog’s behavior through games-based training?
Visit our Dog Training Services page.
With heart and paws,
Kathleen Valentine, PDT
