There’s a great blog about what happens if your pet bites one of your holiday visitors. Rabies quarantines are not fun for anyone.

How could this happen? It might look like a completely unexpected turn of events.

The holidays are exciting for us, but look at it from your pet’s point of view:

• things change in the house (honestly, who doesn’t move furniture and deep clean before holiday visitors)
• their beloved people have a different routine, which might include less exercise and playtime with the pets
• strangers come into the home, they may not know how to read the subtle signs of stress or know how to respect the space of a nervous pet

Any one of these changes could be enough to put even the most well-behaved pet on edge, but put all three together and when Aunt Vivian leans over your nervous pup with her squeaky voice and trembling hands, you have a recipe for disaster.

Some pets are happier in a quiet room with a favorite toy than they would be in the middle of all the hubbub of a holiday gathering.

Most of the time, cats will voluntarily leave the areas where they feel uncomfortable. How many of us have cats who’ve never been seen by a visitor? Imagine if you tried to haul kitty out of hiding and force them to sit on someone’s lap. We’d never imagine doing that.

But with dogs, they are often used to being in the living areas when we are there. Sometimes they just don’t think to leave. Sometimes they think they should keep an eye on the intruders. You can train dogs to accept and even enjoy visitors, but probably not in 3 days.

Be aware of the body language your dog is showing you, and help them find a quiet place to rest if they seem to be getting stressed during holiday celebrations: