Gifts – And Mischief

✦ As pet owners prepare to spend a whopping

£800 million on their furry friends this Christmas (Mintel), it begs the questions, do dogs really know it’s Christmas?

✦ If spending is any indication, perhaps they do, as that’s £700 million more than in 2010 when the collective spend only topped £100 million.

✦ The 2010s have seen dog ownership soar to its highest since records began, boosted by a younger demographic, or 37% of under 38-year-olds who now own a dog.

✦ Britain’s Millennials are driving this Christmas spend with 54% admitting to cutting back on friends and family in favour of their dog.

Broadcaster and author Anna Webb has studied at the College of Integrated Veterinary Therapies (CIVT). She lives in London with Prudence and Mr Binks.

✦ Dogs are regarded as family and gifting is high on the agenda, with 34% of Britain’s pets receiving a Christmas stocking.

✦ Yet Christmas spirits can quickly be dampened by a veterinary emergency, and the festive season can be an accident waiting to happen.

✦ Co-op Insurance revealed that last year visits to the vet doubled in December. Indeed 12% of pooches spent Christmas Day at the vets, causing stress and worr y that could have been avoided.

✦ Dogs don’t know it’s Christmas, but they sense an occasion, picking up on stress levels, changes in routine, decorations, visitors and an indoor tree.

✦ Christmas becomes a playground for a mischievous mutt, which explains unseasonal behaviour like peeing up the Christmas tree or pulling it over.

✦ Being opportunists, dogs will scavenge festive foods often packed with toxic ingredients like raisins and chocolate. Even a cheese board will cause digestive havoc on Christmas Day.

✦ If Christmas is for giving, perhaps you could spare a thought for dogs less for tunate than your own, including those sleeping rough with their homeless owners, helped by charities like Dogs on the Streets.

✦ After all – a dog is for life, not just for Christmas!