Do your dogs get into the presents under your Christmas Tree??
By DonnaLawson
@DonnaLawson (4032)
United States
December 13, 2008 10:08pm CST
Do your dogs mess with the wrapped gifts under your Christmas tree?? Last night when we got home, our dog had torn up one of the presents that were wrapped and put under the tree.. I had accidentally left a tin of cookies on the coffee table when we left and I do know the lid was on it tightly, but when we got home it was opened and the lid in the floor and cookies all over the coffee table.. The thing that got me was, she tore up one of the Christmas gifts, she hadn't done something like that since she was a puppy.. Well, we finally figured it out, she tore up the one that had the candles in it.. I bought my son and his wife a very nice set of the best smelling candles, they smell like baked cookies, apple pie and hazelnut coffee.. This silly dog of mine must have thought that there was food in the package, after all, she could smell it and she likes food.. This dog will climb on your lap and try to get the food out of your mouth if she sees you eating anything.. I wrapped the candles again and put them in a chair next to the tree, I thought everything would be alright now.. When we came home tonight, she had opened another "gift" and had eaten an entire box of the thin mints.. I always gift wrap a box and get my son some of his favorite Christmas snacks, so far this one only had the thin mints, cappuccino packets, hot chocolate packets, and cookies.. Well, it is one box of thin mints less..
I am sure that this much chocolate is not good for a dog but she is fine, she has also not came out from behind the sofa since we came in except to get a drink of water.. She will stay behind there until one of us tells her that it is ok, she isn't in any trouble.. Well, I am not telling her tonight, or at least not until we go to bed, then she will hop in the bed like she is little miss perfect.. Do your dogs do this, when they do, do they hide out from you until you give the all clear?? What other Christmas mischief do your dogs get into..
5 people like this
15 responses
@crystalb2007 (24)
• Canada
14 Dec 08
Naw... My "racey" and "max" both were trained well by my dad.. He taught them and took his time teaching them, when they come into the house they can walk any where they want except the living room...
Its kinda cute, my puppy will sit on the very edge of the kitchen floor and if you watch a movie, you look over and somehow she will cross onto the carpet but just half way... lol... I love my pup racey
2 people like this
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
14 Dec 08
Sounds like I need your dad to help me train Baby, she is 4 yrs old and this is the first time she has messed with the Christmas gifts, I believe they smell too good to resist.. I bet Racey is cute when she "sneaks" into the living room, I can just imagine her doing that.. Have a great evening and thanks for the response..
@riyasam (16556)
• India
14 Dec 08
i donot have pets here(I stay in an apartment) but my grannie has a pomerian.she is so cute except when she is naughty.if someone doesnt keep an eye on her,shes bound to upset something.. and i do give her a shouting but my grandma spoils it all by pampering her.
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
14 Dec 08
Grandma's are bad about that, with dogs and children.. But that is what makes them special and the children and dogs rotten, it is Grandma's fault.. You really need a pet, they are great, sometimes.. Have a wonderful evening, Donna
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
14 Dec 08
Cats yes, dogs no. I wonder how that dog got that lid off? Heck, I have problems getting those lids off..lol. Yeah I heard chocolate is like poison for a dog. Cat likes to climb tree, smack at ornaments thank goodness for plastic ones. In all their mischief we still gotta love them even if they get on our naughty list occasionally.
2 people like this
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
14 Dec 08
I love cats and most times, they can play on and around your tree all day without making a mess, I do love their agility when playing.. This dog will eat anything but I was wrong about it not bothering her.. I went to the sofa last night to sit down and found that she had thrown up the chocolate on my side of the sofa.. Thank goodness for sure-fit sofa covers, but I didn't like having to do laundry that late at night.. I noticed that the tins of cookies are getting littler and this is the first tin that I have gotten that I was able to get the lid off of easily, that may be how she got into them, I never know about her.. Have a great day..
@palonghorn (5479)
• United States
14 Dec 08
we've been really lucky since we got our dog when she was a puppy 3 years ago. she has never messed with any of the gifts under the tree. nor has she messed with any of the decorations, at least not on purpose lol. she has been known to send on flying off the tree with her wagging tail, so i try to keep breakable ones above tail height.
2 people like this
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
14 Dec 08
They can be dangerous with their tails when they are happy.. Baby doens't normally mess with anything under the tree, I believe she just thought that everything smelled so good and she couldn't resist it.. She is too funny sometimes, after I get over being mad at her.. Have a great evening..
@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
14 Dec 08
Right now we are having problems with the kittens that we are fostering. They climb the Christmas tree and have taken the lights off, so we don't dare decorate it.
When we had dogs, they didn't cause any trouble with the gifts.
But when I was growing up, my parents had a Bassett Hound. One year mom gave each of us cookies in a tin. The dog tried to unwrap them. We found one tin in the backyard completely unwrapped but he couldn't open the tin. Many, many other Bassett stories about things that the dog did manage to steal. My Dad called Bassett Hounds "garbage disposals with the on/off switch permanently stuck in the on position!"
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
15 Dec 08
I can't imagine being without cats. I ended up making the tough decision when I got my last two cats six years ago to keep them indoors. Then Oreo adopted us and he's used to being outside. Had many disagreements with my husband on this one but after Oreo got out three times and:
1. came back with an infected claw
2. came back with a cold that he gave to my other 2 cats
3. got the crap beat out of him
Husband finally saw reason and now Oreo is an inside cat too. Only exception, we have bought him a harness and a leash and the kids are going to try taking him outside for walks. Funny cat. When he does get out he just walks to the lawn and waits for somebody to come over and pet him. He doesn't run away, thank goodness. Too many bad things out there!
1 person likes this
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
17 Dec 08
I am glad that Oreo finally came to his senses and decided to go along with being in indoors cat, it is so much safer that way.. I wnated my Birdie to be an inside cat but she was also a "mighty hunter" and would hide behind the storm door and when we opened it she would be out like a shot, she was gone before we knew what happened.. She didn't especially prefer one over the other she just preferred to have it her way and be where she wanted to be when she wanted to be there..
The first day in our new house, I held her all of the way here and was holding her especially safe when we pulled into the driveway, but as soon as I opened the car door, she dug the claws into my arm and jumped out of my arms and ran.. She stayed gone all night even with all 3 of us traipsing throught the woods across the street calling for her all evening.. She came in the next morning and made this behavior a habit.. She wanted what she wanted, whether it was to be inside or outside.. I loved her just the same.. Our "babies" are sweet, no matter what they do..
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
14 Dec 08
That sounds like my dog, she is little but she is like a "garbage disposal with the on/off switch permanently stuck in the on position!" That is Baby, she will eat anything, even vegetables.. I bet the cats are so cute climbing on the tree like they do, I adore cats but my last little baby got hit by a car and I don't want to get attached to another one, that was really tough losing her, she was my special Doll Baby and even years later, I can remember the things that she did and I still miss her.. Thanks for the response..
1 person likes this
@waysouth (25)
• United States
14 Dec 08
oh my god, don't give my dog any ideas!! Freak will be eating our presents.
Luckily the only two presents under the tree were opened already, my daughter and I have no impulse control.
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
14 Dec 08
You have a dog named Freak, that is too funny.. I call our Miss Piggy sometimes due to the way she acts.. Looks like the dog is going to have to keep you and your daughter under control until Christmas... 
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
15 Dec 08
i don't have a tree I haven't had it in about 25 years, we had cats at the time and they always pulled down the tree so we stopped putting one up.
1 person likes this
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
16 Dec 08
Winterose, don't you miss having a tree even with all of the aggrevation of it?? My mother-in-law used to not even want a tree put up and I couldn't understand why, since I have gotten older, I understand more than I ever did.. Don't you miss it just a bit?? Have a great Christmas anyway..
1 person likes this
@laglen (19759)
• United States
14 Dec 08
Actually, I hang stockings for the dogs and since my daughter doesn't believe anymore, I put everything out as I get it! Well, I filled the dogs stockings with treats and one night they got into them. It was good to know they liked the treats!
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
14 Dec 08
Well, at least you know that you have good taste in picking out the dog's treats, mine likes anything, especially people food.. Shame about you daughter not believing anymore, that is hard on parents when it happens.. Thanks for the response..
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
15 Dec 08
I can imagine how much fun and aggrevation it is to watch the cats at play in the tree.. Someone else mentioned that their cats did the same.. My dog can smell food a mile off, she will even climb on top of you if she thinks that you have food in your mouth, "my husband says that if she had fingers and thumbs, we would be in trouble", I think that we would..
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
14 Dec 08
My german shepherd Shiloh wouldn't tear into the presents, but loved to PEE on them. I found this out one day and had to rewrap everything. So all the years after we never put presents under the tree. We would pile them on a table or counter. Unfortunately Shiloh was put to sleep last month because of health problems. But, this year I now have presents under my tree again.
1 person likes this
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
14 Dec 08
I just bet that you would love to be putting the gifts on the table again and still have your Shiloh, wouldn't you.. That is tough losing a pet, I have lost a few.. I can imagine him giggling to himself every time he peed on the gifts, that was almost sweet, as long as it wasn't my dog.. Thanks for the response and have a great day..
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
15 Dec 08
Thanks. :) Yes, I miss my Shiloh. He was like my shadow. But, he was in pain from his bad hips and with stomach problems too. So he isn't suffering at least now.
1 person likes this
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
14 Dec 08
Hi DonnalLawson,
Oh what a naughty doggie hehehe, I haven't got a dog but I have two cats, male and female, but they don't touch the tree and I haven't yet wrap the presents up but I know that once I have done that the tom cat will start messing about with it so I am going to have a big gift bag and leave it in there so he can't get at them. Once I left a plate of mince out to thaw and later when I went to cook it, it was half eaten, I was so angry, never know my cat to do that and I knew who the culprit was, it was Thomas my male cat, he knew he did wrong and he was smacking his lips and washing himself and was hiding behind the TV, I didn't let him off because I got hold of him and taped him on his nose, he don't like that, so now I can leave food out and he won't touch it, he learnt his lessons. Baby my female cat is so fussy what she eats so she don't do these things but Thomas eats anything.
Tamara
1 person likes this
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
14 Dec 08
Tamarafireheart, I never knew you could reprimand a cat, most of them have their owners on a leash.. They normally get their way no matter what.. Sounds like Thomas was hiding behind the tv licking the food off of his paws, I bet he didn't care if he was in trouble or not, cats don't care, I know, I had one for many years and she ran the house.. Now you have learned not to leave mince out, or probably anything else, they will get it if they want it.. Have a great day..
@playmateshorty (365)
• United States
14 Dec 08
last year, my pug ate all the christmas cookies left out for santa, then pooed by the kids presents. m&m's still visible.
doooh!
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
14 Dec 08
That is so bad, but I bet she was just returning the favor.. I can almost picture that now, I don't want to but I can.. Thanks for the response and have a great day..
@aisaellis22 (6445)
• United States
14 Dec 08
Oh my! I can now tell how hyper your dog is lol! I heard too that chocolate is not good for dogs. Well our dog sometimes messed up the file in our christmas tree but not to the point to open the wrapper..hehehe...Well, maybe now we have to watch out because maybe one day we will wake up and see one of the gifts open.
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
14 Dec 08
You will know when they do it, there will be wrapping paper all over.. They can make a mess.. I was mad at her at first and she knew it but my husband kept telling me "Dont't be mad at her, she was sick from eating all of the chocolate", so then I started feeling sorry for her, she didn't know not to eat the whole box of Mints..
@gunmetal007 (16)
• Indonesia
14 Dec 08
i hope my cat won't do that, because my cat is very lazy fat cat... but actually sometimes he run in my house so fast i don't know what will happen if that happened again in this christmas...
1 person likes this
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
14 Dec 08
Cats are so fast and so agile, they could climb the tree before you even knew what was happening.. Keep an eye on her as Christmas isn't here yet and she still has time.. Have a great day..
@CinderInMySoul (4717)
• United States
14 Dec 08
surprising no. neither of our dogs bother the tree or the presents when they are placed under the tree. one of them (Joey) i honestly expected him to get into everything, but the first time he started paying "extra" attention to the tree and presents he got a very firm NO and was shooed away. he hasnt done anything but stop and sniff at the latest present placed under there. so far so good lol!
however WRAPPING the presents is an entirely different story. they both are positive that im on the floor to be closer to them and so want to stand in front of me (for easier petting access in their consideration for me im sure) they will stand over the gift im wrappy or on the paper. either that or they have to be sitting between me and the present as im wrapping it in order to have a better "view" of the whole process.
if you look closely you can tell which gifts they "helped" wrap..dog hair caught up under the tape.
1 person likes this
@DonnaLawson (4032)
• United States
14 Dec 08
Sounds like you have very considerate and also very helpful dogs, I wish mine would help with the wrapping instead of just the "unwrapping".. You have to love them or you would probably end us strangling them when they do their "bad deeds".. Have a great day and thanks for the response..
