This time of year as the days are shorter, the weather is colder and food smells sweeter; we all tend to reflect on the past year while celebrating with our friends and family. While we're celebrating with the closest humans in our life, we can also celebrate the season with our canine companions. Here are a few ways to get the most out of this holiday season with your dog.

1) Get your Vitamin D in together

In the wintertime, the amount of daylight we have access to is limited. And making sure you and your dog get Vitamin D is important. Getting Vitamin D from the source (the Sun) helps improve mood, reduces inflammation, and supports strong muscles for both you and your dog. Getting out in the sun during these shorter days is a fun way for you and your dog to stay healthy and happy. You can take a walk that is a little longer than usual and make sure you are in the sun majority of the time. My favorite activity is going on a hike with my dog. Being out in nature will also help improve your mood and provides stimulation for your dog.

2) Have them help you with tidying up (by being out of the way)

During the holidays, guests may be visiting your home; which means that the house needs to get cleaned. Cleaning is also a good way to visualize all the things that we don't want to take into the new year while making room for positive additions in the upcoming year. Believe it or not, your dog can help you with cleaning….by being out of the way. If you haven't worked on getting your dog to be still and be calm on their bed or crate this is the perfect time to start. In the dog world, we call this “place work” which means that your dog is in a calm mind and body position in one place. The benefit of place work is teaching your dog to have a calm state of mind.

3) Share a feast

While we are making elaborate holiday dinners, don't forget that your dog can also join in on the feast. Whether you are making a bone broth soup, or have leftover turkey; your dog would love those extras in their food bowls too! Just make sure that the food and broth don't have onion, shallots, grapes, raisins, or chocolate in the ingredients. Your dog will love the added flavor and feel like they are included in the holiday feast.

4) Sit by the fire together

There is nothing better after a long cold day than cuddling up by a fire with the ones we love. And you can include your dogs in this too. Being near you while requiring them to be calm, helps reinforce calm in your dog (especially hyper dogs). Often as humans, we are constantly rewarding over-excited behavior like jumping, running around the house, and barking. If you are experiencing these challenges doing place work as mentioned before and requiring calm behavior before rewarding them will help significantly in helping them develop a calm state of mind.

Hope you enjoyed these ideas to share with your dog this holiday season. And let me know in the comments down below your favorite holiday activity you do with your dog.