Have you ever noticed that dogs don’t get holidays? It’s not that they don’t celebrate with us. It’s that they completely don’t understand the concept.

Dogs sort of understand weekends. They know the routine is different. If you’re lucky, they don’t wake up at the same time as on weekdays. Really lucky? They wake up when the alarm goes off. Incredibly lucky? You don’t have morning dogs, like all of ours.

But holidays are a mystery. After all, dogs have only one job and they do it full time, 24/7. Being a good dog may be easier for some than others, but they do it. There’s no “off” days for dogs.

Creatures of habit

There’s nothing dogs like more than routine. As long as you follow the same routine daily, they’re happy. Disrupt the routine and it’s like their world has fallen apart. Their internal meter tells them what their people are supposed to be doing and when they’re supposed to do it. 

If that clockwork schedule changes, their world is rocked. Even if it seems to benefit them. They don’t care. It’s not the way it’s supposed to be. Sleep an extra half hour on a holiday? Nope! Go back to bed after walkies? No way! Delay breakfast for a time? You’ve got to be kidding me! Keep walking after we reach the turn-around spot? Not a chance! Mom is still here after departure time? I don’t think so!

No clue what to do

People look forward to extra days off. We make plans to go places, do things, visit family and friends. Or just stay home and relax, maybe get some stuff done around the house. The dogs think that the last one is the worst. While they may love having you around, you can almost see the stress as they follow you around, “helping” you with your tasks.

And while you’re trying to get stuff done, which in our house involves a lot of going back and forth to grab the stuff we forgot, or didn’t know we needed, the dogs are always in your path. If you have multiple dogs, you learn to do the “puppy shuffle” – never picking your feet up when you walk so you don’t step on any dog bits. Even if you only have one dog lying in the middle, they’ll undoubtedly pop up when you try to go over or around them. How many bruises do you sport, catching yourself from tripping over a dog? 

Up side to holidays

The best part of a holiday is when the dogs finally figure out that it’s okay. Nobody’s in trouble. Nothing’s going on. Everything’s fine. You finally get to ease back with a beverage and just enjoy the life you love, with your dog sleeping peacefully nearby. Enjoy!

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