Tell me your first Christmas tree stories!

[Chitterlings]

DDog is 11 months.

Should we just give the tree a miss this year? Will the temptation of baubles and presents (obvs no chocolate ones) prove too much?

We normally have a tree in the lounge, but he comes in with us after we've had dinner for a couple of hours before bed. He also sleeps in there (in his crate).

He isn't destructive, and won't touch anything if you say 'leave' as he is eyeing something up. But I might miss that, and I worry what might happen.

Would the 'leave it' training work starting with the tree, and then leading up to the decorations - or is the no point?

I never have tinsel, so that's a plus I think!

My 6 month pup ..who is partial to a chew on a child's toy hasn't even noticed our tree. Ignored it completely!

You can't predict how they will react. Ddog3 ( age 4 ) casually strolled past the tree today and picked off a bauble shaped penguin and took it upstairs for a chew. Wet day, he must have been bored.... ... genuinely the first time any dog in the house has even appeared to notice the tree

My 11 month lab has a real talent for pruning the bushes in our garden, fortunately it has distracted her from chewing indoors but I am a little hesitant about a Christmas tree this year. We have an artificial one so will try it out this weekend. Defo no chocolates and we will be leaving the glass baubles in the box! I usually put lights and a garland up the stairs that's going to be a definite no no.

Our last lab ate her way through half a tin of Roses at the same age, when my DH fell asleep and left the lid off. She was an expert at unwrapping them.
Labradors seem to have cast iron constitutions. We have been lab free for the last 4 yrs so I'm looking forward to have an organic waste disposal unit again this year.

Well Eric who is a thief with a particular liking for anything shiny completely ignored our tree (a four foot one on a table rather than the usual floor to ceiling one) so we have reinstated the big one. We no longer put anything edible on the tree but Eric isn't fussed about food so don't think he'd bother if we did. He also managed to resist the temptation of opening wrapped presents until he was told he could open his own (he isn't usually so well behaved tbh)

Our dog is now 6 and he ignores the tree but you can't leave him anywhere near wrapped presents as he loves to unwrap stuff , which he does very carefully but he doesn't read labels so unwraps other people's as well as his own . We have some 'Christmas animals' that sit around the base of the tree and he was distracted by them for the first couple of years but now just ignores it all together .

Oh forgot about the musical Christmassy stuffed animals They now live in dd's window as they were a temptation too far for Eric and would only leave them whilst ever you caught his eye. The minute your attention wandered he was after them, Not surprising really as he has lots of toys that are similar so think he thought they were fair game.

Our cocker spaniel pup (6 mths) is absolutely into everything. Nothing stands a chance so how a Christmas will survive I really don't know! He's crate trained so times we aren't in the room with him he'll (well the tree) will be safe but he is a whirlwind at all other times and tbh im dreading it! We've decided that the 7foot massive tree will not be coming out this year and to get a shorty (less to damage) and only plastic non sentimental Dec's. Anyone around to offer reassurance?!

My 8 month old cockapoo whilst has looked at the tree hasn't really bothered with it. He did look longingly at some ornaments in a bowl but we just told him to leave it and he hasn't tried since.

Christmas decorations plus thieving whippets always makes for much entertainment at this time of year.

We didn't have one last year as one was on crate rest post injury so we didn't have room for a tree. The year before though we tried to have our artificial tree up. Unfortunately they worked out how to dismantle it so we regularly had whippets wandering round with Christmas tree branches in their mouths

We're going to give it another go this year with the same artificial tree plus non-fragile decorations (they're all either wood or felt) and keep our fingers very firmly crossed. I don't rate our chances to be honest as DWhippet3 is not only a kleptomaniac but has the stealth of a ninja.

Ours has completely ignored it so far this year. Last year he was 16 weeks and attempted to consume a glass bauble during Christmas lunch.

We'd put everything up out of his reach but it got dislodged somehow. He was find though.