Although I debated and debated on taking my little on to our family get together on Thanksgiving I in the end ended up taking her BUT....... I live close enough to the family that if I did not feel comfrontable with her being there after everyone got there I could run her home. I took her carry bag (her safe place) and she used it several times throughout the day. She did very well and we all had a good time. I told everyone no table scraps and told the kids she was little and still scared. To be very careful with her and they were. I dont think I would have taken her if we were not close enough I could have brought her home if needed to. But, I have descided that she gets to go to my mother in laws with us for Christmas but for our family Christmas at grandmas she is going to stay home. We have 3 family things all back to back this year and I know that after Thanksgiving she will be ok but I am afraid this will just wear her out and put to much stress on her being in 3 new houses in 3 days. So, she will be staying home for Christmas. Take a "safe place" and lay the rules down when you walk in the door. But, if you are having any doughts at all and are not as lucky as I am to be able to just run him home dont do it.

a crate or a playpen is a great idea:thumbup:

Agree, get a crate or a playpen for your baby (sounds like he is your baby).

I have some firm rules when Sophie Kate is around kids such as:
1. No picking her up
2. Let her smell your hand before you pet her
3. No people food (always take some of her treats just in case)
4. Kids MUST use the one hand rule, they only touch Sophie Kate with one hand- Thanks to a YT Member for suggesting this rule.

I bought an awesome portable crate at Lowes, it folds up and the top zips (I leave it unzipped when she wants to be social but I cannot keep a close eye on her). I take when we are going to be around kids.

Sophie Kate is not really a fan of kids and I always have to be aware of what is she doing whenever they are around.

You guys are all so awesome and I've read every reply.

So, thanks to your advices, my plan today is to stop off on the way home from work and pick up a play pen for him and hopefully find a sling too (cause I think those things are cool. I have something that's kind of like a sling but I really would want a sling instead of that pouch thing. I couldn't find one at PetSmart so hopefully they have it at PetCo....If I have to go to a local pet shop I can do that too. If anything I'll just stick him in my hoodie :D hehe (I also have a sheet I can fashion into one, that will do the trick)


I'm letting the GF know tonight what my plans are when I present the play pen and all that. I have to stand my ground and clearly state "He's my dog too" when she pulls the "He's my dog" thing. ;)

I did try to convince her to bring him to her moms a couple of weekends ago and she didn't want to go. I was baffled but I guess she has her reasons!

I am definitely going to run down rules when I get there and I don't care what anyone thinks about being over protective of him. I would totally get ticked off, shout and cause a scene if anyone hurts him or steps on him so I think it's going to be best to lay down the rules in a calm manner to avoid a scene.I'm going to hold him almost all the time too.

I will bring ChiChi with me too...That may distract them a bit and he's about 20 pounds so he's a bit tougher and knows how to get outta the way :D

Thank you all! Happy Holidays to you, your babies and families!

Good luck. Hope you have a good holiday! If you don't mind, I'd like to know how you liked the sling and how it worked for you. We are thinking of getting one. :)

I see you've gotten a ton of good advice already, so I'll just wish y'all luck and Merry Christmas:D!

Puppies are just like newborns and get over-stimulated and that's not good, so you can always tell everyone (after they've all ooooh'ed and ahhhh'ed over him) that he needs to sleep and put him in a quiet bedroom in the playpen;) I don't like my babies around crowds, either, even though they're over 5 years old now:laugh: I am just too scared of them getting stepped on or fed something that'll make them sick.

ok, so I went looking for "the" play pen that I wanted for my little baby boy to be safe in and couldn't find it. The guys at petsmart and petco said that I could only get it online. Boo!
So I'll have to do the Toys R Us thing today, which should be fun since it's almost xmas....

If I can't get what I want then I'll just get something and return it after the holidays and order the one I want.

I had a convo this morning with my GF and told her again that I wasn't comfortable with bringing him (again) and told her that I will be carrying him the whole time or he will be in the crate (If I can't find the pen I want). Also told her that I'm laying down the law when it comes to Jimmy and the kids aren't going to be carrying him around, he won't be going up on the couch for kid face licky time and if someone wants to hold him they need to be seated.

*girlie flex!* (sense of accomplishment) :)

She kinda rolled her eyes at me and giggled and I told her not to be looking at me like an over protective parent hehe.

She said that it's all good and even recommended which one of our coats I should use to keep him stuffed in throughout the day.

Although I didn't get my way by leaving him at home, I got my way on the whole "Be careful and let me be the protective mommy!" thing.

Glad you won. Children are not the only careless ones. Sometimes adults can be clumsy and careless too. Sounds like your GF is understanding and just wants to show off her new baby:). I know it will work out fine.

[QUOTE=tinalove;3766792]Glad you won. Children are not the only careless ones. Sometimes adults can be clumsy and careless too.

Last Sunday when I had 17 people in the house for a gathering. My niece's husband was holding Mina. She got squirmy because she really didn't care for his company. He underhand tossed her into a chair beside him. Thought I was going to have a stroke. I picked her up and she didnt touch the floor until after they left. By the way he is a dog trainer. Scary stuff

I think a sling is a good option if you can't get the playpen or crate. I have had one for Angel since she was a tiny baby and she loves hers. You clip them in so they can't get out, it has a soft bottom so they can't jump out and it kinna cradles them. I put a little blanket in it and flip it over the top when it is cold outside. I have even hung it on a door knob. This is the one I have.
Outward Hound Sling-Go Pet Sling - Black - Kyjen | Outward Hound | Pet Carriers | Pet Strollers | Auto Accessories for Dogs | Outdoor Gear for Dogs

I am another one that can't have the dogs out when kids are around. I wait till the end of the evening when the kids have wound down and then I am RIGHT THERE. If they want to hold her I sit on the couch with them.

I think you have gotten a lot of great advice and so I don't really have any advice to add. Maybe a little hope though.

My little Lu just turned two the begining of December and is just under 3.5 lbs. We are protective of her simply because we adore her but also because of her tiny size. (We are not over the top protective, as I believe that can create emotional issues for little dogs and and so Lu is tiny but still does all the things bigger dogs do, just under more supervision. That is of course simply my opinion.) For Thanksgiving we had two dozen people in our home, (6 of which were under 15 years of age). Things were a bit different for us than they will be for you since the event was occuring in my home and Lu is no longer a puppy. However, I just wanted to mention that sometimes people can surprise you in a good way. Everybody in our family thinks the world of Lu and is very cautious around her, (we have only had her since Easter). She mostly spent Thanksgiving quietly snuggling on someone's lap so she wouldn't be stepped on or cause anyone to trip. Even my Father and Father-in-law like holding Lu. You do have to be vigilent and cautious of who you trust with your dog and of course with a puppy there are more things to watch for than with an adult dog. I just wanted to give you some hope for a positive outcome during your Christmas visit. We have explained to our families that Lu has to be up when our house is bustling with people and everyone has been very accomodating and careful to keep her safe. Lu does have a kennel and can be in the back entrance if necessary but generally she is happy to be a part of what is going on and members of our family have been very good about making sure she stays safe.

You never know, people might be happy to help make your visit a positive experience for you, your GF and your puppy. You still have to prepare and plan for pretty much everything you can think of but in the end you might find the whole experience to be a pleasant one. Those times are always rather nice surprises.

Wishing you all the best during your adventure for Christmas. We are having two Christmas dinners at my house this year, one on Christmas Eve with 10 people and one on Boxing Day with 24+. The joys of large families and guess who has a house big enough? Ho-ho-ho Ahhh!!! I love them all to pieces and enjoy the visits but stress a bit as I get ready.

Thanks guys! You're right, I think this will turn out good in the end...I love that sling too BTW. IMDLL thanks for the story. I hope it works out that way. There are some male family members that are always walking around chit chatting and stuffing their faces and even trip over the kids so I wouldn't be surprised if they step on Jimmy, but we'll see! I don't think I will give them that opportunity! :)

I wasn't able to find one but I did find the soft sided playpen I was looking for and grabbed it. Unfortunately it costs about 55 bucks more than what I found on the internet so I will definitely be returning it on Tuesday and ordering the other!

Jimmy hates it! He jumps and scratches at the mesh like he was being tortured. He jumps pretty high and almost gets up to the top. I know he won't make it cause he *just* got the ability to jump on one of my couches, which is a low couch.

Should be interesting on Sunday!!! I will keep update and let you know how it went.
I know I can be a worry wart sometimes and things turn out fine in the end and I end up getting stressed out over nothing. Will see :)

Its ok to be a worry type mommy and protect. "an ounce of provention is worth a pound of cure". I own a sling too and love it. I have a doggie type sling but I like the one that I carried my kids in better.

That's funny that you say that about the kid carrier. That's the type my GF mentioned we should get when we were talking about things night before last. Hmm...I just figured he'd slip out but I didn't say that. I just said "hmm, might be neat" Let's see if she wants to try that. Right now we have one that is like a front-backpack pouch thing. Looks like a lunch bag with mesh. Got it at Ross.

So many things so little time hehe.

I'm sure you will keep him safe one way or another. Have a wonderful Christmas!

Well, everything went good! Well, almost everything. People seemed to be pretty respectful of my wishes and I had him in my arms almost all the time. GF's mother was being protective too cause she felt my need for safety.

One thing that did happen is that it appeared that one of the kids got some milk on him and the next day he had really red poop. I almost thought it was blood but there was a dish there that appeared to be a baked mix of cranberry sauce and kool-aid. I'm guessing someone gave him that. He seemed better a little later on and I haven't seen anything else in his stool since then.

The play-pen worked out good. I once walked in the other room and found the 5 year old inside the pen with him. Cute. :)

I'm glad he survived the day.

Glad to hear that things went relatively well. It's always so stressful when you don't know for sure what to expect from a situation.

We had a similar experiance over Christmas. But took a slightly different tac.

We brought Andy to My parents house for X-Mas eve. 30 Peeps and 3 other dogs. I didn't do anything special. We held Andy for the first 30 mins or so, and He fought the whole time to get down. When I put Him down, he couldn't get 3 ft before someone wanted to hold Him.

After the intial newness wore off for him, he spent most of the day on someones lap.

You are quite lucky that he didn't have a bad reaction to whatever they fed him. Holidays are are really dangerous time for dogs as people tend to feel generous and feed them scraps that can send their pancreases into a horrible mess. Vets will tell you they lose more dogs around the holidays with pancreatitis than any other time of the year.
Glad your little guy didn't get anything too bad. You just can't turn your back for a second!

Amen to that! The one minute I let him out he came back covered in something sticky!
But, he seems to be good. I'm glad he didn't get sick off anything. :)

I would not take him, with all those little kids and adult feet.
A good friend would never ever guilt you into doing something you don't want to do for the safety of you or your pet.
I'm sure she'll understand and explain you can bring him the next weekend.
or you buy these little carriers that strap to your body and take him, that way he's safe and on you at all times