Having holiday get-togethers at your house can be stressful, if you don't consider how to care for Fido in the midst of the holiday visitors. If your pet gets nervous around big crowds, you might want to set aside a quiet, private space just for him in your home. You also have to consider relatives with particular allergies, and those that just aren't "animal people." Here's how to encourage calm, sensible, and enjoyable interactions between your pets and your holiday visitors. Don't forget it's also important to know when the best interaction is no interaction at all.

Forget "Love Me, Love My pet"
As much as your pets might be members of the family, where visitors are concerned, it's smart to consider them more as "preferences" - like "smoking" or "nonsmoking," or country music versus jazz. Some people simply do not like cats, dogs, or little things that resemble rats (even though they're hamsters, for heaven's sake). It has nothing to do with the person's feelings for you, so don't take it personally if someone doesn't want anything to do with your beloved friend.