All UK dog owners given stark one week warning as experts advise taking four vital steps

A one week warning has been issued to millions of UK dog owners, with experts advising four steps of action to take to prevent potential distress for pets. Christmas is nearly upon us and while it's a season of joy and celebration for many, certain elements of the holiday can negatively affect our dogs.

Thankfully, dog behavioural expert Colin Tennant and Asda Pet Insurance have offered their advice on how to make this Christmas as comfortable as possible for dogs - now just one week away - and to foster a calm and enjoyable environment for everyone. Firstly, owners and anyone expecting dog visitors are advised to be mindful of strong smells.

Dogs possess around sixty times more olfactory receptors than humans, giving them an incredibly sensitive sense of smell – up to 100,000 times stronger than ours. While we might enjoy the scents of Christmas spiced and cinnamon candles, roasting turkey, or Christmas trees, these can overwhelm your dog.

To help keep dogs relaxed, consider the smells you introduce into the room – if you can smell them, your dog can smell them even more. So, to avoid sensory overload, swap your new candle for an unscented one and try to keep your dog's nose away from the kitchen or dining area if possible.

Likewise, dogs typically have superior hearing to humans, so any abrupt changes in volume between lively, action-packed or animated Christmas movie scenes can be startling and stressful. If your dog appears anxious or begins to hide, it could be the noise that's unsettling them.

To maintain a relaxing atmosphere, reduce the volume or consider using soothing background music instead. We should also monitor the thermostat, as while cranking up the heat and getting snug may seem appealing to us, dogs can become too hot.

Dogs are most comfortable at a room temperature of 18C, and if your dog starts panting or moves toward cooler areas of the room, like the floor or near a draft, they're likely getting too warm. Adjust the room temperature to a comfortable level, put on a jumper, and keep an eye on your dog's behaviour to ensure they're not overheating.

Remember the breed and age of the dog, too as the optimum temperature will depend on this. Short-coated dogs tend to prefer warmer, cosier temperatures of around 18C, and if you have an older dog, they'll likely be most comfortable slightly above 18C.

Dogs are much better than humans at seeing in dim light and detecting movement, so dimming the lights somewhat could benefit your pet. This is because they have a far greater density of rod cells than we do which means our night vision and motion detection in low light is much less acute.

In other words, when we have the lights dimmed, it's still pretty bright for a dog and could overstimulate them. Even Christmas tree lights can get them excited.

So remember, the dimmer the mood lighting, the more relaxing it is for dogs.