Halloween Safety for Your Pets!

Believe it or not, Halloween is just around the corner. Although it can be an incredibly fun time for children, your pets aren’t exactly thrilled during trick-or-treating. Most animals find this holiday stressful and confusing - there are people dressed up, the doorbell is being rung frequently, and there are even strange noises to top it all off. I am going to give you some tips on how you can make Halloween enjoyable (or at the very least tolerable) for your pet.

1. Halloween costumes for your pets: There are a few things you need to remember when picking out a costume for your pet: the costume must be free of rubber bands (if your animal is not constantly supervised, the rubber bands could get embedded in her skin if they are too tight); the costume must also be free of any loose, dangling pieces (she may chew on these and choke); make sure she is comfortable wearing the costume - if she is not comfortable, this will cause her stress and you would be better off just skipping the costume.



2. Candy: Stress to your children how important it is to keep all their candy in a place where the animal will not be able to get to it. Chocolate can be incredibly toxic to animals - it can cause vomiting, restlessness, heart problems, and in some cases death. Besides chocolate, you should watch out for candy in tin wrappers or cellophane, these can easily be eaten by your pet and if swallowed could cause her to choke, or create problems in her digestive system. If you are concerned that she may have swallowed something (if her behavior just doesn’t seem normal to you, or she shows any of the listed symptoms) do not hesitate to call your vet AT ONCE!!
3. Decorations: If you are one of those people who has their house all decorated for Halloween, be sure all cords are kept out of her reach as she could easily pull on them knocking the decoration down and possibly hurting herself. If you are carving pumpkins and using a candle to light them, keep them away from your pets. Animals (especially cats) are fascinated with moving objects, cats will try to paw at the flame and she will end up getting burnt. The safest place to keep your jack-o-lanterns is outside on a porch or railing away from your pet’s reach.
4. Trick-Or-Treater’s: This can be especially stressful for your pet and the best thing you can do is keep her in a room away from the front door. She will still be a little afraid but at least the majority of the noise and excitement will be buffered. This also helps keep her out of trouble. If she is in a room, there is no chance she will get scared and snap at a child, and she will not be able to dart out the door.
5. Halloween villans: I also need to mention the fact that there are some people in this world who view Halloween as a time to do disgusting, horrible things to animals. It is best if you keep your pets inside during Halloween and if you let them out, keep a close eye on them. Pay extra special attention if you own a black cat, most animal shelters do not allow black cats to be adopted before and a little while after Halloween because so many are abused and tortured.
6. What if she gets loose? Make sure your pet has on her identification tags and that they are current. If your pet does get loose, you will have a better chance of being reunited with her if you make sure she has proper identification.

Above all, just make sure you take away as much stress as possible. Pets that get overly excited will be on edge more than usual. Follow my guidelines above and your Halloween will be more relaxing for your pet!! If you have any photos of your pet dressed up for Halloween, please send them to: dsheffler@petstrong.com, your pet could be featured in an upcoming blog post!!

Thanks for reading!! As always, your participation in comments and discussions is encouraged and greatly appreciated!!