The days are getting shorter and that spooky time of year is just around the corner! Halloween brings with it lots of fun, lots of tasty treats and for some dogs lots of novel and new experiences! For some pups this can be exciting but for others this may be a little worrying, we’re going to look at our top tips for reducing stress and keeping your pups safe through the Halloween period.
Chocolates & Sweets
Be careful where you stash those goodies. While we all love chocolate and sweets they can cause our pets lots of problems from gastrointestinal upset to dangerous blockages that can require surgery. Wherever you’re keeping your sweet treats this year, whether it’s a lot of trick or treating candy or a bowl of snacks for visitors, ensure they’re out of reach of any hungry four legged friends.
Pumpkins
While pumpkin can be a super tasty treat for our pets and there are lots of tasty recipes and dog treats that use this nutritional ingredient, you want to keep an eye out for old carved pumpkins that may be laying around after halloween. Well meaning people can often take their old pumpkins up to the woods in the hopes of providing some food for the wildlife, but our inquisitive dogs can also try to make the most of this free snack! Old and decomposing vegetables can contain mould spores that are highly toxic to dogs. If your dog is prone to a wild buffet it may be worth keeping them on lead, walking in areas where you can clearly see any leftover food or considering the use of a basket muzzle to prevent ingestion!
Fireworks
Another seasonal favourite around halloween are the fireworks. Lasting from November through to the festive season the early sunsets provide the perfect backdrop for beautiful firework displays, but some pets will find this distressing. If it’s your pets first fireworks night you may want to consider using sound desensitisation, using tracks like those provided by Dogs Trust to start introducing your pet to the novel sounds of fireworks slowly and safely ahead of time. If your pet is still stressed when it comes to fireworks, consider closing curtains, turning the volume up on your TV or radio. Create a safe space in a crate or area of your home where your pet can enjoy spending time using soothing enrichment toys like lickimats or kongs! For more severe cases of anxiety and stress it may be worth speaking directly with your pets’ vet.
Trick or treaters
Lots of dogs find a knock at the door or a ring of the bell exciting and can’t wait to greet the guests, others may find it stressful and worry about new people coming to the house. Using a crate, like one of our bespoke bedrooms or creating your own safe space with baby gates or doors, can help give your pet somewhere to hide from all the chaos but also help to keep them safe when opening and closing doors to trick or treaters.
Reports of lost dogs often increase around halloween with more frequent door opening, scary sounds like fireworks and people walking around in novel costumes, dogs can easily become spooked and get lost – always ensure your pets microchip details are up to date and that they’re wearing the appropriate identification tags and information to help speed up reunification.
For some households it may be best to avoid unnecessary stress all together by putting a sign up at the door to inform people you aren’t taking part in any halloween trick or treating this year. We’ve put together our very own ‘No Trick or Treating’ sign for you to download and print – find it here. (There’s even one for the kids to colour in).
Top tips for the day
- Ensure your pet gets enough exercise ahead of night fall.
- Prepare a safe space in your house away from the front door.
- Ensure your pet is wearing their I.D collar and tag.
- Keep human treats out of reach.
- Enjoy halloween together! Avoid leaving your dog home alone.
From everyone at The Pet Carpenter, we hope you have a great Halloween safely with your pets, however you’re celebrating this year. If you’ve found our top tips helpful don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter and follow us on our social media pages, Instagram and Facebook, to be the first to hear of new blog releases!
