Pet Halloween Safety

Pet Halloween Safety- Doxie

Tonight is the night pack moms.  If you have human kids I am sure they just can’t wait to put on their costume and hit the door!  But, if you have four leggers, they might not relish this holiday.  Or, the opposite, might be too over eager to jump and lick every trick or treater.  I have put together a few safety tips and good alternatives to keep your dogs and cats safe and anxiety free this ghoulish holiday!

Pet Halloween Safety- Hazel

1. Keep Pets Indoors– Halloween night has the second largest number of lost pet occurrences of the year. Pets should remain home during trick or treating festivities.  The combination of darkness and costumes may make your pet anxious and scared. If you keep your pet in a gated yard, consider bringing them indoors. There will be many pranksters out, who just might find it funny to let your pet out of the gate, antagonize your pet or even worse.
Please make sure your pet is wearing his i.d. tag tonight, has a microchip or even has a pet tracking system.  Tagg the Pet Tracker is an excellent and EASY option to give pet owners peace of mind. It is a GPS tracking system for your pet and is unlike any other product out there. It puts the owner in control of their pets whereabouts. In a matter of minutes, you can identify where your lost pet is on a map. Available at Tagg.com.

Pet Halloween Safety- GI Jane

2. Chocolate, Candy and other Yummies– By all means, all candy, especially chocolate is a big NO NO for Felix and Fido. Chocolate is toxic to a pet’s system and can have fatal results. Not to mention, the wrappers, foil, twist ties, etc. surrounding the candy can cause choking or may lodge in the pet’s intestines.
However, if you want to give your pet a sweet treat, try your hand at making them carob brownies! Carob is actually a legume and is full of vitamins A, a series of B vitamins D and minerals. It also has fiber and pectin and is low in sodium. a safe sweet and therapeutic alternative.  Visit my earlier post for the recipe!

Pet Halloween Safety- Airplane dog

3. Candles– We all know that Fido’s tail can whip around as fast as a category two hurricane and will take out anything in it’s path. If you have cats, no space is off limits. Please keep all lit candles far out of your dogs range. And definitely remember to extinguish candles prior to leaving your home.

Better yet, use a wickless candle like this one. I have pretty much eliminated candles from my home and exclusively use no wick candles like the ones from Scentsy.

Pet Halloween Safety- Bride and Groom

4. Trick or Treaters– Costumes and excited kids may cause your pet to bolt out of an open door or perhaps become scared/nervous leading to unwanted results. The best precaution is to not let Fido greet trick or treaters without being on the other end of his leash or not at all. Nervous or overly excited pets are better left in a cozy room with all of their favorite things while you are greeting trick or treaters or hosting a Halloween party. They will feel much better and you will not take the chance of your otherwise friendly FiFi becoming snappish.
A few must haves for their room is a long lasting treat (antler), twist n treat toy, comfy bed, water. Natural anti anxiety remedies would be rescue remedy or thundershirt.

Pet Halloween Safety- Skeleton

5. Costumes– If you choose to dress your pet this season, please make sure that their costume is not constricting in any way. If the costume includes a mask, please ensure that the eyeholes are wide enough not to impede Fido’s peripheral vision. Limited vision could cause your dog to become nervous and potentially act out of the norm.

Give your pet extra water when dressed as he may become warm and try not to leave his costume on for extended periods of time.
Check out my dog Abe on TV and learn about a few more products to keep your pets safe and entertained this Halloween!

Have a great night Pack Moms!

Jenn

Tags: Busy Buddy, dog, Halloween, Jenn Fadal, Jenn Fadal Pet Expert, Pet Halloween Safety, Pet Tracker, Rescue Remedy, Tagg, Thundershirt

Category: Safety