Loading ...Pet Halloween Safety Tips
The pet blogosphere is abuzz with chatter about this, so I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon with my two cents (which aren’t really mine).
According to renowned vet Dr. Donna Spector, DVM, DACVIM from VCA Animal Hospitals, here are some sample tips for keeping pets safe and stress-free on Halloween this year.
- Make sure your dog’s costume is comfortable and doesn’t obstruct vision, hearing, or restrict movement. Avoid tying anything around your pet’s neck to prevent choking or strangling. Remove small parts or pieces that may be easily chewed off and swallowed.
- Although tempting, do not bring your dog along for trick-or-treating. Even the best-trained dogs can become spooked or aggressive in the noise and confusion of Halloween. Children you encounter may also be fearful of dogs.
- Keep your dog in a room separate from the trick-or-treaters. This will prevent them from becoming frightened and threatened by noisy children in costumes. Too many strangers can overwhelm a pet and cause them to be unusually protective or aggressive.
- If you haven’t done so already, visit your veterinarian for a microchip prior to the festivities of Halloween. If your dog does escape from the house or becomes lost, a microchip will increase the chances that they will be returned home again. Also make sure your pet is wearing a collar with proper ID tags.
- Avoid hazardous decorations such as flaming jack-o-lanterns and candles which can burn your pet. Don’t use streamers or ribbons around your pet’s neck, on their collars or costumes or in your home. These items are frequently ingested and may cause intestinal obstruction which requires surgery to remove.
- Keep Halloween candy out of pet’s reach! Chocolate is toxic to pets and many candies can be harmful and make pet’s sick. Also avoid giving your dog alcohol or any rich fatty foods. Keep all countertops clean and a lid firmly locked onto the garbage can to prevent them from eating wrappers and food packages.
Great tips!!! Thanks for sharing them with us!
Superb advice – I never considered the perils of dress-up. I guess I won’t break tradition and start dressing the dogs up this year.
There is a great new interactive children’s book available online for free. It follows a Dachshund named Willis as he goes on a Halloween adventure! It’s available for free download at http://littlebrowndachshund.com/, or on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5HmpOJc88U. Kids can follow along with audio and animations and there’s even a free song download to accompany the story! It’s perfect for Halloween and dog lovers alike, and completely free. Come check it out!
Great advice – thanks for sharing.
woos, the OP Pack
Some furry pawesome advice!
Tank woo fur sharing!
Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
There are some very good guidelines there. We don’t get very many trick or treaters at all, but have perfected our ‘QUICK, RUN!!!!’ thunder up the stairs at the sound of the doorbell, just in case.