By Kendall and Chandler Brown
Friday, October 21, 2022
Dear Kendall,
This will be my very first Halloween with my dogs, Trixie and Woo and I am so excited! I will be having my whole noisy and crazy family over, and we usually have a ton of trick or treaters. There will be pumpkins and tons of candy and the decorations are incredible. I want to make sure that Trixie and Woo are having as great of a time as possible, so can you give me any advice on how to make Halloween safe and amazing for dogs?
-Kristen
Dear Kristen,
The holidays are all-too-often incredible, nostalgic and romantic times for people and stressful, frightening and dangerous times for our pets, so it is awesome that you are thinking of Trixie and Woo’s safety and happiness.
You mentioned that you will have a full house and are expecting a lot of visitors, so the first piece of advice I’ll give is to make sure that Trixie and Woo have a secure place from which to observe the festivals. A doggy gate placed near the doorway or across a neighboring hallway is a wonderful way to include your pups without the danger of them slipping out an open door when you are handing out candy.
If you can’t put up a gate, then consider keeping them on leash or in a room separate from the entrance. Dogs can get lost easily-especially when your neighborhood will be full of scary decorations and crowds of people in costumes, so it’s important to make sure that their microchip information is updated and that your door is securely shut between visitors.
Chocolate bars and lollipops and candy corn are all delicious treats for us humans, but for dogs they can be dangerous. Sticks, strings, wrappers and casings that accompany the delicious candy can cause intestinal blockages, along with plastic bags, twist ties and paper clips. Chocolate is a well-known toxic substance for dogs, but less known harmful foods are raisins, nuts and anything containing the artificial sweetener xylitol, usually found in sugar-free gum and sweets.
Put all food securely out of reach of your dogs and take precautions to prevent any spillage while handing out candy. If you go to check on your pups and find that they have pillaged a bag of forbidden candy, then you can contact your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435. An estimated 14,600 calls regarding potential pet poisonings are reported each year, and it’s important to remember that symptoms of poisoning can take hours to show up. Prevention is key, but if an accident happens, it’s best to call for help.
An additional potential danger to pets are electrical cordage, batteries, plastic pieces and cloth from decorative displays. If you are planning on having a whole scene spread across a larger area, I can attest that keeping your site fenced in until the opening night is a smart move! A few years ago, my Labrador Boomer broke into the Brown Family Cemetery and dug up a whole row of “gravesites” we had painstakingly placed in front of our house. He was later found contentedly gnawing away on a plastic femer. Dogs certainly do have a sense of mischief!
Halloween is one of my personal favorite holidays, and I always look forward to seeing what costumes I can find for my dogs. There are many great styles and ideas to choose from! I try to avoid costumes that limit my dogs’ movements or that seem to inhibit their sight, and make sure that all plastic tags are removed.
As this is Trixie and Woo’s first Halloween, it’s a good idea to help them become accustomed to their costumes prior to the big night. Start by putting them on for a short period of time, either during meals or fun enrichment activities, and monitor them for signs of stress. If your dog dislikes a costume, then switch to a cute bandanna or a festive collar.
If you decide to go trick or treating with Trixie and Woo, then you can always add a pocket full of dog treats to your costume so they won’t feel left out. Safe socialization around costumed kids and scary decorations can be an invaluable training experience, especially when paired with tasty dog treats.
Your house sounds like the place to be on Halloween! Have a great time!
Kendall and Chandler Brown are owners of Custom K-9 Service Dogs, a dog training business serving Minden/Gardnerville, Carson and Reno. For information go to customk9servicedogs.com or email customk9servicedogs@gmail.com.
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