Boo! Halloween night is upon us and that means we need to take extra precautions to keep our four-legged friends safe and sound on this spooky evening. Below are some tips and tricks to keep our pets safe from the ghouls and ghost lurking outside:
Tricks, No Treats
Halloween is notorious for candy, but that doesn’t mean it is for everyone. A lot of the Halloween treats contain very toxic ingredients to pets. Almost all forms of chocolate are highly dangerous, and even fatal, for dogs and cats. Another ingredient that can make pets very sick is xylitol, which is an artificial sweetener found in sugar-free candies. If your pet has consumed any of these toxins, call your vet immediately. So be sure and keep the candy well away from your pets!
Keep Calm and Keep Pets Secure
With Halloween, comes trick-or-treaters. And with trick-or-treaters, comes a lot of doors opening and closing to give out candy and treats. This high activity night can cause stress and over-excitement for pets. To keep your pet safe, secure them or put them in a room away from the front door while witches and warlocks are out looking for their Halloween candy. We do not want pets darting out when the door opens and get needlessly lost. But just in case and to be safe, make sure they have proper identification, such as I.D. tags or a microchip, with your contact information so your pet can make their way back home.
To Costume, Or Not To Costume
Let’s face it, one of the best perks of Halloween is that we get to dress up. Unfortunately, not all of us like getting into the Halloween spirit. Some pets do not like wearing costumes and it can make them very stressed. We recommend that the only pets that get into costume are pets that enjoy wearing them. And if they do like costumes, be sure their outfits fit properly and don’t restrict any vision, hearing, movement, or their ability to breath freely.
Don’t Knock Over the Jack-o-Lantern
Halloween is a very festive time of year. Spooky decorations and frightful carved pumpkins are almost on everyone’s front step. Remember, pets can knock over a lit jack-o-lantern pumpkin very easily and result in causing a fire. In addition, pumpkins and corn are not necessarily toxic to pets, however in large amounts they can cause digestive problems and blockages. And another good item to remember is to keep wires and electric cords out of reach pets to prevent unnecessary shock.
Halloween can be fun and festive time for all if we take the extra measures to keep everyone safe, including our pets.
Have a happy and safe Halloween!
