We’re here to provide you with a Guide to Pet Halloween Safety! It’s a fun holiday for families, but it can be a stressful or even dangerous day for pets. In order to make it an enjoyable and safe experience for pets, here are a few pet Halloween suggestions to keep in mind.
Choose pet costumes wisely:
Be sure the costume isn’t constricting, unsafe or annoying. This can add stress to your pet. Be wary of costumes that use rubber bands to keep them in place because your pet could chew them off and swallow them. Make sure the costume doesn’t obstruct your pet’s vision. Even the gentlest pets can get snappy when they can’t see what’s going on.
Keep pets away from the front door
Keep your pet in a separate room during trick-or-treat hours. The continuous opening and closing of the door, the ringing of doorbells, and general noise associated with groups of people approaching the house can be stressful or confusing. Dogs may feel the need to protect their home and humans and may bite your bizarre-looking visitors. Your pet may also become frightened and dart through the open door.
Keep them inside:
There are plenty of stories of vicious pranksters who have teased, injured, stolen or even killed pets that were left in their yards or allowed to roam outside on Halloween.
Be careful with candles or lit pumpkins:
Pets are attracted to bright lights in a darkened room. Candles can be knocked over easily, spilling hot wax on furniture and carpet and potentially causing a fire. Curious kittens or puppies especially run the risk of getting badly burned.
Don’t leave them in the car:
Pets may find it very frightening to sit in a dark car while scary creatures of every size and shape walk by. Furthermore, your normally friendly pet can become aggressive and protective and lash out at a friendly ghost or witch. For the safety of your pets, leave them at home, inside where they are safe.
Do not feed them candy:
Chocolate contains theobromine, a substance that can be poisonous to your pet. Dark, semi-sweet or baker’s chocolate can be lethal if ingested. Sticks on caramel apples can be swallowed and cause choking or damage internally. Candy can upset the stomach, resulting in diarrhea or vomiting. Foil wrappers can become as dangerous as razors when swallowed. In short, be sure to keep all of these tempting treats away from your pets.
Source: Banfield