Important Halloween Safety Tips For Cats and Dogs

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Wow it’s October! And with October comes one of my favorite days of the year, Halloween!!! But with Halloween comes a potentially stressful time for your pet. It’s important to pay attention to your cat and dog and keep them safe this Halloween!

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Pet Costumes

Pet costumes are downright adorable! But you need to keep a few things in mind if you are considering dressing up your dog or cat. Ok, probably more your dog since I know of very few cats that will actually tolerate it without taking a few layers of your skin with them…

Some costumes can limit the movement of your pet and can also interfere with their bathroom duties. And keep in mind that certain costumes can be hot for your pet. You don’t want them overheating in their costume! Check any costume for potential choking hazards. No one knows the temperament of your pet better than you. So you should have a good idea if dressing up your pet is going to stress them out. Be sure to check out our top pet costume ideas HERE!

People Costumes

While you may have done your best to socialize your dog and get them used to a variety of situations, Halloween is a bit of a special one. Yes, your dog is ok with someone wearing a hat or face mask. But what about a full costume? It only comes on one day of the year, and your dogs may not be ok with the costumes coming at them!

Pay close attention to your dog’s body language when out and about. Or try to take them out for walks at times when they are less likely to run into a frightening costume!

Chocolate and Candy

Chocolate and Halloween go hand in hand! But chocolate is toxic to our dogs. The darker the chocolate (higher cocoa percentage) the more toxic it is! Keep all Halloween chocolate well out of reach of dogs. You can get your pup a special taste of Halloween with some of these treat ideas from Chewy!

Candy may also have xylitol in it. Xylitol is a sugar substitute and can cause massive insulin spikes in dogs, leading to low blood sugar and can end up causing death! You can read more on xylitol and what products it is commonly found in in Pet Health Network’s article HERE.

Trick or Treat!

I love seeing all the little ghouls and witches coming to my door on Halloween! But my dogs also get really REALLY excited anytime the doorbell rings! And in our neighborhood Halloween is crazy with the streets overrun by trick or treaters!

If you think that your dog may get stressed out by the traffic coming to the door you may want to put them in their crate or in a quiet room where they can stay calm. White noise or music can help to mask the sounds going on all around the neighborhood. You may also want to check out something like CBD oil to keep them calm. You can read more on CBD oil HERE.

Greeting trick or treaters outside so they don’t have to come to the door is another option to consider. This also reduces the risk that your pet escapes when the door gets opened! Just in case your cat or dog does get out of the house make sure that they have proper identification or even some sort of a GPS tracker so you can locate them quickly and get them back home safely.

Glow Sticks

Have an avid chewer on your hands? Luckily mine aren’t…Unless it is a cardboard box then it’s game over! Glow sticks can be a fun accessory for trick or treaters on a dark Halloween night. But they contain chemicals that can be dangerous to our pups if ingested!

The dibutyl phthalate in glow sticks likely isn’t enough to cause death. But it can make your dog pretty sick and uncomfortable! Keep glow sticks well away from your pets.

Decorations

When decorating for Halloween think if your decorations are going to be pet friendly! Fake spiderwebs can be a tangle and choking hazard not only for dogs and cats but local wildlife as well! Keep your pets well away from lit candles. Curious dogs and cats can get singed whiskers and fur (or worse) or could accidentally knock over a lit candle causing fires.

Decorative corn can cause stomach upset as well. And it also presents a choking hazard if a dog decides to eat the whole thing. My dogs don’t really care too much about what we do out in our front yard! But changing their environment can cause some dogs stress!

Pumpkins

Pumpkin can be good for your pet’s digestion. But as with anything only in moderation! Too much pumpkin can actually cause them to have digestion issues. And rotting pumpkins can have bacteria that can make your dog or cat sick as well. Keep pumpkins out of reach of your pets and clean them up as soon as you can after the big day is over!

What do you do to keep your pet safe on Halloween?? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to sign up for our newsletter!!