Tips to Keep Your Pet Safe this Halloween
Keep the spooky fun safe for your furry friends this Halloween.
Halloween is one of the most exciting times of the year, it is full of costumes, candy, and community fun! From decorating your home to trick-or-treating and celebrating with family and friends, October 31st is a special day for many. And of course, plenty of us love to include our pets in the festivities too.
If you plan to have your furry friend join in on the Halloween fun this year, it’s important to take a few precautions to keep them happy, safe, and stress-free.
1. Choose Costumes with Care
There are so many cute pet costumes on the market, and plenty of creative DIY ideas too. But if you find yourself struggling to get the costume on your pet, or if they clearly aren’t enjoying it, it might be best to skip it. Halloween should be fun for both of you!
If your pet doesn’t mind dressing up, here are a few safety tips to keep in mind:
- Don’t cover their face. It can make them anxious or disoriented and could lead to unwanted behavior.
- Ensure a proper fit. A costume that’s too big might cause your pet to trip or get tangled, while one that’s too tight could restrict breathing or cause pain.
- Keep their ID tags on. Even if they’re dressed up, make sure your pet’s identification tags stay on. If they slip out the door or get startled, those tags will help bring them home safely.
2. Costume Shopping on a Budget
If you’re looking for a fun and affordable costume idea, try visiting your local thrift store. You can often find second-hand costumes or other items that can be repurposed into creative pet outfits.
For example, we once found an adult-sized tiger costume that could easily be altered to fit our dog, Penny. We also had two bumblebee costumes from the previous year for Mr. Chewy and Peachy. They looked adorable, but as it turns out, Penny is not one of those dogs who enjoys getting dressed up!
As soon as we put her costume on, she went wild, running around the backyard and nearly tripping over herself trying to get it off. It gave us quite a scare and taught us an important lesson: some pets just aren’t meant for costumes, and that’s perfectly okay!
3. Keep Halloween Treats Out of Reach
While Halloween candy is great for people, many treats, especially chocolate, are toxic to pets. Other types of candy can also contain ingredients that are harmful or even deadly. Always keep candy out of reach and have your local animal poison control number handy just in case.
4. Be Mindful with Decorations
Halloween decorations can be another potential hazard. Pets can get tangled in cords, chew on wires, or knock over pumpkins with candles inside. They might also become frightened by flashing lights or spooky decorations and run away or act out of fear.
5. Keep Pets Safe from Trick-or-Treaters
Even the friendliest pet can become nervous when the doorbell rings repeatedly and a parade of people in masks shows up. To prevent stress, or accidental escapes, it’s best to keep your pet in a quiet, secure room during trick-or-treating hours.
6. Avoid Pranking Your Pet
It might seem funny to surprise your pet while you’re in costume, but pranks can cause unnecessary fear and confusion. Halloween is meant to be fun, not frightening, for our furry friends.
7. Host a Pet-Friendly Halloween Party
If you still want to include your pets in the fun, consider hosting a small pet-friendly Halloween party! Invite a few friends and their fur babies for a costume contest, a pet parade in the backyard, or a trick-for-treats game.
And don’t forget the goodie bags, pre-made Halloween pet treat bags are available at Winnipeg Pet Treatery, filled with safe and delicious treats your pets will love.
Do you have a fun pet story or experience to share? We’d love to hear from you!
Contact Kelley Post at klpost@hotmail.com to be featured in the Pet Post column of Voxair.
