Halloween Safety and Pets: Some Simple Tips

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| Print | By Jo Singer | October 28, 2009 10:56 AM

28-chewy dressed as Yoda.jpg While Halloween actually falls on October 31, folks who celebrate start preparations several days in advance. Pumpkins are carved, costumes are designed and a huge amount of candy is purchased to offer all the little ghosts, goblins, fairy princesses and even those scary monsters, showing off their fabulous costumes roaming around the neighborhood making their annual appearance.

And on the evening of Halloween, doorbells start ringing incessantly with groups of children, sometimes accompanied by a parent, singing that old familiar "trick or treat" chorus refrain.

While this holiday event is lots of fun, mainly for young people, it is that annual night in which we must pay special attention to our pets to keep them safe.

We often get a kick out of the parade of the colorful procession of costumed children, but they may not have the same effect on our pets. Those masked "bandits" are often frightening and disorienting to them. The constant opening and closing of doors provides a tempting escape opportunity and candy, left in uncovered containers near the door, are highly dangerous and potentially deadly to our furry friends.

Is it possible to ensure a successful and secure celebration of Halloween night? Of course it is. Observing a few cautionary measures will result in our pets' safety with our heightened enjoyment of the night as well.

Here are a few tips which will help keep our cats and dogs, and other household pets safe and sound.

1. Keep all pets indoors on Halloween. Black cats are especially targeted for mischief and are at higher risk of injury or abuse.

2. Dogs may be extremely frightened by masked and costumed masked visitors. Dogs may become aggressive from fear, so to prevent any injury to your canine or trick-or-treaters, plan to kennel your dog for the evening, or safely confined in a room away from noise and distractions. Cats are far happier and more secure tucked away in a bedroom far from the door. It is a good idea to tune your radio to a station with soft, soothing music as well.

3. Lighted candles are attractive and add ambience to your Halloween decor, but are very dangerous if pets are left unsupervised. Curious pets may accidentally knock over candles. Use artificial electric candles and jack-o-lanterns that flicker realistically but are very safe.

4. If you plan to go trick-or-treating with your children, refrain from bringing pets along. While it can be fun to show off pets wearing costumes, as long as they are not averse to wearing them, they can be easily frightened by strangers. Make sure to supervise any pets wearing costumes to make sure that they are not restricted in any way, and can breathe easily. It goes without saying, at the first sign of discomfort, immediately remove the costume. Personally I think that the fur coats our pets wear cannot be excelled!

5. Keep all chocolate and artificially- sweetened candy away from pets. Chocolate is highly toxic, even in small amounts, and artificial sweeteners are also poisonous to pets.
Common sense goes a long way to make Halloween fun and entertaining. Keeping pets safe and secure makes celebrating a lot less stressful and more highly enjoyable.
For additional information watch the video, uploaded to You Tube by Better Pets, which offers extensive safety tips.

What plans are you considering to make your Halloween a safe and fun event? Share them by leaving a comment.

RELATED TOPICS: Blogs (224) , Food (6) , Holiday (6) , Holidays (6) , Safety (11)

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Ruth from England October 28, 2009 12:44 PM

Thankfully we don't make such a big issue of Halloween in our country.Usually for most of October we get an odd child or two at the door asking for 'A penny for Halloween' and sometimes they have a turnip with a candle in but they don't get up to mischief.At present we have 'Bonfire month' too, what is supposed to be a one night event goes on before and after, so we have fireworks banging away most evenings at present.

Margie October 28, 2009 1:04 PM

White cats are also targeted, as are black dogs sometimes.

jmuhj October 28, 2009 2:38 PM

ALL cats should be indoors only, every day of the year. This is a very cruel and heartless place for cats to live, and until/unless the society gains compassion and intelligence, it's the caring thing to do to keep our loved ones out of harm's way.

Weird that the woman in the video talks about not obstructing the hearing, and then puts that stupid costume on the dog that covers its ears.

Vicki October 28, 2009 3:31 PM

I agree that all pets should really be kept in while little ones are out walking the streets to get their treats. This is the safest place for them, and for strangers as well.