Breaking News

Halloween And Your Pet

Oct 31, 2017 @ 08:08

The costumes are out and ready to go, the kids are excited about the adventure in Candyland ahead…..but what about the dog and cat?

Many people will be taking the dog along, in costume, with the kids to the neighbour houses. This is a great exercise opportunity for the dog, but be careful – some dogs have phobias that are triggered by a sack (mailman/paperboy) and a pillowcase carried by a youngster to gather candy can trigger this phobia. Some dogs have other phobias that can cause problems, so be careful when you take your dog out.

If you are not taking your dog out, but instead are keeping him/her at home while you give out candy that is another problem to take into consideration – will your dog go crazy every time the doorbell goes off and go after the kids? In a case like this it is best to secure the dog in a peaceful room with a large treat that will keep him/her busy for at least 3 hours so that the kids will be able to visit in peace without upsetting your best friend.

Be careful as well of your cats – a lot of cats (mine included) think it is a wonderful treat to “escape” when the door is opened (thankfully I have a breezeway so the cats can’t get far). It is always best to secure the cats in a bedroom/bathroom for the evening so the chance of them escaping are greatly reduced.

Now, the kids come home totally exhausted and excited with all their candy……you have to make sure you keep the household pets out of the candy. Sugar of any kind can seriously damage a cat – their little bodies have a hard time processing it and it can even kill the cat if it gets too much. Dogs are a little different, we all know a dog can eat almost anything without anything worse than a nasty case of diarrhea. Truth is things like chocolate, peanuts, raisins, etc are actually deadly to a dog.

So keep the treats up on the kitchen table or counter while checking through them for your children (I used to separate my kids “bounty” into categories – candy, chocolate, chips and pop and give them a little of each as a treat daily). Make sure that the chocolate and candy are kept up out of reach of your dog (who will go snooping through a bag given the chance, and seem to be attracted to chocolate), as well as out of the way if your cat is a snoopy type that likes to ‘test’ different flavors (I had one cat that didn’t care what you were eating, he had to shove his paw in it and try it for himself – mashed potatoes being one of his favorite treats).

If you are careful and know your pets habits this can be a fun Halloween for both your kids and your pets.

Have a safe and happy Halloween everyone.

Originally published October 31st, 2011

Written by Tracy Blackmore, Wagging Tails Kennel

 

This Media Release
Latest posts by This Media Release (see all)