Halloween Can Be Scary For Pets, Here’s Some Tips

Halloween is the second toughest holiday next to the 4th of July. Obviously, it's the fireworks, but people constantly knocking and shouting Trick or Treat!.

This is not normal, sometimes the pets will bark or it will scare cats into hiding. The other thing that may happen is the dog will become so scared by the costumes and people constantly coming they may hide too, but it will sometimes cause them to shake and not want to come out of hiding, then you are dealing with something else.

The ASPCA Website recommends taking these steps.

• Move the Candy-We all know dogs for sure should not have chocolate, so keep whatever you are serving them in out of the reach of your pets so they don't grab them and eat them. If they do, call the ASPCA Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 immediately.
• Keep cords and decorations out of the way so they can't be chewed on or ingested. While pumpkins are nontoxic, if the pet is nervous they may ingest the whole pumpkin, and having that much food is bad.
• If you like to dress your pet up, you may want to think about this. The ASPCA recommends that if you like to do that, make sure your pet does too, all they have to do is freak out because they don't like it or get aggressive because they want it off. Also, if they chew any part of the costume is it going to make them sick?
• Make sure if your pet likes to take off when the door opens, you have something on them that lets people know their name and where they can bring them back to. Microchipping isn't a bad idea either. You may want to keep them in a kennel for the night just so they can be calm away from the action. If you don't have a kennel, pick a room far from the action and keep them there.
• If you have anything with flames or hot light, keep it away from dogs and cats. Cats like to reach inside things, if it scares them they might knock a pumpkin with a flam on the floor, then your problems are much bigger than just them.

Don't let people in costumes interact with your pet. If they don't like mailmen or other strangers they might see a costume that triggers them. That wouldn't be fun if your pet were to bite a child who was just there to get some candy and have fun.

Halloween can be more fun for the whole family if safety is observed with your family pet. If your pet likes to go out for a walk, you can take them trick or treating, but there are going to be more people out, so make sure your pet likes to be around people. Everyone will want to pet them, make sure they can handle that much attention.

Police also remind everyone to watch out for cars for your pets and children too. Make sure you have a strong collar on your pet so they can't break free and dart in front of a car or vehicle. If they do get away, as I said above, make sure they have information on them to be returned.