With Halloween tomorrow, we thought we’d share some tips on how you can have a safe and happy Halloween with your four-legged friends! Halloween might be your favourite holiday, but it's probably not your dogs!
1. Avoid taking your pup out for a walk after trick-or-treating has started
As much as us dog people love taking our dogs everywhere, Halloween is one of those times that it’s perfectly fine or even better for your dog to leave them at home! There are kids everywhere and even if your dog is used to kids, one might manage to reach your dog without you seeing and the surprise of that as well as the unusual costumes might lead to a bad experience for the kid and the dog!
Kids are not the cleanest candy eaters... Many trick-or-treaters can’t wait until they get home to indulge in their candy which means there are candy wrappers everywhere! Lots of pups find these candy wrappers irresistible and cause some serious health issues.
2. Use trick-or-treaters as a training exercise
The constant doorbell ringing or knocking is a great opportunity to practice impulse control and staying a safe distance away from the door. You can do this by putting a dog bed or mat out and practicing staying on the bed when someone knocks or ring the doorbell. Keep bringing the dog back to its bed each time it gets up until they stay and then give lots of praise to reward! This exercise can be modified many different ways depending on your goal or the skill level of your dog. To make it more manageable, you could put up a baby gate to prevent your dog from getting up and reaching the front door. This exercise could also be helpful with trying to correct barking when the doorbell rings.
3. If your dog is nervous, or a flight risk, leave them in a safe, secure place with something to keep them happy
Sometimes the training opportunity is not worth the risk. Set your dog up for success. If you think there might be a chance that your dog will get out on Halloween, your best bet is to keep them in a secure room chewing on their favourite bone.
The majority of treats kids will receive for Halloween are toxic to dogs! Keep the candy bowl far out of reach from you pup to avoid dangerous health risks.
Remember that Halloween can be a stressful time for some dogs, the only person who knows what they can handle is you! Have fun and stay safe tomorrow and don’t forget to share your adorable dog costumes with us!
