Halloween Safety
Keeping your pet happy and healthy on Halloween
Keeping your pet happy and healthy on Halloween
Monday, October 12, 2015 | NHS Behavior Department
Here's how to keep your pets safe during the Halloween season:
Keep the candy up and out of reach. Any kind of candy – especially chocolate – can be harmful to your pet’s health.
Pet costumes are oh-so-cute to humans but not so amusing for pets. Many costumes are restricting to animals and may cause them to feel quite vulnerable. Instead of a full-body costume, you may want to consider a scarf or bandana – in addition to the pet’s collar.
Your pet should wear a collar with proper identification during Halloween festivities. With so many swift trips to the door to hand out candy, your pet can slip outside in the blink of an eye. Keep Nebraska Humane Society’s phone number handy in case you see a stray pet or your own pet happens to slip out the door. Call us at 402-444-7800 (press 1).
Even if your pets are friendly with visitors, remember this is a very overwhelming holiday for them. Strangers constantly coming on “their” property and to “their” door are confusing and scary, especially since most of these people are in costumes, which may look foreign to a pet. It may be best to not allow your pet to interact with people on this holiday. Don’t be afraid to say “no” if someone asks to pet your companion animal. It’s the best way to prevent accidents from happening.
Secure the area around the door if you think your pet might slip out. You can use baby gates, exercise pens or homemade barricades – anything that will keep your pet safe inside.
Don’t take your pet trick-or-treating, especially as a prop to a kid’s costume. There are many unknowns that your pet may not know how to deal with, such as cars, noisy and unpredictable kids in costume, other animals escaping from houses, etc. Instead, give your dog a cozy spot in the house to relax in while you go trick-or-treating.
Watch your pet around electronic decorations and Jack-o’-lantern flames. It may be tempting for them to investigate. It’s best to keep them away from these objects altogeter to prevent any accidents from occurring.
Halloween may be too much for pets to handle. If you’re afraid your pet will be too stressed, consider the following all-natural de-stress products: Thundershirt, Rescue Remedy, Pheromone Collar or a Pheromone Diffuser. These products will help your cat or dog deal with the stresses of the holiday. We have them for sale at the Nebraska Humane Society’s Animal Outfitters retail store.
