Halloween is full of fun and excitement for you and your family but is one of the holidays that is enjoyed more be people than by pets. It can be a scary and dangerous time for our companion animals. Masks and costumes may be disorienting and frightening, pets may be targeted by pranksters and unattended chocolate candy can result in a trip to the vet for the family dog. The noise and excitement can be very stressful on your pets and may result in panic and other uncharacteristic behavior.
Companion animals are creatures of habit who thrive on daily routines. When those routines are disrupted by noisy and unfamiliar holiday festivities, animals may become agitated and disoriented. Every year, on Halloween night or the day after, veterinarians nationwide see pet injuries that could have been easily avoided. Pet parents must take proactive steps to ensure that Halloween is safe for their furry family members.
Should your cat or dog participate in the frightful festivities?
As a general rule, you should plan on keeping your cats, dogs and other pets indoors on Halloween night when the trick-or-treaters are roaming the neighborhood. If you need to walk your dog on Halloween evening, do it before the trick-or-treaters hit the streets.
If you will be handing out candy to the little ghosts and goblins, the best plan is to keep your pets in a separate part of the house – away from the noise of the excited children and the doorbells and the constantly opening doors. Dogs can become easily frightened by costumes and masks and may act aggressively if they are afraid or feel threatened. Cats and dogs can quickly dart through an opened door so make sure they are wearing up-to-date ID tags. If for any reason your pet becomes lost during the excitement of the night, a collar and tags or a microchip will greatly increase the chance that the two of you will be reunited.
Should you dress up your cat or dog?
No matter how cute you think Fido looks in his pirate costume, most pets don’t like the constraints of costumes. Halloween costumes can both annoy animals and pose safety hazards – so think carefully about dressing up your dog. Pets who will wear costumes should be closely supervised. Make sure they can breathe, see and hear and that the costume is flame retardant. Costumes for pets are often restrictive which makes walking, running and jumping difficult and even dangerous. Animals may become tangled in their costumes resulting in falls and other injuries. Remove any small or dangling accessories that could be chewed or swallowed.
Dangerous decorations
Pets should be kept away from your Halloween decorations. Place live flame decorations out of your pet’s reach. Curious pets risk being singed or burned by the flames and they could easily knock over a candle and cause a fire.
Pets can easily get tangled up in dangling decorations and choke on small decorations or fake cobwebs. Restrict your pet’s access to electrical cords that are used to light up your pumpkins and other decorative items. If chewed, your pet could injure his mouth from glass or plastic shards or receive a life-threatening electric shock. Make sure batteries (which contain toxic ingredients) are kept away from pets and don’t become their new favorite toy.
Dangerous treats
Chocolate in all forms – especially dark or baking chocolate – can be dangerous to both dogs and cats. Chocolate contains Theobromine that is toxic to dogs if eaten in sufficient quantities. The following are symptoms of chocolate poisoning – excessive drooling or urination, pupil dilation, rapid heartbeat, vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, and muscle tremors and seizures. If your dog experiences any of these symptoms and you think he has ingested chocolate, get him to the vet immediately.
Candy and gum containing the artificial sweetener xylitol can be poisonous to dogs. Even small amounts can cause a sudden drop in blood sugar leading to depression, decreased coordination, liver damage and seizures.
Explain to everyone in your household that human treats can be very dangerous to pets and can even kill them. Make sure the children’s candy stash is well out of the reach of the pets. Dispose of candy wrappers so your pet is not tempted by the sparkly, crinkly paper. Ingestion of candy wrappers can cause choking or intestinal obstruction.
Make sure your pets don’t ingest pumpkin from your carved jack-o-lantern. Pumpkin is not normally harmful to pets; however, after sitting on your porch for several days, the pumpkin can harbor plenty of bacteria which could cause intestinal inflammation, stomach upset and diarrhea if ingested.
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