Hallowen Haunts your Dog!

The ghost and goblins will soon be approaching. Are you ready for Halloween? You have your decorations, the pumpkin is ready for carving, the candy is bought, and the costumes are in the making. But are you prepared for any unseen emergencies and most likely the stress that Halloween causes your dog?

Those cute blinking skull lights that make ghoulish sounds may be terrorizing your dog if they are not used to them being there all year round.  And the pumpkin or skull that sounds out each time someone passes by especially your dog is a challenge on their nerves. The ghostly décor hanging from the trees too are a fright. And if they get brave enough to tear them down out of their need to protect you, could mean a trip to the pet ER.

Eating a whole pumpkin isn’t going to be toxic but the results can still make for a very upset tummy and the need for lots of spot cleaner and some medicine to stop at least the diarrhea if not some vomiting. I would hope that by now everyone has switched from candles to tea lights to light the jack-o-lantern face for fear of fire hazards. But still that lighted face can either be tempting or terrorizing to your dog.

The candy is a big problem. Keep it up high. Dogs are tricky when it comes to stealing treats and if they get enough chocolate it is toxic causing seizures and possibly death. The toxic amount of chocolate is about ½oz per pound of body weight. That means a 5lb dog would have to eat 2 ounces of chocolate. That is about 12 Hershey Kisses. The filling, nuts, and nougat don’t count but it will still upset their stomachs and can cause some vomiting and diarrhea. So if they sneak a fun size bar or two you are okay. But if they devour the whole bowl you are in trouble. Or at least your dog is. Most of the time, the wrappers will pass leaving you with a decorative mess to clean up. Dark chocolate is not more toxic than milk. But if you are giving out the high cacao chocolate the problem doubles and often triples in intensity. But not many households are giving this out for Halloween.  Raisins are often given out as a healthy alternative. Only a small amount of raisins are toxic to the kidneys of your dog.  Sugar filled candy in general can be problematic too. It will lead to hyperactivity, excess water drinking, and some short term body function issues. So keep that bowl up high and in sight at all times.

Now more than ever, it is popular to dress up your pets for Halloween. Some pet costumes are more elaborate than the kid’s. This is adorable with Facebook and the internets flooded with all the pictures, but keep your pet’s comfort in mind. If your pet isn’t used to wearing a costume it can be pretty daunting. Try a sweater or T-shirt first and warm them up to the idea before spending on that exotic spider costume with legs dangling all around it and freaking your pet out. Even if your pet is comfortable with the attention, are they comfortable with the actual costume? Do the legs of that spider swing and hit them each time they move? Does the elastic get tight and is it causing swelling of the feet or legs or is it choking around the neck or holding too tight around the head causing a head ache? Does the hood or hat fall down in front of the eyes, making it difficult for them to see? Is it difficult to walk in or move in and is the costume heavy and tiresome after a short time? Most dogs will suffer through it for your love and attention, but should they have to?

Now comes all the trick-or-treaters. Kids of all ages with their parents are at your door. The costumes are precious to you but at least nerve racking if not frightening to your dog. The samurais are waving swords, the Jedi’s have lighted sabers, and even the princesses have wands.   Some are wearing masks or hats that hide their faces so your dog can not figure out who they are or even if they are children for that matter. They are yelling, ringing the doorbell, and knocking one after another. Your dog probably isn’t happy to see all those people.

Normally they are good dogs and they stay when you open the door and come when called. But tonight are not in their natural environment so they aren’t going to behave as they naturally do. You open the door for trick-or-treaters once, twice, maybe even 10 to 20 times. But then your dog sees an opportunity and bolts right past your or between your legs splitting the group of children on your porch. Are they following all the kids with candy or trying to escape them? Either way they are not paying attention to you and are now on the loose.  Even if they are not frightened out of their gourds, they are overstimulated and very excited. Just like kids, they can behave badly or act in a way that puts them in danger.

Best case scenario is your husband, wife, roommate, partner or whoever continues to hand out candy while you try to control the situation. Worse is that you are in the pet emergency room waiting for your dog to vomit up the 20 or more chocolate bars it ate or the results of x-rays because a car didn’t see your pet when running away in the dark of night.

Now I am not suggesting you turn off your lights and forego Halloween. Just see it through your pet’s eyes and mind and take proper precautions. Put your dog in a crate and have some dog treats nearby that you can hand to it every time it doesn’t bark at the trick-or-treaters or to distract it when it starts to look a little shaky.  The when it is all over, you can have some left over candy and they some more dog treats and rest up until Turkey Day when the next not so dog friendly holiday occurs.