Your animal friends don’t understand the specifics about holidays and why unfamiliar things are happening on Halloween vs. other days. But they will notice a difference. A different energy and very different things happening that, even if they’ve experienced other Halloween festivities, still can frighten and otherwise stress them out. Please be mindful of this! In addition to dangers with candy and other potentially harmful holiday foods, costumes, decorations, and other things related to this time of year, no matter how small they may seem to you, can be confusing, and at times traumatic, when not understood.
Having compassion for our animal friends can help us be proactive in our approach, setting them and us up for success and a calm, relaxed experience.
- First and foremost, please keep cats, dogs, and all animals inside unless fully secured and attended outside. If they are loose and get scared, they could escape, even from an enclosed yard or area, and even if they’ve never done it before. You may want to start this practice before the 31st. Sadly, as you may know, some people look for opportunities to harm animals and I don’t want that to happen to yours or any animals! If you have animals that you keep outside in enclosures consider bringing them inside too. My point is be proactive with an ongoing priority of safety.
- Keep blinds closed. Seeing strange, and even just different, looking people coming to the door or walking in the neighborhood can be upsetting to them. If you’re not sure, be proactive and close them.
- These days children’s Halloween activities often are moved indoors to schools, youth centers, people’s homes, churches, etc., but they may still make it to your door. If your dog, cat, or other animal friend hasn’t developed familiarity with children, be mindful of this too.
- Extra doorbell rings, knocking, or outside voices may also disturb your animal friends. Relaxing music, TV, or other audible distractions may help too.
- Another option, if you need something more, and think it would help, are calming supplements. There are a number of types, with varied ingredients. They come in treat form, liquid tinctures, and other varieties. If you want to try this and haven’t before, or want to try a new brand, I highly suggest trying it on a day prior to Halloween, as much in advance as you can. This will allow you to see how your animal friend responds. If you have enough time you can try it multiple days adjusting the dose for best results. I suggest starting with the lowest recommended amount, or lower, and building from there since every body is different. Some may be more sensitive than others.Wait a good amount of time for the supplement to take effect before giving additional amounts. This will help you to get an accurate response. Take the necessary time to find what is best for every individual animal.
- Make sure to keep all candy, wrappers, and other non-animal friendly treats and food unreachable by curious paws, mouths, etc.
- Decorations, of course, can also be dangerous and steps need to be taken to ensure they won’t be ingested and potentially cause an inner body obstruction, or a pet getting tangled, or some other hazard.
- Flame from a jack-o-lantern candle or other decoration is obviously a potential issue. Plan, place, and secure appropriately if used. A safer option can be battery operated candles to create the same effect.
- In addition to decorations not being safe food or play items they can also look scary! Anything that is unfamiliar can cause stress for your animal friends. If you have time to work with them ahead of time or during the holiday you can use positive reinforcement training techniques to help them become more familiar and gain confidence with new things, including Halloween decor.
- Speaking of training, it can be a good idea to brush up on basic commands, such as sit, wait, stay, so they can be used if needed. A strong recall is also beneficial in case they sneak out or otherwise end up loose. All of these skills can help your animal friends be safe on Halloween, but also throughout the year.
- I know animals look cute in costumes and there are always abundant opportunities to dress them up for costume contests, parades, trick-or-treating, and other activities. Some animals like dressing up and some definitely do not! Regardless, if you are planning on putting them in costume, less is more. Keep it simple and comfortable being aware that their bodies are different than ours. For example, dogs and cats don’t sweat like we do, so overheating is always a potential risk. Rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, birds and other animals don’t sweat at all. Heavy, itchy, tight, bulky, hot, and otherwise unnecessary, unsafe clothing, with or without attached accessories, really should be avoided. A cute Halloween themed neck bandana, shirt, or jacket can go a long way! But, I’ll again mention… only if they like wearing them!
Let me know if I’ve missed something so I can add it in. Thank you!
If you’re in or around the Seattle area, I’ll be a dog-friendly event on 10/31.
Wishing you and your animal friends a safe, low-stress, enjoyable Halloween season.
Love,
Sindi