RSS
Home
Dog safety for Halloween night
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
BuyCostumes.com offers Halloween costumes for dogs
Between parties and trick-or-treating, forgetting the needs of the family dog can lead to some November 1st headaches. Here is a list of helpful tips to make sure your dogs are safe this Halloween, and the days following:
1. Keep candy especially chocolate, out of your dog's reach. Chocolate is deadly to dogs. If you believe your dog has ingested chocolate, immediately seek veterinary help.
2. Foil wrappers and candy wrappers caught inside a dog's digestive tract, can be deadly. Once again, keep those candy stashes far out of reach of paws and snouts.
3. If you choose to light candles or jack-o-lanterns, keep them above the arc of wagging tails. Some tail-waggers provide a strong punch, causing everything within their wagging space to go flying - including lit candles.
4. Dressing your dog in a costume is only recommended if this does not cause your dog undue stress (or humiliation). Make sure neckties don't restrict breathing and coat tails don't trip hind legs. Do not ever place masks on your dog's face - who would want to cover up such cuteness anyway?
5. Although your dog may be the ultimate door bell responder, on Halloween night, make sure he or she is kept in a quiet room, away from costumed children and the hub-bub of the front door.
Additional tips from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
* Don't let the family dog accompany the kids on their trick-or-treat outing. Children may have a difficult time handling a pet during the festivities and your pooch could get loose, especially if your dog is spooked by the strange sights and sounds of trick-or-treaters.
* Keep decorations that pets could chew on—like streamers and fake spider webs—and wires and cords from electric decorations out of reach. If pets chomp on Halloween decorations they could choke or become ill and, if they chew on electrical cords, they risk a potentially deadly electrical shock. Pets could also become tangled and injured by dangling cords or decorations.
A lifelong dog and animal advocate, Shelley Frost wrote Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know about Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press, 2007) with coauthor Katerina Makris.
Email Shelley: shelley@youradopteddog.com, and visit www.youradopteddog.com
Related Articles:
Comments
