5 Tips to Keep Your Pets Safe on Halloween!

Halloween can be a fun and exciting day for both humans and pets. But Halloween also brings many potential dangers for your pets. So today I’m sharing my top five tips on how to keep your pets safe so everyone can enjoy a Happy Halloween!

Tip #1

Keep your dog on a leash, even inside the house. For your feline family members, I suggest keeping your cat confined to his or her favorite room for the evening. When you’re constantly opening and closing the door, dealing with trick-or-treaters, looking for where you put the candy, going crazy from the doorbell sound, it can get very hectic. It only takes a second for your precious pup or cherished cat to slip out the door in all that chaos. With your cat safely tucked away behind closed doors, you won’t need to worry about him or her. And with your dog on his or her leash, you can easily hold onto them when the door is open, making sure no one escapes or runs too enthusiastically to greet children who may be afraid of dogs.

Tip #2

If you want your dog to tag along on the Trick or Treating route, make sure your dog is secure on the leash, has proper ID tags, and is as visible as possible. With all the kids and parents running around wearing awkward costumes and masks, someone could easily trip over a dog or leash and injure themselves, you, or your dog. Check out my post on Night Walk Safety for tips about keeping your dog visible when out after dark.

Tip #3

Keep all candy out of reach, preferably in a container that paws can’t open. As I talked about in Tuesday’s post, I Want Candy, many types of candy contain foods like peanut butter or coconut that your dog already knows and loves, so he or she may go to great lengths to get at that yummy smelling candy. Make sure you keep an eye on all the candy in your household to ensure that none of it ends up where your pet can get it.

Tip #4

Be careful with your jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins. If you put them on a ledge or stand for display purposes, make sure they are secure. You don’t want a pumpkin to fall on your pet if he or she bumps into the stand. Also if you use real candles in your jack-o-lanterns, make sure your curious cat or dog can’t put a paw or snout inside and get burned.

Tip #5

Speaking of jack-o-lanterns, make sure you keep those sharp knives and little saws and pokers out of reach of your pets. They may be generally safe enough for children to handle, but not pets. When you carve your pumpkin and switch from one tool to another, remember that those tools have very tasty smelling pumpkin guts on them. Your pets may try to lick the pumpkin off the tools, not realizing they have sharp edges. So make sure you pay attention and keep your pets away from those sharp tools.

Hope you and your pets have a fun and safe Halloween!

This post is part of the Thursday Barks and Bytes blog hop hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like A Dog.

    This post is also part of the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop hosted by Ruckus the Eskie, Love is Being Owned By a Husky, and M.K. Clinton.