HALLOWEEN SAFETY 

 

Keep your pet in a quiet place, away from trick-or-treaters and other Halloween activities. All but the most social dogs and cats should be kept in a separate room away from the front door during peak trick-or-treat visiting hours. Too many strangers can be scary and stressful for pets.

 

Place live flame decorations like candles and jack-o'-lanterns out of your pet's reach. They could easily knock over a candle or pumpkin and cause a fire.

 

Keep candy away from pets. Chocolate in all forms—especially dark or baking chocolate—can be very dangerous for dogs and cats. Symptoms of significant chocolate ingestion may include vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, increased thirst, urination and heart rate—and even seizures.  Candy wrappers can also be harmful if swallowed.

 

Resist the urge to put your pet in a costume. Most pets don't like the constraints of costumes. If you do dress up your pet, make sure the costume isn't annoying or unsafe. It should not constrict the animal's movement or hearing, or impede his ability to breathe, bark or meow.  Check the costume for parts your pet could chew off and choke on and look for dangling pieces like flowing capes that could injure them.

 

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 dog 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. 

 

Don’t leave your pet in the yard on Halloween. There have been reports of vicious pranksters who have teased, injured, and stolen pets on this night.