Making Halloween Less Spooky!

Halloween is a fun time of year for us – however it can often be scary for our pets! It presents new experiences such as loud sounds, scary costumes and even new things to eat.  We hope you find the following information useful in keeping your four-legged friends feeling at ease during the festivities.

Sweet Treats

When Halloween comes around, the shops are filled with a variety of tempting treats. It is important to remember that these are not designed for pets.

• Chocolate – Contains the chemical Theobromine which is toxic to dogs and cats, even in small doses it can be fatal. Keep well out of reach.
• Sweets – These high in sugar and fat which can lead to pancreatitis. This is very uncomfortable for your pet and may require them to be hospitalised.
• Sweeteners – Xylitol is common in sugar free foods, peanut butter and chewing gum. It causes hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) and can be fatal, even in small quantities. Keep all sweets  out of reach of your pets.
• Grapes and raisins -These are extremely poisonous to dogs and potentially cats. Ingestion, even in small quantities, can cause kidney damage. This may be irreversible and fatal if the quantity is large or intervention is not made early enough. 
• Wrappers – ingestion of foil/cellophane can cause obstructions in the gut. This could make your pet very unwell and may require surgery to remove the obstruction. Signs of this may include vomiting, diarrhoea, decreased appetite and straining to defecate.

If your pet eats something they shouldn’t, contact Brookmead Veterinary Surgery ASAP

Costumes

Our pets are part of the family, and it is only natural to want to include them in the celebrations. If you are planning to dress your pet up for Halloween, here are a couple of tips to ensure they are enjoying themselves too.

• Make sure they don’t impair their vision, movement or breathing
• Use safe, non-flammable materials
• Avoid anything with zips/embellishments and other small parts as they may be ingested or become a choking hazard.
  

Decorations

Making the house look spooky is all part of the fun, but they aren’t always safe for pets.

• Glow sticks – Especially appealing to cats! Whilst they are not poisonous, they can cause burns/irritation to the mouth which is painful for your pet and can cause excessive drooling and foaming at the mouth. 
• Candles – Keep these up and out of the way of wagging tails and curious noses. Animals don’t usually realise something is hot until they get burned.  If they are knocked over they also become a fire hazard.

 

Planning Walks/Time Outside

It is best to aim to walk your pet before it gets dark. Costumes and masks worn by trick-or-treaters can be frightening to animals so it is best to avoid these where possible. 

If you do choose to walk around the neighborhood during trick-or-treating, ensure that your dog is wearing a secure collar/harness with an up to date ID tag in case they become frightened and run off. 

If you know there are going to be fireworks, keep your pet inside. They have much more sensitive hearing than us and may run away if scared.

It is best to keep cats indoors at Halloween, especially at night. The stigma surrounding cats, especially black ones, at this time of year sadly makes them vulnerable, so it is best to keep them indoors wherever possible.

Feeling Safe at Home

The home environment changes on Halloween. Your pet may find the doorbell constantly ringing from trick-or-treaters stressful and fireworks often cause animals to feel fearful. Here are some tips we hope you will find helpful:

• Create them a safe space -this may be a secure room where they can relax. It should be somewhere familiar with low traffic and somewhere they can hide. This will also help to prevent them from running out the door
• Dogs may prefer the addition of a crate instead of a room – however only if this is somewhere safe for them following proper crate training. The crate can be covered with a towel to create some shelter to help them feel safer. 
• Don’t force any attention – some pets seek human comfort when they are afraid, however others prefer to be left alone to hide away and feel safe. Do not force your pet to come out of hiding unless they are in danger.
• Calming sprays/diffusers & supplements – are used to help your pet feel calmer during these  periods of acute stress. Please contact Brookmead Veterinary Surgery to discuss these products in more depth.