Halloween Safety Tips for Pets

Trick or treat!

• When it comes to trick-or-treating, stick with the tricks for your furry friends. Chocolate can be very toxic, even lethal, to pets. Many candies are now sweetened using xylitol, which can also be poisonous to dogs. Even non-toxic candy can cause stomach upset. Better to be safe than sorry! Keep these sweets away from your pets and treat them to a yummy snack safely designed for pets – such as the Benny Bully’s Liver Chops!

Keep pets indoors if possible.

• Halloween night often has many people outdoors – keep your pets inside for their safety. Black cats are unfortunately especially susceptible to cruel pranks on Halloween night. Many shelters do not adopt black cats during the month of October for their own safety.

Visibilty.

• If you are bringing your pet out trick-or-treating, there are options to increase your visibility to cars. Collar lights or reflective clothing are good options that allow your pet to safely go trick or treating.
  

Try costumes on beforehand.

• While your pet might look adorable dressed up as a unicorn or a vampire, some dogs and cats are very anxious when exposed to new scenarios and this can make for a stressful Halloween night. If you plan to dress up your pet, try on their costumes beforehand and for short periods of time with lots of treats to make the costume a positive experience.

Keep decorations out of reach.

• A lot of decorations can be choking hazards to pets, especially those prone to chewing anything that crosses their paths. Be careful with things such as corn cobs, fake spider webs, and lit jack-o-lanterns. Always supervise your pet!

Microchipping!

• The last thing anyone wants is to lose their pet with no identifying information. While a collar and tags will definitely help bring your pet home, a collar can slip off or break. The most effective way to ensure your pet arrives home safely is a microchip, which allows shelters and clinics to quickly scan your pet and obtain your contact information from a database. 

- Abi M.