Ghostly Ghouls and Funny Shoes – Helping Your Dog Through Halloween

For many, the spirit of Halloween brings quite a celebration – with haunted houses, trick-or-treating, scary movies and costumes galore!  For our dogs, however, these seasonal festivities can cause anxiety and fear that, if not handled correctly, can cause lifelong behavioral issues.  Below are some of our common Halloween practices and how you and your kids can help set your dog up for success, making the season more fun for everyone!

​Costumes:
A ninja…zombie…superhero?  Or a cat…princess…cheerleader?   One of the most fun things about Halloween is that we can dress up to become something that we’re not, even if for just one night!  While we understand that our costumes are just that – temporary personas that we leave behind in the morning – our dogs do not understand why all of a sudden we dress or act different than we normally do.  Or why the strange creature wandering in your living room on Halloween sounds like Bobby but for some strange reason Bobby’s face is green and his nose is much bigger!  So for many dogs, costumes can create a lot of stress and confusion.  Unless we take measures to show them that underneath it all, it’s really just the same people they see every day.  To help your dog acclimate…

• Try on your costume in pieces at home for short periods of time leading up to Halloween.  For example, if your costume includes a mask, try the mask on and walk around the house with it on, but then take it off when your dog looks at you.  Bend down and let him sniff it if he chooses, then let him watch you put it back on.  Give him some tasty treats anytime he is near you in your getup. 
• If your outfit includes wild makeup, try practice runs with your makeup before Halloween and wear it around the house for a bit as you do your regular household activities, like eat dinner or watch TV. 
• If your costume involves acting a certain way (like the stiff stumbling movements of a zombie or meowing of a cat), practice these actions without your costume on so your dog can get used to them.  Practice for a few seconds at a time, then stop to act normally and give your dog a tasty treat.

Trick-Or-Treating:
Going trick-or-treating involves a lot of other people in a lot of other costumes that you can’t possibly prepare your dog for ahead of time.  It is best to leave your dog home when you go trick-or-treating to avoid any scary or disturbing encounters.

If you are staying home on Halloween but will be handing out candy to trick-or-treaters that come to visit, keep your dog gated in another room away from the entrance that trick-or-treaters will be using, including away from rooms that have windows that look out into the walkway.  Your dog will feel safest in a quiet back room with a special chew or food-stuffed toy to focus on and some music or TV to drown out the sound of the trick-or-treaters wandering outside. 

Additionally, keep your dog away from any doors that lead outside – if the door is opening and closing a lot and people are coming and going, there’s a risk that the door may not latch correctly.  The same is true for lawn gates.  If you have an electric fence, keep in mind that your dog may run through the fence to chase off a perceived “intruder” but may then be too scared to come back in.  Many pets get loose and go missing on Halloween amidst all this chaotic activity.
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Do not leave your pets outside unattended on Halloween.  Instead, walk them out for potty trips on leash and return them inside with you.  Some rowdy teenagers who are into pranks may see your pet as a target for taunting and ridicule, sometimes even having harmful or deadly results!  You may have heard stories of tricksters stealing peoples’ animals from their yards or poisoning animals as a sick joke.  Keep your dog safe on Halloween by keeping him indoors.

Lawn Ornaments:
You see them everywhere this time of year – ghosts hanging from trees, scarecrows, even blow-up tombstones and vampires.  All of these novel objects can spook your dog, even if he passes these yards regularly throughout the year when these items are absent.  And let’s not forget that walking at night in the dark can add a scare when all of a sudden you (or your dog) see a shadow dangling from a limb and you don’t know what it is! 

If your dog reacts unfavorably to a lawn ornament:

• Calmly reassure him by giving him happy praise and some really good treats
• Give him the time and space he needs to process at whatever distance he chooses.  If he tries to move away, let him; if he wants to go up to check the item out, let him (within reason of course, you don’t want to get in trouble for trespassing!). 
• If you are walking him on a long line, you can let him wait wherever he feels comfortable while you calmly and confidently go up to the lawn ornament and show interest.  If you look curious or like you’re having a good time checking out the object, he just might feel brave enough to follow you (but be sure not to call him to it or this could pressure him and make him feel more afraid).

Jack-O-Lanterns:
By day, they are garden vegetables that may remind your dog of mealtime (adding pumpkin to dog food is a common dietary supplement providing fiber).  By night, they become objects from another planet, with ominous expressions and stares from the glowing inferno within.  People can get pretty creative with their pumpkin-carving nowadays, but many dogs don’t see the jack-o-lanterns for their artistic value.  Instead, they may be frightened and sulk away; or opposite, they may want to attack the unknown beast and scare it off, not realizing that the center consists of a burning flame.  So how do you prepare your dog for handling these Halloween visitors?

• If possible, include your dog in the pumpkin carving process (at a safe distance, of course).  If your dog can watch you cut faces into your pumpkin and practice putting the lights inside, he may realize that if you don’t appear to have anything to fear then neither should he.
• Give your dog the time and space he needs to decide if he is curious enough to check out the jack-o-lantern without pressure.  If he wants to move away, let him.
• If your dog usually gets activated with other novel objects (like if he has a tendency to pummel it over and nip at it), try lighting your jack-o-lantern with LED flameless lights to ensure your dog never comes in contact with a real flame.  Then work on teaching your dog to have some self-control around the novel object by asking him to sit at a distance, provide him with plenty of positive reinforcement for doing so, and gradually work your way closer over time until he can freely be near the jack-o-lantern without paying it any mind.

Candy:
Chocolate is toxic to dogs (the amount causing toxicity depends on the richness of the chocolate and the size of your dog) and so are raisins (and other grape products too, which have been linked to kidney failure) – so chocolate-covered raisins are a double whammy!  High-sugar candies, like candy corn or Smarties, can cause extreme gas and diarrhea. 

Hard candies and candy wrappers can pose a choking hazard; even if they are swallowed successfully, they can create dangerous bowel obstructions.  Artificial sweeteners like Xylitol and aspartame, which are found in many sugar-free gums and sodas, can cause a severe drop in blood sugar and seizures, which can then result in liver failure.

Be sure to store all candy out of reach of your dog and behind a closed door.  Dogs may think candy smells good so may try to do whatever it takes to get to it – jump up on a counter or shelf, rip apart bags, pull open drawers.  Take the proper precautions - you don’t want to risk the potentially fatal (and costly) results.

Scary Movies:
If you love being spooked by Halloween thrillers, just keep in mind that scary movies can also be scary for your dog.  Not because they don’t want the single lady in the movie to go upstairs alone to check out that noise, but because if you jump unexpectedly, scream, or hide behind a pillow/blanket and tense up your body, these are all signs of concern for your dog.  They may not be able to rationalize that it’s only on the TV or tablet – for all they know, they think you’re truly afraid for your life and take that to mean they should be too! 

If you tend to be reactive during scary movies, either keep your dog in another room so they cannot react right along with you, or keep a cup of dog treats in the room with you so that if you jump or scream, you can follow that up with a lot of praise, calm pets, and yummy treats for your dog so they can then relax too, knowing that your life (and theirs) really isn’t in danger.

​Halloween isn’t fun for our four-legged friends the way it’s fun for us.  But now that you know how to make it easier for them, be safe and have one HOWL of a time!