Make no bones about it – we love Halloween at Pawrade! What’s more adorable than a puppy dressed up in a fantastic costume while plowing through a pile of crisp, autumn leaves? That’s right, nothing!
It’s time to throw a Howl-O-Ween Pawty! While it’s fun to surround yourself with spooky things, Halloween night might be downright terrier-fying for your puppy. Our puppy Halloween safety tips will help your puppy have a safe, fun, and secure Halloween celebration.
Puppy Safety Tips for Halloween Night
Halloween means lots of hocus pocus and hustle and bustle. Your puppy can probably sense something is in the air, and it isn’t the smell wafting from a bubbling cauldron. Here’s how to keep puppies safe on Halloween night before, during, and after the last trick-or-treat is said.
Puppy Safety Preparation Before Halloween
Stay current on regular vet visits
Fall is a great time to see if your puppy is up to date on vaccinations and has enough refills of flea, tick, and heartworm medication. Does your puppy need a dental checkup? Make sure your puppy has all the vaccinations needed to be around other people and dogs. Staying on top of regular puppy visits can keep your puppy healthy. After all, what’s scarier than preventable parasites or dirty fangs?
Depending on age, make sure your puppy is microchipped with your information, neutered or spayed, and has proper identification tags to help in case something very unfortunate happens to your puppy.
Locate an emergency vet and local animal shelters
If you don’t have an emergency veterinarian in mind, definitely find one near you with hours to cater to a puppy emergency. Unfortunately, accidents can happen on a night dedicated to mischief, so it’s vital you know how to contact and get to the emergency vet’s office right away. It’s also a good idea to know where the local shelters are in case you and your puppy are separated.
Find a Halloween event just for dogs
A fun way to celebrate Halloween safely with your puppy is to attend doggy Trunk or Treat events or Halloween festivals specifically catered toward dogs. You can expect to find Halloween dog costume contests, special dog-friendly baked goods, a variety of treats, vending, and maybe even a bobbing for apple slices booth. The majority of these festivals occur before Halloween night. If you need inspiration, check out our 6 fall activities to entertain an active puppy.
Be safe with costumes
With advanced planning and plenty of time, you can come up with a phenomenal costume idea. Whether you find matching costumes, take a DIY dog costumes approach, or order a puppy Halloween costume online, make sure they’re safe for puppies, allowing a range of normal movement and free of any ingestible materials like buttons, tulle, ribbons, or stuffing. Never leave your puppy alone with the costume on!
Everyone should practice wearing a costume, humans and puppies alike. The day of Halloween is not the best time to figure out if your puppy even tolerates wearing a costume. Use treats to get your puppy used to the idea several days beforehand.
In addition, your puppy may not recognize you with a costume on except for your scent. Then you’ll have one confused puppy! Reassure your puppy that you’re all still the same family members. Talking in a calm, soothing yet upbeat manner while offering lots of treats will help your puppy be comfortable with your costume in no time.
Speaking of costumes…we couldn’t resist these punny puppy Halloween costume suggestions:
- Pugkin spice latte
- Hallo-wiener
- Labracadabradoodle
- Incorgnito
- Collieflower
- Barkaeologist
- Vampire Bloodhound
Buy a new Halloween-themed puppy toy
Buy your pup a special new toy to keep them busy like a hide-and-seek haunted house dog puzzle toy or a My First Halloween puppy chew toy. They can even give themselves a treat with a skull treat-dispensing tough dog chew toy.
Explore the neighborhood
If your puppy is coming with you, walk the route you’re going to take. Let your puppy sniff and explore the strange yard decorations they notice on their walking route, some of which may be hooked up with messy electrical cords, make scary noises, emit smoke and fog, use flashing strobe lights, and move suddenly.
Puppy Safety Tips for Halloween Night
All Hallow’s Eve is finally here! Don’t forget about your puppy in all the day-of Halloween preparations.
Can my puppy eat raw pumpkin?
Did you know raw pumpkin, stems, and raw pumpkin seeds aren’t that great for a puppy to eat? If you do want to feed your dog pumpkin seeds, it’s highly recommended that you clean, peel, roast, and grind them up. In addition, using canned pumpkin with no preservatives is the best choice if your puppy is going to eat pumpkin.
Jack-o’-lantern tool and fire safety
Keep all sharp pumpkin carving tools away from your puppy to prevent accidents. Likewise, use battery-operated candles instead of live candles so your puppy won’t knock over a flame. The only firefighters you want to meet on Halloween night are the ones in costumes wearing bright red plastic hats!
Costume preparation
Puppies are very curious, and they want to know what you’re doing! It’s easy to get distracted and leave out face paint and costume accessories like masks in places they can get to. Most of these products can be toxic for dogs, so keep up with where you place them.
Are you taking your puppy trick-or-treating with you?
If your puppy is great with children, crowds, and chaos at night, then consider taking them out with you! Keep them on a shorter leash and stay away from the middle of crowds. Remember, even though you think your puppy is the cutest in the world, not everyone likes dogs, and some children might not be used to puppies in their space.
Most importantly, make sure your puppy is visible at night. Opt for safety reflective strips on clothing, non-toxic light-up objects like LED dog leashes and collars, and carry a flashlight and waste bags with you.
Know and respect your puppy’s limits
You may end up carrying your puppy some of your route. Read their cues to see if they’re overwhelmed or anxious just like you would young kids. If your puppy has had enough, be prepared to abandon plans for the sake of your dog just like you would an overstimulated, upset child.
Will your puppy stay behind while you celebrate?
If you have to leave your puppy, know that separation anxiety in puppies can be very stressful. With the right preparation, you can calm your puppy’s separation anxiety.
Make their kennel or crate a safe space by putting thick towels or blankets on top to muffle the sounds. You can also turn on special puppy calming music, a white noise machine, radio, or TV to mask noises from trick-or-treaters.
Consider leaving candy out for people to take in good faith and a sign so people don’t ring your doorbell or knock on your door constantly. Or if you aren’t comfortable with that, leave a light off on the porch but a low light on inside so your puppy’s not in the dark.
Is your puppy helping you answer the door?
If you are passing out candy to trick-or-treaters, your dog may like to greet people as well. Make sure your puppy doesn’t lunge at visitors or try to escape. Not everyone will like a puppy, so respect people’s boundaries. Make sure your puppy can’t get into the candy refill stash or set down your bowl.
Keeping Your Puppy Safe After Halloween
The day after Halloween is always an aftershock. Kids have a candy hangover, and adults just want a moment of peace and quiet. But do you know what is neither peaceful nor quiet? A puppy rooting around in the candy bag!
It’s imperative you keep all candy far away from puppies. Candy containing chocolate and the sweetener xylitol used in sugar-free candies can be toxic and even deadly to puppies. Apple seeds in caramel apples contain a form of cyanide and are toxic as well. You have to be vigilant when you have a puppy during a holiday revolving around candy that could be fatal to your puppy. Even candy wrappers themselves can block intestines. That’s why it’s important to have emergency vet contact information at the ready.
Your puppy doesn’t have to be left out of all the treats! You can make your own treats, such as dog-friendly chocolate peanut butter cups made with carob instead of chocolate or homemade pumpkin dog treats.
The costumes are put away, the vampires are back in their costumes, and the pumpkin patches are empty. Take a calm moment with your puppy to wind down with snuggles while you read Harry Paw-ter and the Sorcerer's Bone by J.K. Growling.
Find a Puppy That Will Never Ghost You at Pawrade
It’s scary finding a puppy all on your own. That’s why you should trust Pawrade to match you with a screened reputable breeder who loves puppies just like you. We’ll never ghost you and will provide support throughout the adoption process. Our puppies for sale are full of pupkin spice and everything nice.
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