Halloween Fun and Candy

My Roxy Bee and Julie the Wonder Dog at

a charity fundraiser for homeless pets

Tomorrow is Halloween! It's always been my favorite holiday. I share a lot of the festivities with my dogs -- costumes, silly pictures and pumpkin treats. (But not candy! That's all for me.) As fun as Halloween is for us, it can be a bit stressful for the dogs. Below are a few tips I've picked up over the years to help keep my dogs safe and happy.

Supervise dogs around decorations. Dogs can sometimes be too curious for their own good!

Watch your jack-o-lanterns. They're not toxic, but you don't want the pups eating the pumpkin goo when you're carving. Too much pumpkin can upset a dog's stomach. You want to make sure dogs don't knock them over either, especially if you use candles to light them.

Lock the dogs in a back room on All Hallows Eve. The constant flow of costumed children is too much for my dogs. Whenever possible, we sit on the front porch so that kids don't ring the doorbell. If your dogs still get too wound up, talk to your vet about dog-safe sedatives.

Not all dogs like costumes. Sometimes a festive bandanna is all a dog is willing to wear. If you're going to dress the dogs up, make sure that costumes don't hinder their movement or vision. My dogs don't mind costumes as long as their ears aren't covered.

Make sure dogs wear collars and tags -- even under costumes. This is my inner ACO speaking. With all the commotion of the evening, there is a chance that someone can slip out unnoticed. If that happens, you want to make sure your pets are returned right away. In fact, go and check everyone's tags right now. Are they legible? Are the phone numbers correct? If not, please get new tags right away.

Keep candy away from the dogs. This includes the kids' treat bags. Pepper chewed the bottoms out of several candy filled pillow cases in her time. Chocolate (my favorite!) can be lethal. So can xylitol, a sweetener found in sugar-free gum and candy. Sugar is not good for dogs either. Below is a helpful infographic from Orvis.

So, be safe and enjoy the holiday. See you next month! -- K

Dogs and Candy: Sweet Safety Infographic by Orvis.