Halloween Safety Tips for Pets

Halloween can be an extra-scary time for our four-legged family members. Our pets don’t understand why the doorbell keeps ringing or why strange creatures- that kind of resemble humans- keep yelling and trying to come into their house and yard.

These factors and more can cause our pets to become anxious and start acting out of the ordinary with their behaviors like, panting, crying, running, jumping, and even becoming aggressive. That is why it is important to keep your pet (and Trick-or-Treaters) safe this Halloween by following these Five Simple Halloween Safety Tips for Pets.

1. Keep Your Pet in a Separate Room

Bring pets indoors and lock them in a separate room, far away from the commotion, with a TV or noise machine on during prime trick-or-treating hours (6pm- 8:30pm). This will give you peace of mind that your pet will not harm or scare away trick-or-treaters and you don’t have to worry about your pet escaping every time you open the door.

2. Keep the Candy Out of Reach

Most Halloween candy is toxic to pets, especially chocolate, so make sure bowls of candy are stashed in a cupboard or a shelf high enough where they cannot reach them. If your dog or cat does ingest any candy or wrappers contact your vet immediately.

3. Don’t Put Your Pet in a Costume Unless They Love It

Dressing your pet up could cause extra anxiety for them, and if they try to escape their costume and get stuck, they could seriously injure themselves. If you decide to dress them up, keep it comfortable for them and let them try on their costume before Halloween to make sure they love it and have time to get used to how it feels.

4. Watch the Decorations

Using a real flame to light a Jack-O-Lantern is rare these days, but if you do make sure it is placed somewhere your pet can’t accidentally run into it. Be sure to also keep any decoration that could harm your pet like, plastic, fake spider webs, and lights/electrical cords out of your pet’s reach.

5. Keep Your Pets Identified

Always make sure your pet is wearing a collar with tags that are up to date and that they are microchipped, just in case they do happen to escape.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween with your fur-babies! 🙂

This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.