How to keep your pets safe during Halloween festivities

With Halloween night just hours away, people of every age are getting ready to celebrate, whether that means trick-or-treating, hitting the clubs, or lighting off fireworks.

While most people love a good scare during the spooky season, unfortunately, the same can’t be said about their pets.

Here are some tips to plan ahead and help your pet remain happy and calm throughout the Halloween festivities.

Leave your animal friends at home

As much as one might want to bring their pet everywhere, on the case of Halloween night, it’s best to leave them at home. Hours of fireworks, ringing doorbells, and mass amounts of people in costume can be a source of fear and anxiety for your animal partners.

Keep them inside

By keeping your pet inside, there are fewer opportunities to confront trick-or-treaters. If your home is likely to be near any source of fireworks, consider keeping your pet in a room without windows – they’ll still hear the fireworks, but at least they won’t be able to see them.

Keep them identified

As loud noises accumulate and anxiety builds up, pets – especially cats and dogs – may try to run away. In case they do manage to escape, it’s essential that they have some form of identification on them and that it’s up to date. So keep those collars on.

Keep candy away from them

While you may enjoy spoiling your pet with human food (and they likely enjoy it as well!) candy can lead to a number of health problems such as diabetes and obesity. Chocolate can poison pets, says the BC SPCA.

“Chocolate is especially dangerous because it contains theobromine, which is toxic to dogs and cats,” says the BC SPCA.

Tire your pet out

Your pet is more likely to remain calm if they’re tired. Whether that means taking them on a walk before the trick-or-treaters set out or playing with them and their favourite toy, even a little time spent beforehand can make a huge difference.

Feed them plenty of food beforehand

Similar to the last point, having a full stomach will help your pet remain calm. Once external noises set in, your animal will become more high-alert, making it harder to feed them or give them water.

Give them something to do

In whatever way you can, distract your pet. Surround them with their favourite toys for the evening or even consider playing music or a television show in the background to drown the external noise out.

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