23/10/2025
Halloween for Dogs?
Halloween may be a fun/scary time for many people who enjoy the activities.
However this may not be the case for many of our dogs. Some dogs, especially those with a nervous temperament may find unexpected knocks at the door from “Trick or Treaters” and people dressed in an unusual way quite un-nerving.
With this in mind, a few tips on how to limit the effect on our dogs may be useful.
• Restrict the wearing of costumes to the human members of the family only. Few dogs are willing to wear any sort of human style clothing. Adding a new and unfamiliar item for your dog to wear can cause them to be uncomfortable. You should also be aware of anything that could cause abrasions or irritations, resulting in your dog overheating, or stopping them from expressing normal behaviour.
• When exercising dogs steer clear of persons dressed in an unusual garb or acting in a strange way. Whilst it may be harmless fun to us, to the dog it could be stressful or even frightening.
• Be aware of how your dog may react if the front door is opened to reveal strangely dressed persons possibly making most unusual noises. The effect on the dog could be that he escapes or he may attack this “Threat” that has appeared . The best course of action is to restrict the dogs access to the open door possibly by putting him in another room.
• Consider changing the time of the dogs evening walk so that by the time the “Festivities” start he is safely at home.
Whilst we may enjoy the activities of Halloween, we should not assume that are dogs are equally inclined to join in the fun....Bob.
